The scientists also determined that this burst of light was one of the most powerful short-duration gamma-ray bursts ever observed, producing one of the most luminous afterglows ever recorded. The findings were recently published inThe brightest and most energetic explosions in the universe, gamma-ray bursts , may produce more energy in a few seconds than our Sun will produce in its entire lifetime. GRB 211106A belongs to a GRB subclass called short-duration gamma-ray bursts.
A short-duration GRB usually lasts only a few tenths of a second. Scientists then look for an afterglow, an emission of light caused by the interaction of the jets with the surrounding gas. Even still, they’re difficult to detect; only half-a-dozen short-duration GRBs have been detected at radio wavelengths, and until now none had been detected in millimeter wavelengths.
“Afterglow light is essential for figuring out which galaxy a burst comes from and for learning more about the burst itself. Initially, when only the X-ray counterpart had been discovered, astronomers thought that this burst might be coming from a nearby galaxy,” said Laskar, adding that a significant amount of dust in the area also obscured the object from detection in optical observations with the Hubble Space Telescope.