Candidate detection of GRB221009A by Yangbajing muon telescope

Abstract

Long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) can be generated by the collapse of a rapidly rotating massive star into a black hole and are the brightest known explosive events in the Universe. GRB221009A is the most energetic gamma-ray burst ever recorded, providing delayed detection of very high energy photons that challenge the standard propagation mechanisms, possibly suggesting exotic physics phenomena. An excess, synchronous with the ignition of GRB221009A, is detected in the rate of the Yangbajing muon telescope. A preliminary assessment of the significance of this excess limits the probability of a chance coincidence to less than 10⁻³. The hypothetical mechanisms for producing a muon excess induced by the GRB are exotic/puzzling. If confirmed by further investigations, this excess would add another feature to the many anomalies observed in this extreme astrophysical event.