Journal
NATURE
Volume 462, Issue 7274, Pages 767-769Publisher
NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
DOI: 10.1038/nature08590
Keywords
-
Categories
Funding
- UK Science and Technology Facilities Council
- Royal Society and Research Councils UK
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council [GR/T27969/01] Funding Source: researchfish
- Science and Technology Facilities Council [PP/E001149/1, ST/G009465/1] Funding Source: researchfish
- STFC [ST/G009465/1, PP/E001149/1] Funding Source: UKRI
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The nature of the jets and the role of magnetic fields in gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) remains unclear(1,2). In a baryon-dominated jet only weak, tangled fields generated in situ through shocks would be present(3). In an alternative model, jets are threaded with large-scale magnetic fields that originate at the central engine and that accelerate and collimate the material(4). To distinguish between the models the degree of polarization in early-time emission must be measured; however, previous claims of gamma-ray polarization have been controversial(5-8). Here we report that the early optical emission from GRB 090102 was polarized at 10 +/- 1 per cent, indicating the presence of large-scale fields originating in the expanding fireball. If the degree of polarization and its position angle were variable on timescales shorter than our 60-second exposure, then the peak polarization may have been larger than ten per cent.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available