Letter to the Editor

Gamma-ray burst afterglows: luminosity clustering at infrared wavelengths?

¹ Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille/CNRS/Université de Provence, Technopole de l'Etoile, 38 rue Frederic Joliot-Curie, 13388 Marseille Cedex 13, France e-mail: bruce.gendre@oamp.fr
² Observatoire de Haute Provence/CNRS, 04870 St. Michel l'Observatoire, France

Received: 7 August 2008
Accepted: 14 October 2008

Abstract

Context. Clustering in the luminosity of the afterglows of gamma-ray burst has been reported in the optical and X-ray.

Aims. We investigate the possibility that a clustering in the luminosity of the afterglows of gamma-ray burst exists in the near infrared (J, H, K bands). We use observations of events from 1997 to the end of 2007.

Methods. We correct the gamma-ray burst afterglow light curve for distance effects and time dilation, and rescale all light curves to a common distance of . We used only observations of signals emitted in the near infrared (in the burst frame).

Results. We observe a clustering identical to the one observed in the optical and similar to the one observed in X-rays. We thus confirm previous work made in optical wavelengths and set a constraint on the total energy of the fireball.