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

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.

Impact of the ISM magnetic field on GRB afterglow polarization

Linear polarization has been measured in several GRB afterglows. After a few days, polarization arises from the forward shock emission which depends on the post-shock magnetic field. The latter can originate both from compression of existing fields, here the ISM magnetic field, and from shock generated instabilities. For short GRBs, previous modelling of the polarization arising from the forward shock considered a random field fully or partially confined to the shock plane. However, the ISM magnetic field likely consists of both random and ordered components. Here we study the impact of a more realistic magnetic field having both ordered and random components. We present our semi-analytical model and compute polarization curves arising for different magnetic field configurations. We find that the presence of an ordered component, even significantly weaker than the random one, has distinct signatures that could be detectable. In the presence of an ordered component not in the observer plane, we show that: i) for an observer inside the jet, the polarization angle θp either remains constant during all the afterglow phase or exhibits variations smaller than the 90○ swing expected from a random component solely, ii) for an off-axis observer, the polarization angle evolves from $\theta _p^{\max }$, before the jet break to its opposite after the jet break. We also find that the upper limit polarization for GRB170817 requires a random field not fully confined to the shock plane and is compatible with an ordered component as large as half the random one.

No velocity-kicks are required to explain large-distance offsets of Ca-rich supernovae and short-GRBs

ABSTRACT Environments of supernovae (SNe) and gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) link their progenitors to the underlying stellar population, providing critical clues for their origins. However, various transients including Ca-rich SNe and short-GRBs, appear to be located at remote locations, far from the stellar population of their host galaxy, challenging our understanding of their origin and/or physical evolution. These findings instigated models suggesting that either large velocity-kicks were imparted to the transient progenitors, allowing them to propagate to large distances and attain their remote locations; or that they formed in dense globular-clusters residing in the haloes. Here we show that instead, large spatial-offsets of such transients are naturally explained by observations of highly extended stellar populations in (mostly early-type) galaxy haloes, typically missed since they can only be identified through ultra-deep/stacked images. Consequently, no large velocity kicks, nor halo globular–cluster environments are required in order to explain the origin of these transients. These findings support thermonuclear explosions on white-dwarfs, for the origins of Ca-rich SNe progenitors, and the existence of small (or zero) kick-velocities given to short-GRB progenitors. Furthermore, since stacked/ultra-deep imaging show that early-type galaxies are more extended than late-type galaxies, studies of transients’ offset-distribution (e.g. type Ia SNe or FRBs) should account for host galaxy-type. Since early-type galaxies contain older stellar populations, transient arising from older stellar populations would have larger fractions of early-type hosts, and consequently larger fractions of large-offset transients. In agreement with our results for short-GRBs and Ca-rich SNe showing different offset distributions in early versus late-type galaxies.

Rapid-response radio observations of short GRB 181123B with the Australia Telescope Compact Array

We introduce the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) rapid-response mode by presenting the first successful trigger on the short-duration gamma-ray burst (GRB) 181123B. Early-time radio observations of short GRBs may provide vital insights into the radio afterglow properties of Advanced LIGO- and Virgo-detected gravitational wave events, which will in turn inform follow-up strategies to search for counterparts within their large positional uncertainties. The ATCA was on target within 12.6 hr post-burst, when the source had risen above the horizon. While no radio afterglow was detected during the 8.3 hr observation, we obtained force-fitted flux densities of 7 ± 12 and 15 ± 11μJy at 5.5 and 9 GHz, respectively. Afterglow modelling of GRB 181123B showed that the addition of the ATCA force-fitted radio flux densities to the Swift X-ray Telescope detections provided more stringent constraints on the fraction of thermal energy in the electrons (log $\epsilon _e = -0.75^{+0.39}_{-0.40}$ rather than log $\epsilon _e = -1.13^{+0.82}_{-1.2}$ derived without the inclusion of the ATCA values), which is consistent with the range of typical εe derived from GRB afterglow modelling. This allowed us to predict that the forward shock may have peaked in the radio band ∼10 days post-burst, producing detectable radio emission ≳ 3 − 4 days post-burst. Overall, we demonstrate the potential for extremely rapid radio follow-up of transients and the importance of triggered radio observations for constraining GRB blast wave properties, regardless of whether there is a detection, via the inclusion of force-fitted radio flux densities in afterglow modelling efforts.

What determines the structure of short gamma-ray burst jets?

The discovery of GRB 170817A, the first unambiguous off-axis short gamma-ray burst arising from a neutron star merger, has challenged our understanding of the angular structure of relativistic jets. Studies of the jet propagation usually assume that the jet is ejected from the central engine with a top-hat structure and its final structure, which determines the observed light curve and spectra, is primarily regulated by the interaction with the nearby environment. However, jets are expected to be produced with a structure that is more complex than a simple top-hat, as shown by global accretion simulations. We present numerical simulations of short GRBs launched with a wide range of initial structures, durations and luminosities. We follow the jet interaction with the merger remnant wind and compute its final structure at distances ≳ 1011 cm from the central engine. We show that the final jet structure, as well as the resulting afterglow emission, depend strongly on the initial structure of the jet, its luminosity and duration. While the initial structure at the jet is preserved for long-lasting SGRBs, it is strongly modified for jets barely making their way through the wind. This illustrates the importance of combining the results of global simulations with propagation studies in order to better predict the expected afterglow signatures from neutron star mergers. Structured jets provide a reasonable description of the GRB 170817A afterglow emission with an off-axis angle θobs ≈ 22.5○.

A Genuinely Short Gamma-Ray Burst from Massive Star Core Collapse

Gamma-ray bursts have been phenomenologically classified into long and short populations based on whether the observed duration is longer or shorter than two seconds. Multi-wavelength and multi-messenger observations in recent years have revealed that in general long GRBs originate from massive star core collapse events, whereas short GRBs originate from binary neutron star mergers. It has been known that the duration criterion is sometimes unreliable, and multi-wavelength criteria are needed to identify the physical origin of a particular GRB. Some apparently long GRBs have been suggested to have a neutron star merger origin, whereas some apparently short GRBs have been attributed to genuinely long GRBs whose short, bright emission is above the detector's sensitivity threshold. Still, there has been no known case that a GRB is genuinely short but originates from death of a massive star. Here we report the comprehensive analysis of the multi-wavelength data of a bright short GRB 200826A. This burst has a sharp 1-second spike, which is not part of an underlying long-duration event. Its other observational properties are, however, inconsistent with those of other short GRBs believed to originate from binary neutron star mergers. Rather, these properties resemble those of long GRBs. This burst presents a challenge to the traditional GRB classification scheme and reveals a class of core-collapse-origin GRBs with genuinly short durations.