_version_ 1866912910141292544
author Angulo-Valdez, Camila
Becerra, Rosa L.
Gill, Ramandeep
Globus, Noémie
Lee, William H.
López-Cámara, Diego
Mihalenko, Cassidy
Moreno-Méndez, Enrique
Ricci, Roberto
Siellez, Karelle
Watson, Alan M.
Yadav, Muskan
Yang, Yu-han
Akl, Dalya
Antier, Sarah
Atteia, Jean-Luc
Basa, Stéphane
Butler, Nathaniel R.
Dichiara, Simone
Dornic, Damien
Ducoin, Jean-Grégoire
Fortin, Francis
García-García, Leonardo
López, Kin Ocelotl
Magnani, Francesco
O'Connor, Brendan
Pereyra, Margarita
Rakotondrainibe, Ny Avo
Sánchez-Álvarez, Fredd
Schneider, Benjamin
Troja, Eleonora
Postigo, Antonio de Ugarte
author_facet Angulo-Valdez, Camila
Becerra, Rosa L.
Gill, Ramandeep
Globus, Noémie
Lee, William H.
López-Cámara, Diego
Mihalenko, Cassidy
Moreno-Méndez, Enrique
Ricci, Roberto
Siellez, Karelle
Watson, Alan M.
Yadav, Muskan
Yang, Yu-han
Akl, Dalya
Antier, Sarah
Atteia, Jean-Luc
Basa, Stéphane
Butler, Nathaniel R.
Dichiara, Simone
Dornic, Damien
Ducoin, Jean-Grégoire
Fortin, Francis
García-García, Leonardo
López, Kin Ocelotl
Magnani, Francesco
O'Connor, Brendan
Pereyra, Margarita
Rakotondrainibe, Ny Avo
Sánchez-Álvarez, Fredd
Schneider, Benjamin
Troja, Eleonora
Postigo, Antonio de Ugarte
contents We present the photometric and spectroscopic analysis of the short-duration GRB 250221A ($T_{90}=1.80\pm0.32$ s), using a data set from the optical facilities COLIBRÍ, the Harlingten 50~cm Telescope, and the Very Large Telescope. We complement these observations with data from the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory and the Einstein Probe, as well as radio observations from the Very Large Array. GRB 250221A is among the few short GRBs with direct afterglow spectroscopy, which gives a secure redshift determination of $z=0.768$ and allows the unambiguous identification of the host as a galaxy with a star-formation rate of $\sim3\,M_\odot\,{\rm yr}^{-1}$. The X-ray and optical light curves up to $T_0+3\times 10^4$ s (where $T_0$ refers to the GRB trigger time) are well described by forward-shock synchrotron emission in the slow-cooling regime within the standard fireball framework. However, at $T_0 \sim 5\times 10^4$ s, both the X-ray and optical bands exhibit an excess over the same interval, which we interpret as evidence of energy injection into a jet with a half-opening angle of $θ_j=11.5^{\circ}$ through a refreshed shock powered by late central engine activity or a radially stratified ejecta. The burst properties (duration, spectral hardness, peak energy, and location in the Amati plane) all favour a compact binary merger origin. However, our modelling of the afterglow suggests a dense circumburst medium ($n\sim80$ cm$^{-3}$), which is more typical of a collapsar environment.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2510_19132
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Evidence of Energy Injection in the Short and Distant GRB 250221A in a High Density Environment
Angulo-Valdez, Camila
Becerra, Rosa L.
Gill, Ramandeep
Globus, Noémie
Lee, William H.
López-Cámara, Diego
Mihalenko, Cassidy
Moreno-Méndez, Enrique
Ricci, Roberto
Siellez, Karelle
Watson, Alan M.
Yadav, Muskan
Yang, Yu-han
Akl, Dalya
Antier, Sarah
Atteia, Jean-Luc
Basa, Stéphane
Butler, Nathaniel R.
Dichiara, Simone
Dornic, Damien
Ducoin, Jean-Grégoire
Fortin, Francis
García-García, Leonardo
López, Kin Ocelotl
Magnani, Francesco
O'Connor, Brendan
Pereyra, Margarita
Rakotondrainibe, Ny Avo
Sánchez-Álvarez, Fredd
Schneider, Benjamin
Troja, Eleonora
Postigo, Antonio de Ugarte
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
We present the photometric and spectroscopic analysis of the short-duration GRB 250221A ($T_{90}=1.80\pm0.32$ s), using a data set from the optical facilities COLIBRÍ, the Harlingten 50~cm Telescope, and the Very Large Telescope. We complement these observations with data from the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory and the Einstein Probe, as well as radio observations from the Very Large Array. GRB 250221A is among the few short GRBs with direct afterglow spectroscopy, which gives a secure redshift determination of $z=0.768$ and allows the unambiguous identification of the host as a galaxy with a star-formation rate of $\sim3\,M_\odot\,{\rm yr}^{-1}$. The X-ray and optical light curves up to $T_0+3\times 10^4$ s (where $T_0$ refers to the GRB trigger time) are well described by forward-shock synchrotron emission in the slow-cooling regime within the standard fireball framework. However, at $T_0 \sim 5\times 10^4$ s, both the X-ray and optical bands exhibit an excess over the same interval, which we interpret as evidence of energy injection into a jet with a half-opening angle of $θ_j=11.5^{\circ}$ through a refreshed shock powered by late central engine activity or a radially stratified ejecta. The burst properties (duration, spectral hardness, peak energy, and location in the Amati plane) all favour a compact binary merger origin. However, our modelling of the afterglow suggests a dense circumburst medium ($n\sim80$ cm$^{-3}$), which is more typical of a collapsar environment.
title Evidence of Energy Injection in the Short and Distant GRB 250221A in a High Density Environment
topic High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.19132