GRB 221009A and the Apparently Most Energetic Gamma-Ray Bursts

Abstract

Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) are often referred to as the most luminous explosions in the Universe, due to their short and highly luminous prompt emission. This apparent luminosity, however, does not reflect the true energy budget of the prompt emission, which is strongly beamed. Accurate estimations of the energy radiated during the prompt phase require taking into account the geometry of GRB jets, which remains poorly known. Nevertheless, one may establish the distribution of well measured quantities, like Eiso, the GRB isotropic equivalent energy, which encrypts crucial information about GRB jets, with the aim of providing constraints on the jets radiated energy. In this work, we study the bright end of the GRB isotropic equivalent energy distribution (hereafter called "apparent energy"), using an updated sample of 185 apparently energetic GRBs with Eiso $\ge 10^{53}$ erg. This new sample includes GRB 221009A, allowing to discuss this apparently super-energetic GRB in the context of the general Eiso distribution of long GRBs. We describe the construction of the sample and compare fits of the Eiso distribution with a simple power law, a cutoff power law and a broken power law. Our study confirms the existence of a cutoff around Eiso = $4\times 10^{54}$ erg, even when GRB 221009A is included in the sample. Based on this finding, we discuss the possible reasons behind the rapid decrease of the number of apparently energetic gamma-ray bursts beyond Eiso = $4\times 10^{54}$ erg and the interpretation of GRB 221009A, the most apparently energetic GRB detected to date, in this context.

Short paper with 3 figures and a long table - Accepted for publication in ApJ

References in corpus (32)

• The Supernova -- Gamma-Ray Burst Connection
• A decade of Gamma-Ray Bursts observed by $Fermi$-LAT: The 2${}^{nd}$ GRB catalog
• A tera-electronvolt afterglow from a narrow jet in an extremely bright gamma-ray burst 221009A
• GRB 221009A, The BOAT
• Fermi-GBM Discovery of GRB 221009A: An Extraordinarily Bright GRB from Onset to Afterglow
• The Konus-Wind catalog of gamma-ray bursts with known redshifts. I. Bursts detected in the triggered mode
• The Fermi GBM Gamma-Ray Burst Spectral Catalog: 10 Years of Data
• Properties of the extremely energetic GRB~221009A from Konus-WIND and SRG/ART-XC observations
• Very high energy gamma-ray emission beyond 10 TeV from GRB 221009A
• GRB 221009A: Discovery of an Exceptionally Rare Nearby and Energetic Gamma-Ray Burst
• The Radio to GeV Afterglow of GRB 221009A
• The SVOM Mission
• The Konus-Wind catalog of gamma-ray bursts with known redshifts. II. Waiting mode bursts simultaneously detected by Swift/BAT
• Two-component jet model for multiwavelength afterglow emission of the extremely energetic burst GRB 221009A
• External Inverse-Compton and Proton Synchrotron Emission from the Reverse Shock as the Origin of VHE Gamma-Rays from the Hyper-Bright GRB 221009A
• Synchrotron Radiation Dominates the Extremely Bright GRB 221009A
• The optical light curve of GRB 221009A: the afterglow and the emerging supernova
• The Possibility of Modeling the Very High Energy Afterglow of GRB 221009A in a Wind Environment
• Statistical study of gamma-ray bursts with jet break feature in multi-wavelength afterglow emissions
• A Sensitive Search for Supernova Emission Associated with the Extremely Energetic and Nearby GRB 221009A
• Effect of evolutionary physical constants on type-1a supernova luminosity
• AGILE gamma-ray detection of the exceptional GRB 221009A
• GRB 221009A: An ordinary nearby GRB with extraordinary observational properties
• Physics of the GRB 030328 afterglow and its environment
• Limit on Supernova Emission in the Brightest Gamma-ray Burst, GRB 221009A
• The peak-flux of GRB 221009A measured with GRBAlpha
• A blast from the infant Universe: the very high-z GRB 210905A
• Lyman continuum leakage in faint star-forming galaxies at redshift z=3-3.5 probed by gamma-ray bursts
• Robust photometric redshift determinations of gamma-ray burst afterglows at z > 2
• The Maximum Isotropic Equivalent Energy Of Gamma Ray Bursts
• Chromatic Afterglow of GRB 200829A
• Testing a Galactic Lensing Hypothesis with the Prompt Emission of GRB 221009A

Cited by in corpus (2)

• Extreme value distribution for gamma-ray-burst prompt data -- How unexpected was the BOAT event?
• Black Hole Spin-down in Collapsars in 3D Neutrino Transport GRMHD Simulations