AAS 205th Meeting, 9-13 January 2005
Session 68 Observations of GRBs and Other Transients
Poster, Tuesday, January 11, 2005, 9:20am-6:30pm, Exhibit Hall

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[68.03] Optical light curve of the enigmatic X-ray flash XRF 020903

D. Bersier, A. S. Fruchter, J. E. Rhoads, L.-G. Strolger (STScI), A. Levan (Leicester), J. Gorosabel (STScI/IAA), I. Burud (STScI), J. Hjorth (Copenhagen), GOSH Collaboration

We have obtained optical BVRI and HST/ACS F606W data of the gamma-ray burst GRB 020903. As this X-ray flash appeared in a bright host galaxy, we have applied an image subtraction method to do the photometry. The light curve is characterized by a a very shallow decay until about 30 days, it then roughly follows a power law of index -2. There is also a strong color evolution between early (<1d) and late (>20d) times. We discuss the light curve and its evolution in the framework of various models for of X-ray flashes and evaluate the contribution of a supernova to the total light.

This work has been supported by NASA

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