Engineering topics

Briggs, Michael S.

Publications and source records attributed to Briggs, Michael S..

At least 55 records · Page 3

NASA NTRS1998

The Structure of Evolution LOCBURST: The BATSE Burst Location Algorithm

The gamma-ray bursts (GRB) location algorithm used to produce the BATSE GRB locations is described. The general flow of control of the current location algorithm is presented and the significant properties of the various physical inputs required are identified. The development of the burst location algorithm during the releases of the BATSE 1B, 2B, and 3B gamma-ray burst catalogs is presented so that the reasons for the differences in the positions and error estimates between the catalogs can be understood. In particular, differences between the 2B and 3B locations are discussed for events that have moved significantly and the reasons for the changes explained. The locations of bursts located independently by the interplanetary network are used to illustrate the effect on burst location accuracy of various components of the algorithm. IPN data as well as locations from other gamma-ray instruments are used to calculate estimates of the systematic errors on BATSE burst locations.

Pendleton, Geoffrey N.↗

NASA NTRS1998

Generic Signatures of the Time Profiles of Cosmic Gamma-Ray Bursts

A new method is proposed which allows the study of the most generic signatures of the time histories of cosmic gamma-ray bursts. We average, with 64 ms time resolution, the time profiles of 275 bright bursts detected by BATSE. The profile of each burst is normalized by the maximum number of counts Cmax at the peak of the primary pulse, and individual pulses and interpulse valleys are selected from the normalized profiles by an identical selection criteria. New temporal parameters are introduced which characterize the duration and equivalent width of each pulse and the duration of each valley.

Mitrofanov, Igor G.↗

NASA NTRS1998

Average Cosmological Invariant Parameters of Cosmic Gamma Ray Bursts

Average cosmological invariant parameters (ACIPs) are calculated for six groups of BATSE cosmic gamma-ray bursts selected by their peak fluxes on the 1.024s timescale. The ACIPs represent the average temporal and spectral properties of these events equally in the observer frame of reference and in the co-moving frames of outbursting emitters. The parameters are determined separately for rise fronts and for back slopes of bursts, defined as the time profiles before and after the main peaks, respectively. The ACIPs for the rise fronts are found to be different for different intensity groups, while the ACIPs for the back slopes show no significant dependence on intensity. We conclude that emitters of bursts manifest standard average properties only during the back slopes of bursts.

Mitrofanov, Igor G.↗

NASA NTRS1996

The Third BATSE Gamma-Ray Burst Catalog

The Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO) has triggered on 1122 cosmic gamma-ray bursts between 1991 April 19 and 1994 September 19. These events constitute the Third BATSE (3B) burst catalog. This catalog includes the events previously reported in the 2B catalog, which covered the time interval 1991 April 19 to 1993 March 9. We present tables of the burst occurrence times, locations, peak fluxes, fluences, and durations. In general, results from previous BATSE catalogs are confirmed here with greater statistical significance. The angular distribution is consistent with isotropy. The mean galactic dipole and quadrupole moments are within 0.6 a and 0.3 a, respectively, of the values expected for isotropy. The intensity distribution is not consistent with a homogeneous distribution of burst sources, with V/V(sub max) = 0.33 +/- 0.01. The duration distribution (T(sub 90)) exhibits bimodality, with peaks at approx. 0.5 and approx. 30 s. There is no compelling evidence for burst repetition, but only weak limits can be placed on the repetition rate.

Meegan, Charles A.↗

NASA NTRS1996

The Angular Power Spectrum of BATSE 3B Gamma-Ray Bursts

We compute the angular power spectrum C(sub l) from the BATSE 3B catalog of 1122 gamma-ray bursts and find no evidence for clustering on any scale. These constraints bridge the entire range from small scales (which probe source clustering and burst repetition) to the largest scales (which constrain possible anisotropics from the Galactic halo or from nearby cosmological large-scale structures). We develop an analysis technique that takes the angular position errors into account. For specific clustering or repetition models, strong upper limits can be obtained down to scales l approx. equal to 30, corresponding to a couple of degrees on the sky. The minimum-variance burst weighting that we employ is visualized graphically as an all-sky map in which each burst is smeared out by an amount corresponding to its position uncertainty. We also present separate bandpass-filtered sky maps for the quadrupole term and for the multipole ranges l = 3-10 and l = 11-30, so that the fluctuations on different angular scales can be inspected separately for visual features such as localized 'hot spots' or structures aligned with the Galactic plane. These filtered maps reveal no apparent deviations from isotropy.

Tegmark, Max↗

NASA NTRS1996

Improved Limits on Gamma-Ray Burst Repetition from BATSE

We tighten previous upper limits on gamma-ray burst repetition by analyzing the angular power spectrum of the BATSE 3B catalog of 1122 bursts. At 95% confidence, we find that no more than 2% of all observed bursts can be labeled as repeaters, even if no sources are observed to repeat more than once. If a fraction f of all observed bursts can be labeled as repeaters that are observed to burst upsilon times each, then all models with (upsilon - 1)f greater than or equal to 0.05 are ruled out at 99% confidence, as compared to the best previous 99% limit (upsilon - 1)f greater than or equal to 0.27. At 95% confidence, our new limit is (upsilon - 1)f greater than or equal to 0.02. Thus, even a cluster of six events from a single source would have caused excess power above that present in the 3B catalog. We conclude that the current BATSE data are consistent with no repetition of classical gamma-ray bursts and that any repeater model is severely constrained by the near-perfect isotropy of their angular distribution.

Tegmark, Max↗

NASA NTRS1996

Improved Limits on Gamma-Ray Burst Repetition from BATSE

We tighten previous upper limits on gamma-ray burst repetition by analyzing the angular power spectrum of the BATSE 3B catalog of 1122 bursts. At 95% confidence, we find that no more than 2% of all observed bursts can be labeled as repeaters, even if no sources are observed to repeat more than once. If a fraction f of all observed bursts can be labeled as repeaters that are observed to burst nu times each, then all models with (nu - 1)f greater than or equal to 0.05 are ruled out at 99% confidence, as compared to the best previous 99% limit (nu - 1)f greater than or equal to 0.27. At 95% confidence, our new limit is (nu - 1)f greater than or equal to 0.02. Thus, even a cluster of six events from a single source would have caused excess power above that present in the 3B catalog. We conclude that the current BATSE data are consistent with no repetition of classical gamma-ray bursts and that any repeater model is severely constrained by the near-perfect isotropy of their angular dis- tribution.

Tegmark, Max↗

NASA NTRS1996

The Intensity Distribution for Gamma-Ray Bursts Observed with BATSE

The intensity distributions of gamma-ray bursts observed by BATSE from 19 April 1991 to 19 September 1994 are presented. For this data set, (V/V(sub max)) is 0.329 +/- 0.011, which is 15.5 sigma away from the value of 0.5 expected for a homogeneous distribution. Standard cosmological model parameters are obtained by fitting the differentially binned peak flux distribution expressed in units of photons cm(exp -2) s(exp -1) in the energy range 50-300 keV. The value of z calculated for a peak flux of 1 photon cm(exp -2) s(exp -1) is 0.8 +/- 0.33. The procedures used to produce the peak flux data and C(sub p)/C(sub lim) data are presented. The differences between the two representations of burst intensity are emphasized so that researchers can determine which type of data is most appropriate for their studies. The sky sensitivity correction as a function of intensity for the peak flux data is also described.

Pendleton, Geoffrey N.↗

NASA NTRS1996

The Average Intensity and Spectral Evolution of Batse Cosmic Gamma-Ray Bursts

Statistical studies of BATSE gamma-ray bursts are presented: we average the time profiles, aligning the events at their highest peaks. Using the time histories in different energy channels, we summarize the general features of the average intensity and spectral evolution of gamma-ray bursts (GRBS) and compare the average evolution of bright and dim events. While no differences are found between the average intensity histories, the average hardness ratio histories demonstrate a hardness/brightness correlation. The observed lack of differences between the intensity histories of bright and dim bursts is incompatible with cosmological time dilation effects predicted by simple cosmological models. The combined results of no intensity history difference but a hardness history difference between bright and dim bursts places constraints on galactic models for the origin of GRBS.

Mitrofanov, Igor G.↗

NASA NTRS1996

BATSE Observations of the Large-Scale Isotropy of Gamma-Ray Bursts

We use dipole and quadrupole statistics to test the large-scale isotropy of the first 1005 gamma-ray bursts observed by the Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE). In addition to the entire sample of 1005 gamma-ray bursts, many subsets are examined. We use a variety of dipole and quadrupole statistics to search for Galactic and other predicted anisotropies and for anisotropies in a coordinate-system independent manner. We find the gamma-ray burst locations to be consistent with isotropy, e.g., for the total sample the observed Galactic dipole moment (cos theta) differs from the value predicted for isotropy by 0.9 sigma and the observed Galactic quadrupole moment (sin(exp 2) b - 1/3) by 0.3 sigma. We estimate for various models the anisotropies that could have been detected. If one-half of the locations were within 86 deg of the Galactic center, or within 28 deg of the Galactic plane, the ensuing dipole or quadrupole moment would have typically been detected at the 99% confidence level. We compare the observations with the dipole and quadrupole moments of various Galactic models. Several Galactic gamma-ray bursts models have moments within 2 sigma of the observations; most of the Galactic models proposed to date are no longer in acceptable agreement with the data. Although a spherical dark matter halo distribution could be consistent with the data, the required core radius is larger than the core radius of the dark matter halo used to explain the Galaxy's rotation curve. Gamma-ray bursts are much more isotropic than any observed Galactic population, strongly favoring but not requiring an origin at cosmological distances.

Briggs, Michael S.↗

NASA NTRS1995

Gamma-Ray Burst Precursor Activity as Observed with BATSE

Gamma-ray burst time histories often consist of multiple episodes of emission with the count rate dropping to the background level between adjacent episodes. We define precursor activity as any case in which the first episode (referred to as the precursor episode) has a lower peak intensity than that of the remaining emission (referred to as the main episode) and is separated from the remaining burst emission by a background interval that is at least as long as the remaining emission. We find that approx. 3% of the bursts observed with the Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) on Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO) satisfy this definition. We present the results of a study of the properties of these events. The spatial distribution of these sources is consistent with that of the larger set of all BATSE gamma-ray bursts: inhomogeneous and isotropic. A correlation between the duration of the precursor emission and the duration of the main episode emission is observed at about the 3 sigma confidence level. We find no meaningful significant correlations between or among any of the other characteristics of the precursor or main episode emission. It appears that the characteristics of the main episode emission are independent of the existence of the precursor emission.

Koshut, Thomas M.↗

NASA NTRS1995

Do gamma-ray burst sources repeat?

The demonstration of repeated gamma-ray bursts from an individual source would severely constrain burst source models. Recent reports (Quashnock and Lamb, 1993; Wang and Lingenfelter, 1993) of evidence for repetition in the first BATSE burst catalog have generated renewed interest in this issue. Here, we analyze the angular distribution of 585 bursts of the second BATSE catalog (Meegan et al., 1994). We search for evidence of burst recurrence using the nearest and farthest neighbor statistic and the two-point angular correlation function. We find the data to be consistent with the hypothesis that burst sources do not repeat; however, a repeater fraction of up to about 20% of the observed bursts cannot be excluded.

Meegan, Charles A.↗

NASA NTRS1995

Time-dependent clustering analysis of the second BATSE gamma-ray burst catalog

A time-dependent two-point correlation-function analysis of the Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) 2B catalog finds no evidence of burst repetition. As part of this analysis, we discuss the effects of sky exposure on the observability of burst repetition and present the equation describing the signature of burst repetition in the data. For a model of all burst repetition from a source occurring in less than five days we derive upper limits on the number of bursts in the catalog from repeaters and model-dependent upper limits on the fraction of burst sources that produce multiple outbursts.

Brainerd, J. J.↗

NASA NTRS1994

BATSE gamma-ray burst line search. 1: Search for narrow lines in spectroscopy detector data

Analysis of data from the Spectroscopy Detectors (SDs) of the Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (GRO) has found no convincing line features in the spectra of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) in almost 3 years of operation, in contrast to expectations based on results from other experiments. In this Letter we discuss the visual search for narrow lines in the SD data. The search has examined 192 bursts, of which approximately 18 were intense enough that lines similar to those seen by instruments on the Ginga satellite would have been visible between approximately 20 and approximately 100 keV. A simplified calculation shows that the BATSE and Ginga results are consistent at the 13% level.

Palmer, David M.↗

NASA NTRS1994

The continuum spectral characteristics of gamma-ray bursts observed by BATSE

Distributions of the continuum spectral characteristics of 260 bursts in the first Burst And Transient Source Experiement (BATSE) catalog are presented. The data are derived from flux calculated from BATSE Large Area Detector (LAD) four-channel discriminator data. The data are converted from counts to protons using a direct spectral inversion technique to remove the effects of atmospheric scattering and the energy dependence of the detector angular response. Although there are intriguing clusters of bursts in the spectral hardness ratio distributions, no evidence for the presence of distinct burst classes based in spectral hardness ratios alone is found. All subsets of bursts selected for their spectral characteristics in this analysis exhibit spatial distributions consistent with isotropy. The spectral diversity of the burst population appears to be caused largely by the highly variable nature of the burst production mechanisms themselves.

Pendleton, Geoffrey N.↗

NASA NTRS1994

The first BATSE gamma-ray burst catalog

The Burst and Transient Source Experiment on the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory detected 260 cosmic gamma-ray bursts during the period 19 Apr 1991 to 5 Mar 1992. This paper presents the occurrence times, locations, peak count rates, peak fluxes, fluences, durations, and plots of time histories for these bursts. The angular distribution is consistent with isotropy. The intensity distribution shows a deficit in the number of weak bursts, which is not consistent with a homogeneous distribution of burst sources in Euclidean space. The duration distribution shows evidence for a separate class of bursts with durations less than about 2 seconds.

Fishman, Gerald J.↗

NASA NTRS1994

BATSE observations of the very intense gamma-ray burst GRB 930131

Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) observed its most intense gamma-ray burst on 1993 January 31. The event reached count rates is approximately greater than 2 x 10(exp 6) counts/s with most of the flux emitted in an extremely short (is approximately less than 0.1 s) interval followed by a long tail, lasting about 50 s. Most of this initial pulse was recorded by our instrument with unique, very high temporal resolution (1 ms). We were thus able to show large changes in spectral hardness on 2 ms timescales throughout this initial complex. Photons as low as 25 keV and extending up to greater than 4 MeV in energy were recorded by BATSE during this first interval. The burst spectrum is best fitted by a broken power law with a break energy of 170 +/- 27 keV. The low-energy spectral index is -1.30 +/- 0.05, while a softer spectral index of -1.9 fits the spectrum between 170 keV and 2 MeV. Our data provide the only low-energy spectrum for this event; the combination of our spectrum with the one reported for GRB 930131 by the Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) group extends the total energy spectrum of a GRB for the first time over five decades, up to the GeV range.

Kouveliotou, Chryssa↗

NASA NTRS1994

The continuum spectral characteristics of gamma ray bursts observed by BATSE

Distributions of the continuum spectral characteristics of 260 bursts in the first Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) catalog are presented. The data are derived from flux ratios calculated from the BATSE Large Area Detector (LAD) four channel discriminator data. The data are converted from counts to photons using a direct spectral inversion technique to remove the effects of atmospheric scattering and the energy dependence of the detector angular response. Although there are intriguing clusterings of bursts in the spectral hardness ratio distributions, no evidence for the presence of distinct burst classes based on spectral hardness ratios alone is found. All subsets of bursts selected for their spectral characteristics in this analysis exhibit spatial distributions consistent with isotropy. The spectral diversity of the burst population appears to be caused largely by the highly variable nature of the burst production mechanisms themselves.

Pendleton, Geoffrey N.↗