scholarly journals Resolving the excess of long GRB’s at low redshift in the Swift era

2020 ◽  
Vol 493 (1) ◽  
pp. 1479-1491 ◽  
Author(s):  
Truong Le ◽  
Cecilia Ratke ◽  
Vedant Mehta

ABSTRACT Utilizing more than 100 long gamma-ray bursts (LGRBs) in the Swift-Ryan-2012 sample that includes the observed redshifts and jet angles, Le & Mehta performed a timely study of the rate density of LGRBs with an assumed broken power-law GRB spectrum and obtained a GRB-burst-rate functional form that gives acceptable fits to the pre-Swift and Swift redshift, and jet angle distributions. The results indicated an excess of LGRBs at redshift below z ∼ 2 in the Swift sample. In this work, we are investigating if the excess is caused by the cosmological Hubble constant H0, the gamma-ray energy released ${\cal E}_{*\gamma }$, the low- and high-energy indices (α, β) of the Band function, the minimum and maximum jet angles θj, min and θj, max, or that the excess is due to a bias in the Swift-Ryan-2012 sample. Our analyses indicate that none of the above physical parameters resolved the excess problem, but suggesting that the Swift-Ryan-2012 sample is biased with possible afterglow selection effect. The following model physical parameter values provide the best fit to the Swift-Ryan-2012 and pre-Swift samples: the Hubble constant $H_0 = 72 \, {\rm km s^{-1} Mpc^{-1}}$, the energy released ${\cal E}_{*\gamma }\sim 4.47 \times 10^{51}$ erg, the energy indices α ∼ 0.9 and β ∼ −2.13, the jet angles of θj, max ∼ 0.8 rad, and θj, min ∼ 0.065 and ∼0.04 rad for pre-Swift and Swift, respectively, s ∼ −1.55 the jet angle power-law index, and a GRB formation rate that is similar to the Hopkins & Beacom observed star formation history and as extended by Li. Using the Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Host Galaxy Legacy Survey (SHOALS) Swift-Perley LGRB sample and applying the same physical parameter values as above, however, our model provides consistent results with this data set and indicating no excess of LGRBs at any redshift.

2018 ◽  
Vol 614 ◽  
pp. A29 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Greiner ◽  
J. Bolmer ◽  
M. Wieringa ◽  
A. J. van der Horst ◽  
D. Petry ◽  
...  

Context. Deriving physical parameters from gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglow observations remains a challenge, even 20 years after the discovery of afterglows. The main reason for the lack of progress is that the peak of the synchrotron emission is in the sub-mm range, thus requiring radio observations in conjunction with X-ray/optical/near-infrared data in order to measure the corresponding spectral slopes and consequently remove the ambiguity with respect to slow vs. fast cooling and the ordering of the characteristic frequencies. Aims. We have embarked on a multifrequency, multi-epoch observing campaign to obtain sufficient data for a given GRB that allows us to test the simplest version of the fireball afterglow model. Methods. We observed GRB 151027B, the 1000th Swift-detected GRB, with GROND in the optical–near-IR, ALMA in the sub-millimeter, ATCA in the radio band; we combined this with public Swift/XRT X-ray data. Results. While some observations at crucial times only return upper limits or surprising features, the fireball model is narrowly constrained by our data set, and allows us to draw a consistent picture with a fully determined parameter set. Surprisingly, we find rapid, large-amplitude flux density variations in the radio band which are extreme not only for GRBs, but generally for any radio source. We interpret them as scintillation effects, though their extreme nature requires the scattering screen to be at a much smaller distance than usually assumed, multiple screens, or a combination of the two. Conclusions. The data are consistent with the simplest fireball scenario for a blast wave moving into a constant-density medium, and slow-cooling electrons. All fireball parameters are constrained at or better than a factor of 2, except for the density and the fraction of the energy in the magnetic field which has a factor of 10 uncertainty in both directions.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Sergey G. Rubin

We study the evolution of the physical parameter values defined at the sub-planckian energies to values at low energies. The Wilson action is the basis of the research. The presence of the compact extra dimensions has two consequences. The positive point is that the integration over extra dimensions is a promising way to substantially reduce the parameters to be comparable with the observational values. On the other hand, the discreteness of the energy levels of compact extra dimensions complicates the analysis. This difficulty can be overcome with the truncated Green functions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 71 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Norisuke Ohmori ◽  
Kazutaka Yamaoka ◽  
Makoto Yamauchi ◽  
Yuji Urata ◽  
Masanori Ohno ◽  
...  

Abstract We have systematically studied the spectral properties of 302 localized gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) observed by the Suzaku wide-band all-sky monitor (WAM) from 2005 August to 2010 December. The energy spectra in the 100–5000 keV range integrated over the entire emission and the 1 s peak were fitted by three models: a single power law, a power law with an exponential cutoff (CPL), and the GRB Band function (GRB). Most of the burst spectra were well fitted by a single power law. The average photon index α was −2.11 and −1.73 for long and short bursts, respectively. For the CPL and GRB models, the low-energy and high-energy photon indices (α and β) for the entire emission spectra were consistent with previous measurements. The averages of the α and β were −0.90 and −2.65 for long-duration GRBs, while the average α was −0.55 and the β was not well constrained for short-duration GRBs. However, the average peak energy Epeak was 645 and 1286 keV for long- and short-duration GRBs respectively, which are higher than previous Fermi/GBM measurements (285 keV and 736 keV). The α and Epeak of the 1 s peak spectra were larger, i.e., the spectra were harder, than the total fluence spectra. Spectral simulations based on Fermi-GBM results suggest that the higher Epeaks measured by the Suzaku WAM could be due to detector selection bias, mainly caused by the limited energy range above 100 keV.


2018 ◽  
Vol 612 ◽  
pp. A1 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
H. Abdalla ◽  
A. Abramowski ◽  
F. Aharonian ◽  
F. Ait Benkhali ◽  
...  

We present the results of the most comprehensive survey of the Galactic plane in very high-energy (VHE) γ-rays, including a public release of Galactic sky maps, a catalog of VHE sources, and the discovery of 16 new sources of VHE γ-rays. The High Energy Spectroscopic System (H.E.S.S.) Galactic plane survey (HGPS) was a decade-long observation program carried out by the H.E.S.S. I array of Cherenkov telescopes in Namibia from 2004 to 2013. The observations amount to nearly 2700 h of quality-selected data, covering the Galactic plane at longitudes from ℓ = 250° to 65° and latitudes |b|≤ 3°. In addition to the unprecedented spatial coverage, the HGPS also features a relatively high angular resolution (0.08° ≈ 5 arcmin mean point spread function 68% containment radius), sensitivity (≲1.5% Crab flux for point-like sources), and energy range (0.2–100 TeV). We constructed a catalog of VHE γ-ray sources from the HGPS data set with a systematic procedure for both source detection and characterization of morphology and spectrum. We present this likelihood-based method in detail, including the introduction of a model component to account for unresolved, large-scale emission along the Galactic plane. In total, the resulting HGPS catalog contains 78 VHE sources, of which 14 are not reanalyzed here, for example, due to their complex morphology, namely shell-like sources and the Galactic center region. Where possible, we provide a firm identification of the VHE source or plausible associations with sources in other astronomical catalogs. We also studied the characteristics of the VHE sources with source parameter distributions. 16 new sources were previously unknown or unpublished, and we individually discuss their identifications or possible associations. We firmly identified 31 sources as pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe), supernova remnants (SNRs), composite SNRs, or gamma-ray binaries. Among the 47 sources not yet identified, most of them (36) have possible associations with cataloged objects, notably PWNe and energetic pulsars that could power VHE PWNe.


2020 ◽  
Vol 494 (4) ◽  
pp. 5259-5269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryo Yamazaki ◽  
Yuri Sato ◽  
Takanori Sakamoto ◽  
Motoko Serino

ABSTRACT The nature of the shallow decay phase in the X-ray afterglow of the gamma-ray burst (GRB) is not yet clarified. We analyse the data of early X-ray afterglows of 26 GRBs triggered by Burst Alert Telescope onboard Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory and subsequently detected by Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) and/or Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes. It is found that nine events (including two out of three very-high-energy gamma-ray events) have no shallow decay phase and that their X-ray afterglow light curves are well described by single power-law model except for the jet break at later epoch. The rest are fitted by double power-law model and have a break in the early epoch (around ks), however, eight events (including a very-high-energy gamma-ray event) have the pre-break decay index larger than 0.7. We also analyse the data of well-sampled X-ray afterglows of GRBs without LAT detection and compare their decay properties with those of high-energy and very-high-energy gamma-ray events. It is found that for the GeV/TeV bursts, the fraction of events whose X-ray afterglows are described by single power law is significantly larger than those for non-GeV/TeV GRBs. Even if the GeV/TeV GRBs have shallow decay phase, their decay slope tends to be steeper than non-GeV/TeV bursts, that is, they have less noticeable shallow decay phase in the early X-ray afterglow. A possible interpretation along with the energy injection model is briefly discussed.


2010 ◽  
Vol 19 (06) ◽  
pp. 977-984
Author(s):  
N. GEHRELS ◽  
J. K. CANNIZZO

We are in an exciting period of discovery for gamma-ray bursts. The Swift observatory is detecting 100 bursts per year, providing arcsecond localizations and sensitive observations of the prompt and afterglow emission. The Fermi observatory is observing 250 bursts per year with its medium-energy GRB instrument and about 10 bursts per year with its high-energy LAT instrument. In addition, rapid-response telescopes on the ground are providing new capabilities to study optical emission during the prompt phase and spectral signatures of the host galaxies. The combined data set is enabling great advances in our understanding of GRBs including afterglow physics, short burst origin, and high-energy emission.


2018 ◽  
Vol 609 ◽  
pp. A120 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Franckowiak ◽  
P. Jean ◽  
M. Wood ◽  
C. C. Cheung ◽  
S. Buson

Context. A number of novae have been found to emit high-energy gamma rays (>100 MeV). However, the origin of this emission is not yet understood. We report on the search for gamma-ray emission from 75 optically detected Galactic novae in the first 7.4 years of operation of the Fermi  Large Area Telescope using the Pass 8 data set. Aims. We compile an optical nova catalog including light curves from various resources and estimate the optical peak time and optical peak magnitude in order to search for gamma-ray emission to determine whether all novae are gamma-ray emitters. Methods. We repeated the analysis of the six novae previously identified as gamma-ray sources and developed a unified analysis strategy that we then applied to all novae in our catalog. We searched for emission in a 15 day time window in two-day steps ranging from 20 days before to 20 days after the optical peak time. We performed a population study with Monte Carlo simulations to set constraints on the properties of the gamma-ray emission of novae. Results. Two new novae candidates have been found at ~ 2σ global significance. Although these two novae candidates were not detected at a significant level individually, taking them together with the other non-detected novae, we found a sub-threshold nova population with a cumulative 3σ significance. We report the measured gamma-ray flux for detected sources and flux upper limits for novae without significant detection. Our results can be reproduced by several gamma-ray emissivity models (e.g., a power-law distribution with a slope of 2), while a constant emissivity model (i.e., assuming novae are standard candles) can be rejected.


2018 ◽  
Vol 612 ◽  
pp. A14 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
M. L. Ahnen ◽  
S. Ansoldi ◽  
L. A. Antonelli ◽  
C. Arcaro ◽  
...  

Context. The large jet kinetic power and non-thermal processes occurring in the microquasar SS 433 make this source a good candidate for a very high-energy (VHE) gamma-ray emitter. Gamma-ray fluxes above the sensitivity limits of current Cherenkov telescopes have been predicted for both the central X-ray binary system and the interaction regions of SS 433 jets with the surrounding W50 nebula. Non-thermal emission at lower energies has been previously reported, indicating that efficient particle acceleration is taking place in the system.Aim. We explore the capability of SS 433 to emit VHE gamma rays during periods in which the expected flux attenuation due to periodic eclipses (Porb~ 13.1 days) and precession of the circumstellar disk (Ppre ~ 162 days) periodically covering the central binary system is expected to be at its minimum. The eastern and western SS 433/W50 interaction regions are also examined using the whole data set available. We aim to constrain some theoretical models previously developed for this system with our observations.Methods. We made use of dedicated observations from the Major Atmospheric Gamma Imaging Cherenkov telescopes (MAGIC) and High Energy Spectroscopic System (H.E.S.S.) of SS 433 taken from 2006 to 2011. These observation were combined for the first time and accounted for a total effective observation time of 16.5 h, which were scheduled considering the expected phases of minimum absorption of the putative VHE emission. Gamma-ray attenuation does not affect the jet/medium interaction regions. In this case, the analysis of a larger data set amounting to ~40–80 h, depending on the region, was employed.Results. No evidence of VHE gamma-ray emission either from the central binary system or from the eastern/western interaction regions was found. Upper limits were computed for the combined data set. Differential fluxes from the central system are found to be ≲ 10−12–10−13 TeV−1 cm−2 s−1 in an energy interval ranging from ~few × 100 GeV to ~few TeV. Integral flux limits down to ~ 10−12–10−13 ph cm−2 s−1 and ~ 10−13–10−14 ph cm−2 s−1 are obtainedat 300 and 800 GeV, respectively. Our results are used to place constraints on the particle acceleration fraction at the inner jetregions and on the physics of the jet/medium interactions.Conclusions. Our findings suggest that the fraction of the jet kinetic power that is transferred to relativistic protons must be relatively small in SS 433, qp ≤ 2.5 × 10−5, to explain the lack of TeV and neutrino emission from the central system. At the SS 433/W50 interface, the presence of magnetic fields ≳10 μG is derived assuming a synchrotron origin for the observed X-ray emission. This also implies the presence of high-energy electrons with Ee− up to 50 TeV, preventing an efficient production of gamma-ray fluxes in these interaction regions.


2020 ◽  
Vol 72 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiromasa Suzuki ◽  
Aya Bamba ◽  
Ryo Yamazaki ◽  
Yutaka Ohira

Abstract In the current decade, GeV/TeV gamma-ray observations of several supernova remnants (SNRs) have implied that accelerated particles are escaping from their acceleration sites. However, when and how they escape from the SNR vicinities are yet to be understood. Recent studies have suggested that the particle escape might develop with thermal plasma ages of the SNRs. We present a systematic study on the time evolution of particle escape using thermal X-ray properties and gamma-ray spectra using 38 SNRs associated with GeV/TeV gamma-ray emissions. We conducted spectral fittings on the gamma-ray spectra using exponential cutoff power-law and broken power-law models to estimate the exponential cutoff or the break energies, both of which are indicators of particle escape. Plots of the gamma-ray cutoff/break energies over the plasma ages show similar tendencies to those predicted by analytical/numerical calculations of particle escape under conditions in which a shock is interacting with thin interstellar medium or clouds. The particle escape timescale is estimated as ∼100 kyr from the decreasing trends of the total energy of the confined protons with the plasma age. The large dispersions of the cutoff/break energies in the data may suggest an intrinsic variety of particle escape environments. This might be the cause of the complicated Galactic cosmic ray spectral shape measured on Earth.


Author(s):  
Marcello Giroletti ◽  
Filippo D'Ammando ◽  
Monica Orienti ◽  
Rocco Lico

Radio loud active galactic nuclei are composed of different spatial features, each one characterized by different spectral properties in the radio band. Among them, blazars are the most common class of sources detected at gamma-rays by \fermi, and their radio emission is dominated by the flat spectrum compact core. In this contribution, we explore the connection between emission at high energy revealed by \fermi\ and at radio frequency. Taking as a reference the strong and very highly significant correlation found between gamma rays and cm-$\lambda$ radio emission, we explore different behaviours found as we change the energy range in gamma rays and in radio, therefore changing the physical parameters of the zones involved in the radiation emission. We find that the correlation weakens when we consider (1) gamma rays of energy above 10 GeV (except for high synchrotron peaked blazars) or (2) low frequency radio data taken by the Murchison Widefield Array; on the other hand, the correlation strengthens when we consider mm-$\lambda$ data taken by ALMA.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document