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J. A. Kennea (Penn State University), Swift XRT Team
The Swift Gamma Ray Burst Explorer was launched on November 20th, 2004 and has since been in the process of commissioning and calibration. From mid January 2005, Swift has been detecting and promptly slewing to Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) detected by the Swift Burst Alert Telescope (BAT). The extremely fast response and slew time of Swift allows us to obtain observations of these burst afterglows in less than 100 seconds after the burst has been detected. We present results on several GRB X-ray afterglows with prompt follow-ups, utilizing data from the Swift X-ray Telescope (XRT). The XRT consists of a Wolter Type-I grazing incidence mirror focused on a single CCD chip similar to those used in the XMM-Newton MOS camera, with a field of view of 24 arcmin and sensitivity in the 0.2-10 keV energy range, which allows both prompt GRB localization, as well as X-ray spectroscopy and long term light-curve follow up. GRB afterglow light-curve and spectra at early times after of the GRB are presented, as well as results of long term monitoring of the afterglow light-curve.
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 37 #2
© 2005. The American Astronomical Soceity.