We are currently in a period of rapid advancement in our understanding of thenature of short-duration hard-spectrum gamma-ray bursts. A handful of thisminority subclass have finally been localized, allowing for identification oftheir host galaxies. These hosts have been found to span a range of spectraltypes and star-formation rates. Particularly intriguing is the association oftwo short GRBs with galaxies that are part of clusters. We propose relativelyshort XMM observations of all well-localized short GRBs without existing XMM orChandra observations to better determine the relationship between short GRBs andgalaxy clusters as well as determine the properties (e.g., cluster mass) of thelarge-scale host environments.
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2006-05-14T11:51:13Z/2006-09-10T08:53:30Z
Version
17.56_20190403_1200
Mission Description
The European Space Agencys (ESA) X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission (XMM-Newton) was launched by an Ariane 504 on December 10th 1999. XMM-Newton is ESAs second cornerstone of the Horizon 2000 Science Programme. It carries 3 high throughput X-ray telescopes with an unprecedented effective area, and an optical monitor, the first flown on a X-ray observatory. The large collecting area and ability to make long uninterrupted exposures provide highly sensitive observations. Since Earths atmosphere blocks out all X-rays, only a telescope in space can detect and study celestial X-ray sources. The XMM-Newton mission is helping scientists to solve a number of cosmic mysteries, ranging from the enigmatic black holes to the origins of the Universe itself. Observing time on XMM-Newton is being made available to the scientific community, applying for observational periods on a competitive basis.
European Space Agency, Dr David Pooley, 2007, 'Probing the Galaxy Cluster Environments of the Mysterious Short Gamma-Ray Bursts', 17.56_20190403_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-t6lqtzv
