If this were a scifi horror story, it would be that there was a high energy event so far away and so long ago that the protracted duration is due to red-shift. Those X-rays were actually unimaginably higher energy particles and the duration of the event was also brief but has gotten smeared over time by inflation.
mentions 3 three alternative interpretations for GRB 250702B:
1. Ultralong Collapsars: These stellar-engine models can explain long durations but struggle to account for the specific timing of this event. Specifically, they cannot easily produce a 12-hour gradual rise in X-rays followed by a multi-hour peak, as the jet would have to fight through a massive progenitor star while its power is still very low.
2. White Dwarf (WD) Tidal Disruptions: While an Intermediate Mass Black Hole (IMBH) disrupting a White Dwarf could theoretically provide the necessary gravity, the numbers do not add up for this specific burst. The timing between flares is too long for a WD scenario, and the total energy required would demand an unrealistically narrow jet. When physical constraints like detonation are factored in, this model is considered highly unlikely.
3. Micro-TDEs (Main Sequence star by a stellar-mass BH/NS): This is considered a competitive alternative that can explain the burst's sub-second variability and long duration. However, it faces two main issues: current afterglow data suggests the surrounding gas density matches an IMBH environment better than a micro-TDE environment, and the burst’s extreme energy would require very high jet efficiency or a very narrow beam.
https://watermark02.silverchair.com/stag328.pdf?token=AQECAH...
mentions 3 three alternative interpretations for GRB 250702B:
1. Ultralong Collapsars: These stellar-engine models can explain long durations but struggle to account for the specific timing of this event. Specifically, they cannot easily produce a 12-hour gradual rise in X-rays followed by a multi-hour peak, as the jet would have to fight through a massive progenitor star while its power is still very low.
2. White Dwarf (WD) Tidal Disruptions: While an Intermediate Mass Black Hole (IMBH) disrupting a White Dwarf could theoretically provide the necessary gravity, the numbers do not add up for this specific burst. The timing between flares is too long for a WD scenario, and the total energy required would demand an unrealistically narrow jet. When physical constraints like detonation are factored in, this model is considered highly unlikely.
3. Micro-TDEs (Main Sequence star by a stellar-mass BH/NS): This is considered a competitive alternative that can explain the burst's sub-second variability and long duration. However, it faces two main issues: current afterglow data suggests the surrounding gas density matches an IMBH environment better than a micro-TDE environment, and the burst’s extreme energy would require very high jet efficiency or a very narrow beam.
(just kidding - probably a black hole)
[1] https://www.nature.com/nature-index/news/its-the-microwave-h...
Gamma ray burst that kept going for seven hours, fired three distinct bursts spread across an entire day: July 2 2025
just saying