GRB 160509A VLA monitoring campaign results

By combining our extensive radio observations of the Fermi-Large Area Telescope {gamma}-ray burst 160509A at z=1.17 up to 20 days after the burst with Swift X-ray observations and ground-based optical and near-infrared data, we show that the afterglow emission comprises distinct reverse shock and forward shock contributions: the reverse shock emission dominates in the radio band at <~10 days, while the forward shock emission dominates in the X-ray, optical, and near-infrared bands.

Through multi-wavelength modeling, we determine a circumburst density of n_0_~10^-3^cm^-3^, supporting our previous suggestion that a low-density circumburst environment is conducive to the production of long-lasting reverse shock radiation in the radio band. We infer the presence of a large excess X-ray absorption column, N_H_~1.5x10^22^cm^-2^, and a high rest-frame optical extinction, A_V_~3.4mag. We identify a jet break in the X-ray light curve at t_jet_~6days, and thus derive a jet opening angle of {theta}_jet_~4{deg}, yielding a beaming-corrected kinetic energy and radiated {gamma}-ray energy of E_K_~4x10^50^erg and E_{gamma}_~1.3x10^51^erg (1-10^4^keV, rest frame), respectively.