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.

Decay phases of Swift X-ray afterglows and the forward-shock model

2007 ◽  
Vol 365 (1854) ◽  
pp. 1197-1205 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Panaitescu
Keyword(s):  
Light Curve ◽  
Power Law ◽  
Gamma Ray ◽  
Large Angle ◽  
Light Curves ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Power Law Decay ◽  
Decay Index ◽  
Shock Region ◽  
Forward Shock

The X-ray flux of the gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglows monitored by the Swift satellite from January 2005 to July 2006 displays one to four phases of flux power-law decay. In chronological order, they are: the GRB tail, the ‘hump’, the standard decay and the post-jet-break decay. More than half of the GRB tails can be identified with the large-angle emission produced during the burst (but arriving later at observer). The remaining, slower GRB tails imply that the gamma-ray mechanism continues to radiate after the burst, as also suggested by the frequent occurrence of X-ray flares during the burst tail. The several GRB tails exhibiting a slow unbroken power-law decay until 100 ks must be attributed to the forward shock. In fact, the decay of most GRB tails is also consistent with that of the forward-shock emission from a narrow jet. The X-ray light-curve hump may be due to an increase of the kinetic energy per solid angle of the forward-shock region visible to the observer, caused by either the transfer of energy from ejecta to the forward shock or the emergence of the emission from an outflow seen from a location outside the jet opening. The decay following the X-ray light-curve hump is consistent with the emission from an adiabatic blast wave but, contrary to expectations, the light-curve decay index and spectral slope during this phase are not correlated. The X-ray light curves of two dozens X-ray afterglows that followed for more than a week do not exhibit a jet break, in contrast with the behaviour of pre-Swift optical afterglows, which displayed jet breaks at 0.5–2 days. Nevertheless, the X-ray light curves of several Swift afterglows show a second steepening break at 0.4–3 days that is consistent with the break expected for a jet when its edge becomes visible to the observer.

GRB 070311: A COMMON ORIGIN FOR THE PROMPT AND AFTERGLOW EMISSION

2008 ◽  
Vol 17 (09) ◽  
pp. 1359-1362 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
S. D. VERGANI ◽  
C. GUIDORZI
Keyword(s):  
Light Curve ◽  
Power Law ◽  
Time Profile ◽  
Common Origin ◽  
Light Curves ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Γ Ray ◽  
Prompt Emission

GRB 070311 was a long burst that triggered INTEGRAL. We present prompt γ-ray, early NIR/optical, late optical and X-ray data on this burst and its afterglow. Interestingly, the H-band light curve acquired with REM exhibits two pulses at 80 and 140 s after the peak of the γ-ray burst, with possible evidence for a contemporaneous faint γ-ray tail. The late optical and X-ray afterglow underwent a rebrightening between 3 × 104 and 2 × 105 s after the burst with energy comparable with that of the prompt emission extrapolated in the X-ray band. After fitting the early γ-ray and optical light curves, we modelled the time profile of the late rebrightening as the time-rescaled version of the prompt γ-ray pulse over an underlying power law. This result supports a common origin for both prompt and late X-ray/optical afterglow rebrightening of GRB 070311 within the external shock scenario.

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 From the earliest pulses to the latest flares in long gamma-ray bursts

2018 ◽  
Vol 615 ◽  
pp. A80
Author(s):  
A. Pescalli ◽  
M. Ronchi ◽  
G. Ghirlanda ◽  
G. Ghisellini
Keyword(s):  
Spectral Properties ◽  
Gamma Ray ◽  
Gamma Ray Bursts ◽  
Peak Time ◽  
Emission Pulse ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Temporal Properties ◽  
Central Engine ◽  
Prompt Emission ◽  
Different Origin

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.

scholarly journals Inhomogeneities in the light curves of gamma-ray bursts afterglow

2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (10) ◽  
pp. 1844012
Author(s):  
Elena Mazaeva ◽  
Alexei Pozanenko ◽  
Pavel Minaev
Keyword(s):  
Light Curve ◽  
Power Law ◽  
Gamma Ray ◽  
Gamma Ray Bursts ◽  
Light Curves ◽  
Peak Time ◽  
Gamma Ray Burst ◽  
X Ray

We discuss the inhomogeneous behavior of gamma-ray burst afterglow light curves in optic. We use well-sampled light curves based on mostly our own observations to find and identify deviations (inhomogeneities) from broken power law. By the inhomogeneous behavior we mean flashes, bumps, slow deviations from power law (wiggles) in a light curve. In particular we report parameters of broken power law, describe phenomenology, compare optical light curves with X-ray ones and classify the inhomogeneities. We show that the duration of the inhomogeneities correlates with their peak time relative to gamma-ray burst (GRB) trigger and the correlation is the same for all types of inhomogeneities.

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.

scholarly journals Evidence for chromatic X-ray light-curve breaks in Swift gamma-ray burst afterglows and their theoretical implications

2006 ◽  
Vol 369 (4) ◽  
pp. 2059-2064 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Panaitescu ◽  
P. Mészáros ◽  
D. Burrows ◽  
J. Nousek ◽  
N. Gehrels ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Light Curve ◽  
Gamma Ray ◽  
Gamma Ray Burst ◽  
X Ray

scholarly journals The properties of prompt emission in short gamma-ray bursts with extended emission observed by Fermi/GBM

2020 ◽  
Vol 492 (3) ◽  
pp. 3622-3630
Author(s):  
Lin Lan ◽  
Rui-Jingi Lu ◽  
Hou-Jun Lü ◽  
Jun Shen ◽  
Jared Rice ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gamma Ray ◽  
Gamma Ray Bursts ◽  
Large Scatter ◽  
Intrinsic Properties ◽  
Temporal Properties ◽  
Peak Energy ◽  
Peak Flux ◽  
Short Grbs ◽  
Prompt Emission ◽  
Extended Emission

ABSTRACT Short gamma-ray bursts (GRB) with extended emission (EE) that are composed of an initial short hard spike followed by a long-lasting EE are thought to comprise a sucategory of short GRBs. The narrow energy band available during the Swift era, combined with a lack of spectral information, prevented the discovery of the intrinsic properties of these events. In this paper, we perform a systematic search of short GRBs with EE using all available Fermi/GBM data. The search identified 26 GBM-detected short GRBs with EE that are similar to GRB 060614 observed by Swift/BAT. We focus on investigating the spectral and temporal properties of both the hard spike and the EE component of all 26 GRBs, and explore differences and possible correlations between them. We find that while the peak energy (Ep) of the hard spikes is slightly harder than that of the EE, their fluences are comparable. The harder Ep seems to correspond to a larger fluence and peak flux, with a large scatter for both the hard spike and the EE component. Moreover, the Ep of both the hard spike and the EE are compared with other short GRBs. Finally, we also compare the properties of GRB 170817A with those of short GRBs with EE and find no significant statistical differences between them. We find that GRB 170817A has the lowest Ep, probably because it is off-axis.

THE INTERPLAY OF PROMPT AND AFTERGLOW EMISSION IN GRB 060418

2008 ◽  
Vol 17 (09) ◽  
pp. 1343-1349 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. D. VERGANI ◽  
D. MALESANI ◽  
E. MOLINARI
Keyword(s):  
Gamma Rays ◽  
Spectral Properties ◽  
Gamma Ray ◽  
Early Time ◽  
Lorentz Factor ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Central Engine ◽  
Low Energies ◽  
Prompt Emission

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.

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
Keyword(s):  
High Efficiency ◽  
Gamma Ray ◽  
Heavy Baryon ◽  
Stellar Envelope ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Radiative Efficiency ◽  
Engine Model ◽  
Central Engine ◽  
Radio Transients ◽  
Prompt Emission

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.

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