scholarly journals Intermittent hydrodynamic jets in collapsars do not produce GRBs

2020 ◽  
Vol 495 (1) ◽  
pp. 570-577 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ore Gottlieb ◽  
Amir Levinson ◽  
Ehud Nakar

ABSTRACT Strong variability is a common characteristic of the prompt emission of gamma-ray bursts (GRB). This observed variability is widely attributed to an intermittency of the central engine, through formation of strong internal shocks in the GRB-emitting jet expelled by the engine. In this paper, we study numerically the propagation of hydrodynamic jets, injected periodically by a variable engine, through the envelope of a collapsed star. By post-processing the output of 3D numerical simulations, we compute the net radiative efficiency of the outflow. We find that all intermittent jets are subject to heavy baryon contamination that inhibits the emission at and above the photosphere well below detection limits. This is in contrast to continuous jets that, as shown recently, produce a highly variable gamma-ray photospheric emission with high efficiency, owing to the interaction of the jet with the stellar envelope. Our results challenge the variable engine model for hydrodynamic jets, and may impose constraints on the duty cycle of GRB engines. If such systems exist in nature, they are not expected to produce bright gamma-ray emission, but should appear as X-ray, optical, and radio transients that resemble a delayed GRB afterglow signal.

2020 ◽  
Vol 499 (4) ◽  
pp. 5986-5992
Author(s):  
Nikhil Sarin ◽  
Paul D Lasky ◽  
Gregory Ashton

ABSTRACT The spin-down energy of millisecond magnetars has been invoked to explain X-ray afterglow observations of a significant fraction of short and long gamma-ray bursts. Here, we extend models previously introduced in the literature, incorporating radiative losses with the spin-down of a magnetar central engine through an arbitrary braking index. Combining this with a model for the tail of the prompt emission, we show that our model can better explain the data than millisecond-magnetar models without radiative losses or those that invoke spin-down solely through vacuum dipole radiation. We find that our model predicts a subset of X-ray flares seen in some gamma-ray bursts. We can further explain the diversity of X-ray plateaus by altering the radiative efficiency and measure the braking index of newly born millisecond magnetars. We measure the braking index of GRB061121 as $n=4.85^{+0.11}_{-0.15}$ suggesting the millisecond-magnetar born in this gamma-ray burst spins down predominantly through gravitational-wave emission.


2008 ◽  
Vol 17 (09) ◽  
pp. 1343-1349 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. D. VERGANI ◽  
D. MALESANI ◽  
E. MOLINARI

We present observations of the early afterglow emission of GRB 060418. Thanks to the simultaneous coverage at optical, X-ray and gamma-ray wavelengths, we can detect and separate the external shock emission (visible in the optical and late X-ray data) and the central engine activity (early X and gamma rays). The two components are clearly distinguished based on temporal and spectral properties. The detection of the afterglow onset (in the optical) allows the determination of the fundamental fireball properties, namely its bulk Lorentz factor and total energy. The early time X-ray flare closely resembles the prompt emission gamma-ray pulses in its temporal profile, being wider at low energies and showing lags between the hard and soft bands. This provides a strong suggestion that X-ray flares are a continuation of the prompt emission.


2022 ◽  
Vol 924 (2) ◽  
pp. 69
Author(s):  
Shuang-Xi Yi ◽  
Mei Du ◽  
Tong Liu

Abstract Distinct X-ray plateau and flare phases have been observed in the afterglows of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), and most of them should be related to central engine activities. In this paper, we collect 174 GRBs with X-ray plateau phases and 106 GRBs with X-ray flares. There are 51 GRBs that overlap in the two selected samples. We analyze the distributions of the proportions of the plateau energy E plateau and the flare energy E flare relative to the isotropic prompt emission energy E γ,iso. The results indicate that they well meet the Gaussian distributions and the medians of the logarithmic ratios are ∼−0.96 and −1.39 in the two cases. Moreover, strong positive correlations between E plateau (or E flare ) and E γ,iso with slopes of ∼0.95 (or ∼0.80) are presented. For the overlapping sample, the slope is ∼0.80. We argue that most of X-ray plateaus and flares might have the same physical origin but appear with different features because of the different circumstances and radiation mechanisms. We also test the applicabilities of two models, i.e., black holes surrounded by fractured hyperaccretion disks and millisecond magnetars, on the origins of X-ray plateaus and flares.


2009 ◽  
Vol 2009 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachid Ouyed ◽  
Denis Leahy ◽  
Jan Staff ◽  
Brian Niebergal

If a quark-nova occurs inside a collapsar, the interaction between the quark-nova ejecta (relativistic iron-rich chunks) and the collapsar envelope leads to features indicative of those observed in Gamma Ray Bursts. The quark-nova ejecta collides with the stellar envelope creating an outward moving cap (Γ∼1–10) above the polar funnel. Prompt gamma-ray burst emission from internal shocks in relativistic jets (following accretion onto the quark star) becomes visible after the cap becomes optically thin. Model features include (i) precursor activity (optical, X-ray,γ-ray), (ii) promptγ-ray emission, and (iii) afterglow emission. We discuss SN-less long duration GRBs, short hard GRBs (including association and nonassociation with star forming regions), dark GRBs, the energetic X-ray flares detected in Swift GRBs, and the near-simultaneous optical andγ-ray prompt emission observed in GRBs in the context of our model.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liang Li ◽  
Yu Wang ◽  
Felix Ryde ◽  
Asaf Pe'er ◽  
Bing Zhang ◽  
...  

Abstract Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are the most powerful explosions in the universe. The composition of the jets is, however, subject to debate\cite{Peer2015,Zhang2018}. Whereas the traditional model invokes a relativistic matter-dominated fireball with a bright photosphere emission component\cite{Meszaros2000}, the lack of the detection of such a component in some GRBs\cite{Abdo2009} has led to the conclusion that GRB jets may be Poynting-flux-dominated\cite{Zhang2009}. Furthermore, how efficiently the jet converts its energy to radiation is poorly constrained. A definitive diagnosis of the GRB jet composition and measurement of GRB radiative efficiency requires high-quality prompt emission and afterglow data, which has not been possible with the sparse observations in the past. Here we report a comprehensive temporal and spectral analysis of the TeV-emitting bright GRB 190114C. Its fluence is one of the highest of all GRBs detected so far, which allows us to perform a high-significance study on the prompt emission spectral properties and their variations down to a very short timescale of about 0.1 s. We identify a clear thermal component during the first two prompt emission episodes, which is fully consistent with the prediction of the fireball photosphere model. The third episode of the prompt emission is consistent with synchrotron radiation from the deceleration of the fireball. This allows us to directly dissect the fireball energy budget in a parameter-independent manner\cite{Zhang2021} and robustly measure a nearly $30\%$ radiative efficiency for this GRB. The afterglow microphysics parameters can be also well constrained from the data. GRB 190114C, therefore, exhibits the evolution of a textbook-version relativistic fireball, suggesting that fireballs can indeed power at least some GRBs with high efficiency.


2018 ◽  
Vol 615 ◽  
pp. A80
Author(s):  
A. Pescalli ◽  
M. Ronchi ◽  
G. Ghirlanda ◽  
G. Ghisellini

The prompt emission of gamma-ray bursts extends from the early pulses observed in γ-rays (>15 keV) to very late flares of X-ray photons (0.3–10 keV). The duration of prompt γ-ray pulses is rather constant, while the width of X-ray flares correlates with their peak time, suggesting a possibly different origin. However, pulses and flares have similar spectral properties. Considering internal and external shock scenarios, we derive how the energy and duration of pulses scale with their time of occurrence, and we compare this with observations. The absence of an observed correlation between the prompt emission pulse duration and its time of occurrence favours an “internal” origin and confirms earlier results. We show that the energetic and temporal properties of X-ray flares are also consistent with being produced by internal shocks between slow fireballs with a small contrast between their bulk Lorentz factors. These results relax the requirement of a long-lasting central engine to explain the latest X-ray flares.


Author(s):  
D.N Burrows ◽  
A Falcone ◽  
G Chincarini ◽  
D Morris ◽  
P Romano ◽  
...  

The Swift X-ray Telescope (XRT) has discovered that flares are quite common in early X-ray afterglows of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), being observed in roughly 50% of afterglows with prompt follow-up observations. The flares range in fluence from a few per cent to approximately 100% of the fluence of the prompt emission (the GRB). Repetitive flares are seen, with more than four successive flares detected by the XRT in some afterglows. The rise and fall times of the flares are typically considerably smaller than the time since the burst. These characteristics suggest that the flares are related to the prompt emission mechanism, but at lower photon energies. We conclude that the most likely cause of these flares is late-time activity of the GRB central engine.


2019 ◽  
Vol 488 (1) ◽  
pp. 1416-1426 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ore Gottlieb ◽  
Amir Levinson ◽  
Ehud Nakar

ABSTRACT The primary dissipation mechanism in jets of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), and the high efficiency of the prompt emission are long-standing issues. One possibility is strong collimation of a weakly magnetized relativistic jet by the surrounding medium, which can considerably enhance the efficiency of the photospheric emission. We derive a simple analytic criterion for the radiative efficiency of a collimated jet showing that it depends most strongly on the baryon loading. We confirm this analytic result by 3D numerical simulations, and further find that mixing of jet and cocoon material at the collimation throat leads to a substantial stratification of the outflow as well as sporadic loading, even if the injected jet is uniform and continuous. One consequence of this mixing is a strong angular dependence of the radiative efficiency. Another is large differences in the Lorentz factor of different fluid elements that lead to formation of internal shocks. Our analysis indicates that in both long and short GRBs a prominent photospheric component cannot be avoided when observed within an angle of a few degrees to the axis, unless the asymptotic Lorentz factor is limited by baryon loading at the jet base to Γ∞ < 100 (with a weak dependence on outflow power). Photon generation by newly created pairs behind the collimation shock regulates the observed temperature at $\sim 50~\theta _0^{-1}$ keV, where θ0 is the initial jet opening angle, in remarkable agreement with the observed peak energies of prompt emission spectra. Further consequences for the properties of the prompt emission are discussed at the end.


2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (S290) ◽  
pp. 263-264
Author(s):  
Liang Li ◽  
En-Wei Liang ◽  
He Gao ◽  
Bing Zhang

AbstractWell-sampled optical lightcurves of 146 gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are compiled from literature. We identify possible emission components based on our empirical fits and present statistical analysis for these components. We find that the flares are related to prompt emission, suggesting that they could have the same origin in different episodes. The shallow decay segment is not correlated with prompt gamma-rays. It likely signals a long-lasting injected wind from GRB central engines. Early after onset peak is closely related with prompt emission. The ambient medium density profile is likely n ∝ r−1. No correlation between the late re-brightening bump and prompt gamma-rays or the onset bump is found. They may be from another jet component.


2021 ◽  
Vol 922 (2) ◽  
pp. 102
Author(s):  
Shu-Jin Hou ◽  
Shuang Du ◽  
Tong Liu ◽  
Hui-Jun Mu ◽  
Ren-Xin Xu

Abstract The central engine of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) remains an open and cutting-edge topic in the era of multimessenger astrophysics. X-ray plateaus appear in some GRB afterglows, which are widely considered to originate from the spindown of magnetars. According to the stable magnetar scenario of GRBs, an X-ray plateau and a decay phase ∼t −2 should appear in X-ray afterglows. Meanwhile, the “normal” X-ray afterglow is produced by the external shock from a GRB fireball. We analyze the Neil Gehrels Swift GRB data, then find three gold samples that have an X-ray plateau and a decay phase ∼t −2 superimposed on the jet-driven normal component. Based on these features of the lightcurves, we argue that the magnetars should be the central engines of these three GRBs. Future joint multimessenger observations might further test this possibility, which can then be beneficial to constrain GRB physics.


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