English

A Search for Sub-TeV Gammas in Coincidence with Gamma Ray Bursts

Astrophysics 2007-05-23 v4

Abstract

We report on a study of sub-TeV (Eγ>10E_\gamma > 10 GeV) gamma-ray-induced muon secondaries in coincidence with BATSE gamma ray bursts (GRBs). Each TeV gamma ray striking the atmosphere produces \approx0.2 muons whose identity and angle can be measured by the Project GRAND array. Eight GRB candidates were studied; seven were selected based upon the optimum product of (detected BATSE fluence) ×\times (GRAND's acceptance). One candidate was added because it was reported as a detection by the Milagrito collaboration. Seven candidates show a positive, though not statistically significant, muon excess. The most significant possible coincidence shows an excess of 466±171466 \pm 171 muons during the BATSE T90 time interval. It is also of interest that the event with the second most significant signal to noise (1.2σ\sigma) is the Milagrito event. If our most significant event is real, the implied fluence of energetic (>10> 10 GeV) gammas necessary to account for the observed muon excess would require that most of the GRB fluence arrived in the form of energetic gammas.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.astro-ph/0004379,
  title  = {A Search for Sub-TeV Gammas in Coincidence with Gamma Ray Bursts},
  author = {J. Poirier and C. D'Andrea and P. C. Fragile and J. Gress and G. J. Mathews and D. Race},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:astro-ph/0004379},
  year   = {2007}
}

Comments

7 pages, including 3 figures and 1 table. Revised as per Referees' suggestions. Accepted for publication in Physical Review D