scholarly journals The structure of hydrodynamic γ-ray burst jets

2020 ◽  
Vol 500 (3) ◽  
pp. 3511-3526
Author(s):  
Ore Gottlieb ◽  
Ehud Nakar ◽  
Omer Bromberg
Keyword(s):  
Power Law ◽  
Gamma Ray ◽  
Strong Mixing ◽  
Comparable Amount ◽  
Dense Media ◽  
Jet Characteristics ◽  
Jet Structure ◽  
Power Law Distributions ◽  
Emission Light ◽  
Prompt Emission

ABSTRACT After being launched, gamma-ray burst (GRB) jets propagate through dense media prior to their breakout. The jet-medium interaction results in the formation of a complex structured outflow, often referred to as a ‘structured jet’. The underlying physics of the jet-medium interaction that sets the post-breakout jet morphology has never been explored systematically. Here, we use a suite of 3D simulations to follow the evolution of hydrodynamic long and short gamma-ray bursts (lGRBs and sGRBs) jets after breakout to study the post-breakout structure induced by the interaction. Our simulations feature Rayleigh–Taylor fingers that grow from the cocoon into the jet, mix cocoon with jet material and destabilize the jet. The mixing gives rise to a previously unidentified region sheathing the jet from the cocoon, which we denote the jet–cocoon interface (JCI). lGRBs undergo strong mixing, resulting in most of the jet energy to drift into the JCI, while in sGRBs weaker mixing is possible, leading to a comparable amount of energy in the two components. Remarkably, the jet structure (jet-core plus JCI) can be characterized by simple universal angular power-law distributions, with power-law indices that depend solely on the mixing level. This result supports the commonly used power-law angular distribution, and disfavours Gaussian jets. At larger angles, where the cocoon dominates, the structure is more complex. The mixing shapes the prompt emission light curve and implies that typical lGRB afterglows are different from those of sGRBs. Our predictions can be used to infer jet characteristics from prompt and afterglow observations.

scholarly journals On-axis view of GRB 170817A

2019 ◽  
Vol 628 ◽  
pp. A18 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. S. Salafia ◽  
G. Ghirlanda ◽  
S. Ascenzi ◽  
G. Ghisellini
Keyword(s):  
Gamma Ray ◽  
Surrounding Medium ◽  
Intrinsic Properties ◽  
Wave Event ◽  
Typical Event ◽  
Multi Wavelength ◽  
Star Binary ◽  
Jet Structure ◽  
Prompt Emission ◽  
Axis View

The peculiar short gamma-ray burst (SGRB) GRB 170817A has been firmly associated to the gravitational wave event GW170817, which has been unanimously interpreted as due to the coalescence of a double neutron star binary. The unprecedented behaviour of the non-thermal afterglow led to a debate over its nature, which was eventually settled by high-resolution VLBI observations that strongly support the off-axis structured jet scenario. Using information on the jet structure derived from multi-wavelength fitting of the afterglow emission and of the apparent VLBI image centroid motion, we compute the appearance of a GRB 170817A-like jet as seen by an on-axis observer and compare it to the previously observed population of SGRB afterglows and prompt emission events. We find that the intrinsic properties of the GRB 170817A jet are representative of a typical event in the SGRB population, hinting at a quasi-universal jet structure. The diversity in the SGRB afterglow population could therefore be ascribed in large part to extrinsic (redshift, density of the surrounding medium, viewing angle) rather than intrinsic properties. Although more uncertain, the comparison can be extended to the prompt emission properties, leading to similar conclusions.

scholarly journals The structure of weakly magnetized γ-ray burst jets

2020 ◽  
Vol 498 (3) ◽  
pp. 3320-3333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ore Gottlieb ◽  
Omer Bromberg ◽  
Chandra B Singh ◽  
Ehud Nakar
Keyword(s):  
Power Law ◽  
Gamma Ray ◽  
Interface Layer ◽  
Companion Paper ◽  
Hydrodynamic Instabilities ◽  
Power Law Decay ◽  
Dense Media ◽  
Power Law Function ◽  
Weak Fields ◽  
Magnetic Nature

ABSTRACT The interaction of gamma-ray burst (GRB) jets with the dense media into which they are launched promote the growth of local hydrodynamic instabilities along the jet boundary. In a companion paper, we study the evolution of hydrodynamic (unmagnetized) jets, finding that mixing of jet–cocoon material gives rise to an interface layer, termed jet–cocoon interface (JCI), which contains a significant fraction of the system energy. We find that the angular structure of the jet + JCI, when they reach the homologous phase, can be approximated by a flat core (the jet) + a power-law function (the JCI) with indices that depend on the degree of mixing. In this paper, we examine the effect of subdominant toroidal magnetic fields on the jet evolution and morphology. We find that weak fields can stabilize the jet against local instabilities. The suppression of the mixing diminishes the JCI and thus reshapes the jet’s post-breakout structure. Nevertheless, the overall shape of the outflow can still be approximated by a flat core + a power-law function, although the JCI power-law decay is steeper. The effect of weak fields is more prominent in long GRB jets, where the mixing in hydrodynamic jets is stronger. In short GRB jets, there is small mixing in both weakly magnetized and unmagnetized jets. This result influences the expected jet emission which is governed by the jet’s morphology. Therefore, prompt and afterglow observations in long GRBs may be used as probes for the magnetic nature at the base of the jets.

scholarly journals Characterization of gamma-ray burst prompt emission spectra down to soft X-rays

2018 ◽  
Vol 616 ◽  
pp. A138 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Oganesyan ◽  
L. Nava ◽  
G. Ghirlanda ◽  
A. Celotti
Keyword(s):  
Power Law ◽  
Gamma Ray ◽  
Emission Spectra ◽  
X Rays ◽  
Mean Values ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Peak Energy ◽  
Low Energies ◽  
Prompt Emission

Detection of prompt emission by Swift-XRT provides a unique tool to study how the prompt spectrum of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) extends down to the soft X-ray band. This energy band is particularly important for prompt emission studies, since it is towards low energies that the observed spectral shape is in disagreement with the synchrotron predictions. Unfortunately, the number of cases where XRT started observing the GRB location during the prompt phase is very limited. In this work, we collect a sample of 34 GRBs and perform joint XRT+BAT spectral analysis of prompt radiation, extending a previous study focused on the 14 brightest cases. Fermi-GBM observations are included in the analysis when available (11 cases), allowing the characterization of prompt spectra from soft X-rays to MeV energies. In 62% of the spectra, the XRT data reveal a hardening of the spectrum, well described by introducing an additional, low-energy power-law segment (with index α1) into the empirical fitting function. The break energy below which the spectrum hardens has values between 3 keV and 22 keV. A second power-law (α2) describes the spectrum between the break energy and the peak energy. The mean values of the photon indices are 〈α1〉 = −0.51 (σ = 0.24) and 〈α2〉 = −1.56 (σ = 0.26). These are consistent, within one σ, with the synchrotron values in fast cooling regime. As a test, if we exclude XRT data from the fits we find typical results: the spectrum below the peak energy is described by a power law with 〈α〉 = −1.15. This shows the relevance of soft X-ray data in revealing prompt emission spectra consistent with synchrotron spectra. Finally, we do not find any correlation between the presence of the X-ray break energy and the flux, fluence, or duration of the prompt emission.

scholarly journals Using Swift observations of prompt and afterglow emission to classify GRBs

2007 ◽  
Vol 365 (1854) ◽  
pp. 1179-1188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul T O'Brien ◽  
Richard Willingale
Keyword(s):  
Light Curve ◽  
Power Law ◽  
Gamma Ray ◽  
Good Description ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Temporal Properties ◽  
Power Law Decay ◽  
Decay Index ◽  
Prompt Emission ◽  
Burst Alert Telescope

We present an analysis of early Burst Alert Telescope and X-ray Telescope data for 107 gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) observed by the Swift satellite. We use these data to examine the behaviour of the X-ray light curve and propose a classification scheme for GRBs based on this behaviour. As found for previous smaller samples, the earliest X-ray light curve can be well described by an exponential, which relaxes into a power-law, often with flares superimposed. The later emission is well fit using a similar functional form and we find that these two functions provide a good description of the entire X-ray light curve. For the prompt emission, the transition time between the exponential and the power-law gives a well-defined time-scale, T p , for the burst duration. We use T p , the spectral index of the prompt emission, β p , and the prompt power-law decay index, α p , to define four classes of burst: short, slow, fast and soft. Bursts with slowly declining emission have spectral and temporal properties similar to the short bursts despite having longer durations. Some of these GRBs may therefore arise from similar progenitors including several types of binary system. Short bursts tend to decline more gradually than longer duration bursts and hence emit a significant fraction of their total energy at times greater than T p . This may be due to differences in the environment or the progenitor for long, fast bursts.

scholarly journals Prevalence of Extra Power-Law Spectral Components in Short Gamma-Ray Bursts

2021 ◽  
Vol 922 (2) ◽  
pp. 255
Author(s):  
Qing-Wen Tang ◽  
Kai Wang ◽  
Liang Li ◽  
Ruo-Yu Liu
Keyword(s):  
Power Law ◽  
Gamma Ray ◽  
Spectral Energy Distribution ◽  
Spectral Feature ◽  
Gamma Ray Bursts ◽  
Spectral Energy ◽  
Spectral Components ◽  
Short Grbs ◽  
Prompt Emission ◽  
Emission Phase

Abstract A prompt extra power-law (PL) spectral component that usually dominates the spectral energy distribution below tens of keV or above ∼10 MeV has been discovered in some bright gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). However, its origin is still unclear. In this paper, we present a systematic analysis of 13 Fermi short GRBs, as of 2020 August, with contemporaneous keV–MeV and GeV detections during the prompt emission phase. We find that the extra PL component is a ubiquitous spectral feature for short GRBs, showing up in all 13 analyzed GRBs. The PL indices are mostly harder than −2.0, which may be well reproduced by considering the electromagnetic cascade induced by ultrarelativistic protons or electrons accelerated in the prompt emission phase. The average flux of these extra PL components positively correlates with that of the main spectral components, which implies they may share the same physical origin.

scholarly journals Interpreting the X-ray afterglows of gamma-ray bursts with radiative losses and millisecond magnetars

2020 ◽  
Vol 499 (4) ◽  
pp. 5986-5992
Author(s):  
Nikhil Sarin ◽  
Paul D Lasky ◽  
Gregory Ashton
Keyword(s):  
Gravitational Wave ◽  
Gamma Ray ◽  
Gamma Ray Bursts ◽  
Dipole Radiation ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Radiative Efficiency ◽  
Central Engine ◽  
Radiative Losses ◽  
Wave Emission ◽  
Prompt Emission

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.

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