Reply to: Three papers regarding the origin of GN-z11-flash

Abstract

In Jiang et al., we detected a bright flash (hereafter GN-z11-flash) that appeared as compact continuum emission during our Keck MOSFIRE observations of the galaxy GN-z11 at z ~ 11. We performed a comprehensive analysis of the origin of the flash using all available information and our current understanding of known man-made objects or moving objects in the solar system. We found that GN-z11-flash was likely a rest-frame UV flash associated with a long gamma-ray burst (GRB) from GN-z11. Recently, Steinhardt et al., Michalowski et al., and Nir et al. reported that GN-z11-flash was more likely from a satellite. While one cannot completely rule out the possibility of unknown satellites (or debris), we find that either the chance probabilities of being a satellite estimated by these authors have been largely overestimated or their identified satellites have been ruled out in our original analysis. Our new calculations show that the probability of GN-z11-flash being a satellite is still lower than that of it being a signal originated from GN-z11.

arXiv commentPublished in Nature Astronomy Matters Arising 5, 998-1000, 2021; Authors' version; Some content slightly overlaps with our previous reply in arXiv:2102.01239

References in corpus (11)

• The shock break-out of GRB 060218/SN 2006aj
• A Remarkably Luminous Galaxy at z=11.1 Measured with Hubble Space Telescope Grism Spectroscopy
• GRB 990123: Reverse and Internal Shock Flashes and Late Afterglow
• Swift Identification of Dark Gamma-Ray Bursts
• Fast cooling synchrotron radiation in a decaying magnetic field and $\gamma$-ray burst emission mechanism
• Population III GRB Afterglows: Constraints on Stellar Masses and External Medium Densities
• A Correlated Study of Optical and X-ray Afterglows of GRBs
• Spectrophotometric analysis of GRB afterglow extinction curves with X-shooter
• Orbital Foregrounds for Ultra-Short Duration Transients
• DebrisWatch I: A survey of faint geosynchronous debris
• A possible bright ultraviolet flash from a galaxy at redshift z ~ 11

Cited by in corpus (2)

• Exploring nine simultaneously occurring transients on April 12th 1950
• Fires in the deep: The luminosity distribution of early-time gamma-ray-burst afterglows in light of the Gamow Explorer sensitivity requirements