Dust Echoes from Gamma-Ray Bursts

The deviation from the power-law decline of the optical flux observed in GRB 970228 and GRB 980326 has been used recently to argue in favor of the connection between gamma-ray bursts and supernovae. We consider an alternative explanation for this phenomenon, based on the scattering of a prompt optical burst by 0.1 M☉ dust located beyond its sublimation radius 0.1-1 pc from the burst. In both cases, the optical energy observed at the time of the first detection of the afterglow suffices to produce an echo after ~20-30 days, as observed. Prompt optical monitoring of future bursts and multiband photometry of the afterglows will enable us to test simple models of dust reprocessing quantitatively and to predict source redshift.