The radio afterglow of the ultra-long GRB 220627A

TL;DR

This paper reports the discovery and detailed radio afterglow analysis of the most distant ultra-long gamma-ray burst, GRB 220627A, exploring its spectral and temporal properties and testing the lensing hypothesis with VLBI observations.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed radio afterglow observations of an ultra-long GRB at high redshift and evaluates multiple models explaining its radio decay and structure.

Findings

Radio afterglow observed from 7 to 456 days post-burst.

Spectral analysis disfavors gravitational lensing as the cause of the double-pulse profile.

VLBI observations found no evidence of multiple images, challenging the lensing hypothesis.

Abstract

We present the discovery of the radio afterglow of the most distant ultra-long gamma-ray burst (GRB) detected to date, GRB~220627A at redshift $z=3.084$. Its prompt gamma-ray light curve shows a double-pulse profile, with the pulses separated by a period of quiescence lasting ${\sim} 15$\,min, leading to early speculation it could be a strongly gravitationally lensed GRB. However, our analysis of the \textit{Fermi}/GBM spectra taken during the time intervals of both pulses show clear differences in their spectral energy distributions, disfavouring the lensing scenario. We observed the radio afterglow from 7 to 456\,d post-burst: an initial, steep decay ($F_{\nu} \propto t^{-2}$) is followed by a shallower decline ($F_{\nu} \propto t^{-1/2}$) after ${\sim} 20$\,d. There are three scenarios that could explain these radio properties: (i) energy injection from an additional, slower ejecta component catching up to the external shock; (ii) a stratified density profile going as $n \propto r^{-8/3}$; or alternatively, (iii) the presence of a slow, wide ejecta component in addition to a fast, narrow ejecta component. We also conducted an independent test of the lensing hypothesis via Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) observations at ${\sim} 12$\,d post-burst by searching, for the first time, for multiple images of the candidate lensed GRB afterglow. Our experiment highlighted the growing need for developments in real-time correlation capabilities for time-critical VLBI experiments, particularly as we advance towards the SKA and ngVLA era of radio astronomy.