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D. N. Burrows (Penn State), Swift XRT Team
By Jan 2006, Swift will have discovered ~100 GRBs and will have produced detailed X-ray light curves and spectroscopy on over ~85 of these, exceeding the total sample of GRB afterglows found in the previous 8 years. Key findings to date include rapid X-ray decays at early times and giant X-ray flares, suggesting that the central engines of GRBs continue long past the end of the prompt gamma-ray emission. We have also localized several short GRBs, providing important supporting evidence for compact merger theories for short bursts, and have found the highest redshift GRB on record. I will focus on highlights of the afterglow results from the Swift X-ray Telescope, concentrating on the previously unexplored first few hours.
This work has been funded by NASA, PPARC (in the UK), and ASI (in Italy).
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 37 #4
© 2005. The American Astronomical Soceity.