An online repository of Swift/XRT light curves of -ray bursts

¹ Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, Leicester, LE1 7RH, UK e-mail: pae9@star.le.ac.uk
² Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 525 Davey Lab., Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
³ ASI Science Data Center, ASDC c/o ESRIN, via G. Galilei, 00044 Frascati, Italy
⁴ NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
⁵ INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera, via E. Bianchi 46, 23807 Merate (LC), Italy
⁶ Università degli Studi di Milano, Bicocca, Piazza delle Scienze 3, 20126 Milano, Italy

Received: 23 March 2007
Accepted: 18 April 2007

Abstract

Context.Swift data are revolutionising our understanding of Gamma Ray Bursts. Since bursts fade rapidly, it is desirable to create and disseminate accurate light curves rapidly.

Aims.To provide the community with an online repository of X-ray light curves obtained with Swift. The light curves should be of the quality expected of published data, but automatically created and updated so as to be self-consistent and rapidly available.

Methods.We have produced a suite of programs which automatically generates Swift/XRT light curves of GRBs. Effects of the damage to the CCD, automatic readout-mode switching and pile-up are appropriately handled, and the data are binned with variable bin durations, as necessary for a fading source.

Results.The light curve repository website (http://www.swift.ac.uk/xrt_curves) contains light curves, hardness ratios and deep images for every GRB which Swift's XRT has observed. When new GRBs are detected, light curves are created and updated within minutes of the data arriving at the UK Swift Science Data Centre.