THE OPTICAL LUMINOSITY FUNCTION OF GAMMA-RAY BURSTS DEDUCED FROM ROTSE-III OBSERVATIONS

Cui X. H., Wu X. F., Wei J. J., Yuan F., Zheng W. K., Liang E. W., ...More

ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL, vol.795, no.2, 2014 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 795 Issue: 2
  • Publication Date: 2014
  • Doi Number: 10.1088/0004-637x/795/2/103
  • Journal Name: ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus
  • Keywords: gamma-ray burst: general, methods: statistical, REDSHIFT DISTRIBUTION, PRE-SWIFT, GRB, AFTERGLOWS, PROMPT, LONG, EMISSION, MODELS, ENERGY, SKY
  • Istanbul University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

We present the optical luminosity function (LF) of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) estimated from a uniform sample of 58 GRBs from observations with the Robotic Optical Transient Search Experiment III (ROTSE-III). Our GRB sample is divided into two sub-samples: detected afterglows (18 GRBs) and those with upper limits (40 GRBs). We derive R-band fluxes for these two sub-samples 100 s after the onset of the burst. The optical LFs at 100 s are fitted by assuming that the co-moving GRB rate traces the star formation rate. While fitting the optical LFs using Monte Carlo simulations, we take into account the detection function of ROTSE-III. We find that the cumulative distribution of optical emission at 100 s is well described by an exponential rise and power-law decay, a broken power law, and Schechter LFs. A single power-law (SPL) LF, on the other hand, is ruled out with high confidence.

We present the optical luminosity function (LF) of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) estimated from a uniform sample of 58 GRBs from observations with the Robotic Optical Transient Search Experiment III (ROTSE-III). Our GRB sample is divided into two sub-samples: detected afterglows (18 GRBs) and those with upper limits (40 GRBs). We derive R-band fluxes for these two sub-samples 100 s after the onset of the burst. The optical LFs at 100 s are fitted by assuming that the co-moving GRB rate traces the star formation rate. While fitting the optical LFs using Monte Carlo simulations, we take into account the detection function of ROTSE-III. We find that the cumulative distribution of optical emission at 100 s is well described by an exponential rise and power-law decay, a broken power law, and Schechter LFs. A single power-law (SPL) LF, on the other hand, is ruled out with high confidence.