Abstract
Long-duration (>2 s) γ 3-ray bursts that are believed to originate from the death of massive stars are expected to be accompanied by supernovae. GRB 060614, that lasted 102s, lacks a supernova-like emission down to very stringent limits and its physical origin is still debated. Here we report the discovery of near-infrared bump that is significantly above the regular decaying afterglow. This red bump is inconsistent with even the weakest known supernova. However, it can arise from a Li-Paczyski macronova-the radioactive decay of debris following a compact binary merger. If this interpretation is correct, GRB 060614 arose from a compact binary merger rather than from the death of a massive star and it was a site of a significant production of heavy r-process elements. The significant ejected mass favours a black hole-neutron star merger but a double neutron star merger cannot be ruled out.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 7323 |
Journal | Nature Communications |
Volume | 6 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 11 Jun 2015 |
Bibliographical note
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