Optical Observations of Gamma-Ray Bursts, the Discovery of Supernovae 2005bv, 2005ee, and 2006ak, and Searches for Transients Using the "MASTER" Robotic Telescope

TL;DR

This paper reports on optical observations of gamma-ray bursts and supernovae using the MASTER robotic telescope, including early detections, spectrum analysis, and the development of new transient search methods, expanding understanding of cosmic transient phenomena.

Contribution

It introduces new observational data, discovers three supernovae, and proposes a novel method for detecting optical transients associated with gamma-ray bursts.

Findings

Brightness-variation law for GRB 050824 established

Optical flare observed in GRB 060926 with X-ray correlation

Discovered three new supernovae, including the first on Russian territory

Abstract

We present the results of observations obtained using the MASTER robotic telescope in 2005 - 2006, including the earliest observations of the optical emission of the gamma-ray bursts GRB 050824 and GRB 060926. Together with later observations, these data yield the brightness-variation law t^{-0.55+-0.05} for GRB 050824. An optical flare was detected in GRB 060926 - a brightness enhancement that repeated the behavior observed in the X-ray variations. The spectrum of GRB 060926 is found to be F_E ~ E^-\beta, where \beta = 1.0+-0.2. Limits on the optical brightnesses of 26 gamma-ray bursts have been derived, 9 of these for the first time. Data for more than 90% of the accessible sky down to $19^m$ were taken and reduced in real time during the survey. A database has been composed based on these data. Limits have been placed on the rate of optical flares that are not associated with detected gamma-ray bursts, and on the opening angle for the beams of gamma-ray bursts. Three new supernovae have been discovered: SN 2005bv (type Ia) - the first to be discovered on Russian territory, SN 2005ee - one of the most powerful type II supernovae known, and SN 2006ak (type Ia). We have obtained an image of SN 2006X during the growth stage and a light curve that fully describes the brightness maximum and exponential decay. A new method for searching for optical transients of gamma-ray bursts detected using triangulation from various spacecraft is proposed and tested.