Improved Limits on Gammy-Ray Burst Repetition from BATSE

Authors

Max Tagmark, Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik, GiessenbachstraßeFollow
Dieter H. Hartmann, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Clemson UniversityFollow
Michael S. Briggs, Department of Physics, University of AlabamaFollow
Jon Hakkila, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Mankato State UniversityFollow
Charles A. Meegan, NASA/ Marshall Space Flight Center - Huntsville, ALFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1996

Publication Title

The Astrophysical Journal

Publisher

The American Astronomical Society

Abstract

We tighten previous upper limits on gamma-ray burst repetition by analyzing the angular power spectrum of the BATSE 3B catalog of 1122 bursts. At 95% confidence, we find that no more that 2% of all observed bursts can be labeled as repeaters, even if no sources are observed to repeat more than once. If a fraction f of all observed bursts can be labeled as repeaters that are observed to bursts v times each, then all models ( v - 1) f >~ 0.05 are rules out as 99% confidence, as compares to the best previous 99% limit (v - 1) f >~ 0.27. At 95% conficenc, our new limit is (v - 1) f >~ 0.02. Thus, even a cluster of six events from a single source would have caused excess power above that present in the 3B catalog. We conclude that the current BATSE data are consistent with no repetition of classical gamma-ray burts and that any repeater model is severely constrained by the near-perfect isotropy of their angular distribution.

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