Absorption in Gamma‐Ray Burst Afterglows

Claim of dust extinction for this GRB has been debated in the past. We suggest that the discrepant results occur primarily because most of previous studies have not simultaneously investigated the X-ray to near-IR spectral energy distribution of this GRB. The difficulty with this burst is that the X-ray afterglow is dominated by strong flares at early times and is poorly monitored at late times. In addition, the Z band photometry, which is the most sensitive to dust extinction, has been found to be affected by strong systematics. In this paper we carefully re-analyze the Swift/XRT afterglow observations of this GRB, using extensive past studies of X-ray flare properties when computing the X-ray afterglow flux level and exploiting the recent reanalysis of the optical (UV rest frame) data of the same GRB. We extract the X-ray to optical/near-IR afterglow SED for the three epochs where the best spectral coverage is available: 0.47, 1.25, and 3.4 days after the trigger. A spectral power-law model has been fitted to the extracted SEDs. We discuss that no spectral breaks or chromatic temporal breaks are expected in the epochs of interest. To fit any UV rest-frame dust absorption, we tested the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) extinction curve, the mean extinction curve (MEC) found for a sample of QSO at $z>4$ and its corresponding attenuation curve, as well as a starburst attenuation curve, and the extinction curve consistent with a supernova dust origin (SN-type). The SMC extinction curve and the SN-type one provide good fit to the data at all epochs, with an average amount of dust absorption at $\lambda_{rest} = 3000 \AA$ of $A_{3000} = 0.25\pm 0.07$ mag. These results indicate that the primeval galaxy at $z = 6.3$ hosting this GRB has already enriched its ISM with dust.

The extinction profiles in Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) afterglow spectral energy distributions (SEDs) are usually described by the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC)-type extinction curve. In different empirical extinction laws, the total-to-selective extinction, RV, is an important quantity because of its relation to dust grain sizes and compositions. We here analyse a sample of 17 GRBs (0.34<z<7.84) where the ultraviolet to near-infrared spectroscopic observations are available through the VLT/X-shooter instrument, giving us an opportunity to fit individual extinction curves of GRBs for the first time. Our sample is compiled on the basis that multi-band photometry is available around the X-shooter observations. The X-shooter data are combined with the Swift X-ray data and a single or broken power-law together with a parametric extinction law is used to model the individual SEDs. We find 10 cases with significant dust, where the derived extinction, AV, ranges from 0.1-1.0mag. In four of those, the inferred extinction curves are consistent with the SMC curve. The GRB individual extinction curves have a flat RV distribution with an optimal weighted combined value of RV = 2.61+/-0.08 (for seven broad coverage cases). The 'average GRB extinction curve' is similar to, but slightly steeper than the typical SMC, and consistent with the SMC Bar extinction curve at ~95% confidence level. The resultant steeper extinction curves imply populations of small grains, where large dust grains may be destroyed due to GRB activity. Another possibility could be that young age and/or lower metallicities of GRBs environments are responsible for the steeper curves.

Context. Gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglows are powerful probes for studying the different properties of their host galaxies (e.g., the interstellar dust) at all redshifts. By fitting their spectral energy distribution (SED) over a large range of wavelengths, we can gain direct insights into the properties of the interstellar dust by studying the extinction curves. Unlike the dust extinction templates, such as those of the average Milky Way (MW) or the Small and Large Magellanic Cloud (SMC and LMC), the extinction curves of galaxies outside the Local Group exhibit deviation from these laws. Altogether, X-ray and gamma-ray satellites as well as ground-based telescopes, such as Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory (Swift) and Gamma-Ray Optical and Near-Infrared Detector (GROND), provide measurements of the afterglows from the X-ray to the NIR, which can be used to extract information on dust extinction curves along their lines of sight (LoS). The study presented in this paper undertakes such a photometric study, comprising a preparatory work for the SVOM mission and its ground-based follow-up telescope COLIBRI. Aims. We propose a simple approach to parameterize the dust extinction curve of GRB host galaxies. The model used in this analysis is based on a power law form with the addition of a Loretzian-like Drude profile with two parameters: the extinction slope, γ, and the 2175 Å bump amplitude, Eb. Methods. Using the g′r′i′z′JHKs GROND filter bands, we tested our dust extinction model and explored the parameter space in extinction and redshift by fitting SEDs of simplified simulations of GRB afterglow spectra based on different extinction curve templates. From a final sample of 10 real Swift/GROND extinguished GRBs, we determined the quantities of the dust extinction in their host and measured their extinction curves. Results. We find that our derived extinction curves are in agreement with the spectroscopic measurements reported for four GRBs in the literature. We compared four other GRBs to the results of photometric studies where fixed laws were used to fit their data. We additionally derived two new GRB extinction curves. The measured average extinction curve is given by a slope of γ = 1.051 ± 0.129 and Eb = 0.070 ± 0.036, which is equivalent to a quasi-featureless in-between SMC-LMC template. This is consistent with previous studies aimed at deriving the dust host galaxy extinction where we expect that small dust grains dominate in GRB environment, yielding a steeper curve than the mean MW extinction curve.

We present an extinction analysis of 9 paths through the LMC and SMC based on FUSE observations. To date, just two LMC sight lines have probed dust grain composition and size distributions in the Clouds using spectra including wavelengths as short as 950 A. We supplement these with results from 4 regions distinguished by their IR through UV extinction curves and grouped as LMCAvg, LMC2, SMC bar and SMC wing. Despite the distinct characters of Milky Way and Magellanic Cloud extinction, our results are generally analogous to those found for Galactic curves in that the FUSE portions of each extinction curve are described reasonably well by FM curves fitted only to longer wavelength data and lack any dramatic new extinction features, and any deviations from the CCM formalism continue into FUV wavelengths. An MEM analysis of these curves suggests that LMCAvg and SMC wing sight lines require more silicon and/or carbon in dust than current abundance measurements would allow, while the requirements for LMC2 and SMC bar sight lines do not fully tax the available reservoirs. An intermediate product of this analysis is the measurement of new H_2 abundances in the Magellanic Clouds. Collectively considering Cloud sight lines that possess significant H_2 column densities, E(B-V)/N(HI) ratios are reduced by significant factors relative to the Galactic mean, whereas the corresponding E(B-V)/N(H_2) values more closely resemble their Galactic counterpart. These trends reflect the fact that among these sight lines f(H_2)-values are lower than those common in the Milky Way for paths with similar degrees of reddening.

We use Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations of red clump stars taken as part of the Small Magellanic Cloud Investigation of Dust and Gas Evolution (SMIDGE) program to measure the average dust extinction curve in a ∼200 pc × 100 pc region in the southwest bar of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). The rich information provided by our eight-band ultraviolet through near-infrared photometry allows us to model the color–magnitude diagram of the red clump accounting for the extinction curve shape, a log-normal distribution of A V , and the depth of the stellar distribution along the line of sight. We measure an extinction curve with . This measurement is significantly larger than the equivalent values of published Milky Way (MW) R V = 3.1 ( ) and SMC Bar R V = 2.74 ( ) extinction curves. Similar extinction curve offsets in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) have been interpreted as the effect of large dust grains. We demonstrate that the line-of-sight depth of the SMC (and LMC) introduces an apparent “gray” contribution to the extinction curve inferred from the morphology of the red clump. We show that no gray dust component is needed to explain extinction curve measurements when FWHM depth of 10 ± 2 kpc in the stellar distribution of the SMC (5 ± 1 kpc for the LMC) is considered, which agrees with recent studies of Magellanic Cloud stellar structure. The results of our work demonstrate the power of broadband HST imaging for simultaneously constraining dust and galactic structure outside the MW.

Understanding the properties of dust attenuation curves in galaxies and the physical mechanisms that shape them are among the fundamental questions of extragalactic astrophysics, with great practical significance for deriving the physical properties of galaxies. Attenuation curves result from a combination of dust grain properties, dust content, and the spatial arrangement of dust and different populations of stars. In this review, we assess the state of the field, paying particular attention to extinction curves as the building blocks of attenuation laws. We introduce a quantitative framework to characterize extinction and attenuation curves, present a theoretical foundation for interpreting empirical results, overview an array of observational methods, and review observational results at low and high redshifts. Our main conclusions include the following: ▪ Attenuation curves exhibit a wide range of UV-through-optical slopes, from curves with shallow (Milky Way–like) slopes to those exceeding the slope of the Small Magellanic Cloud extinction curve. ▪ The slopes of the curves correlate strongly with the effective optical opacities, in the sense that galaxies with lower dust column density (lower visual attenuation) tend to have steeper slopes, whereas the galaxies with higher dust column density have shallower (grayer) slopes. ▪ Galaxies exhibit a range of 2175-Å UV bump strengths, including no bump, but, on average, are suppressed compared with the average Milky Way extinction curve. ▪ Theoretical studies indicate that both the correlation between the slope and the dust column as well as variations in bump strength may result from geometric and radiative transfer effects.

To understand the evolution of extinction curve, we calculate the dust\nevolution in a galaxy using smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations\nincorporating stellar dust production, dust destruction in supernova shocks,\ngrain growth by accretion and coagulation, and grain disruption by shattering.\nThe dust species are separated into carbonaceous dust and silicate. The\nevolution of grain size distribution is considered by dividing grain population\ninto large and small gains, which allows us to estimate extinction curves. We\nexamine the dependence of extinction curves on the position, gas density, and\nmetallicity in the galaxy, and find that extinction curves are flat at $t\n\\lesssim 0.3$ Gyr because stellar dust production dominates the total dust\nabundance. The 2175 \\AA\\ bump and far-ultraviolet (FUV) rise become prominent\nafter dust growth by accretion. At $t \\gtrsim 3$ Gyr, shattering works\nefficiently in the outer disc and low density regions, so extinction curves\nshow a very strong 2175 \\AA\\ bump and steep FUV rise. The extinction curves at\n$t\\gtrsim 3$ Gyr are consistent with the Milky Way extinction curve, which\nimplies that we successfully included the necessary dust processes in the\nmodel. The outer disc component caused by stellar feedback has an extinction\ncurves with a weaker 2175 \\AA\\ bump and flatter FUV slope. The strong\ncontribution of carbonaceous dust tends to underproduce the FUV rise in the\nSmall Magellanic Cloud extinction curve, which supports selective loss of small\ncarbonaceous dust in the galaxy. The snapshot at young ages also explain the\nextinction curves in high-redshift quasars.\n

We analyzed the near-infrared to UV data of 16 quasars with redshifts ranging from 0.71 <z< 2.13 to investigate dust extinction properties. The sample presented in this work was obtained from the High AV Quasar (HAQ) survey. The quasar candidates were selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and the UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS), and follow-up spectroscopy was carried out at the Nordic Optical Telescope (NOT) and the New Technology Telescope (NTT). To study dust extinction curves intrinsic to the quasars, we selected 16 cases from the HAQ survey for which the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) law could not provide a good solution to the spectral energy distributions (SEDs). We derived the extinction curves using the Fitzpatrick & Massa (1986, ApJ, 307, 286, FM) law by comparing the observed SEDs to a combined previously published quasar template. The derived extinction, AV, ranges from 0.2–1.0 mag. All the individual extinction curves of our quasars are steeper (RV = 2.2–2.7) than that of the SMC, with a weighted mean value of RV = 2.4. We derived an average quasar extinction curve for our sample by simultaneously fitting SEDs by using the weighted mean values of the FM law parameters and a varying RV. The entire sample is well fit with a single best-fit value of RV = 2.2 ± 0.2. The average quasar extinction curve deviates from the steepest Milky Way and SMC extinction curves at a confidence level ≳95%. Such steep extinction curves suggest that a significant population of silicates is involved in producing small dust grains. Another possibility might be that the large dust grains may have been destroyed by the activity of the nearby active galactic nuclei (AGN), resulting in steep extinction curves.

We present the results of a Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) survey of O vi � 1031.93 and � 1037.62 absorption toward 18 OB stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). The FUSE data are of very high quality, allowing a detailed study of the coronal temperature gas in the SMC. We find that Ovi is ubiquitous in the SMC, with a detection along every sight line. The average value of the O vi column density in the SMC is loghNðO viÞi ¼ 14:53. This value is 1.7 times higher than the average value for the Milky Way halo (perpendicular to the Galactic plane) of log N?ðO vi Þ¼ 14:29 found by FUSE, even though the SMC has much lower metallicity than the Galaxy. The column density in the SMC is higher along sight lines that lie close to star-forming regions, in particular NGC 346 in the northern part of the SMC, and to a lesser degree the southwestern complex of H ii regions. This correlation with star formation suggests that local processes have an important effect on the distribution of coronal gas in the SMC. If the sight lines within NGC 346 are excluded, the mean column density for the SMC is log NðO vi Þ¼ 14:45, only 1.4 times higher than the Milky Way average. The standard deviation of the column densities for sight lines outside of NGC 346 is � 27%, somewhat lower than the deviation seen in the Milky Way halo. The lowest O vi column densities, log N(O vi)� 14.3, occur in the central region and in the southeastern ‘‘ wing ’’ of the galaxy. Even these low column densities are as high as the Milky Way average, establishing the presence of a substantial, extended component of coronal gas in the SMC. The O vi absorption is always shifted to higher velocities than the main component of lower ionization gas traced by Fe ii absorption. The O vi line widths are broader than expected for pure thermal broadening at 3 � 10 5 K, the temperature at which the O vi peaks in abundance, so large nonthermal motions or multiple hot gas components are likely present. We discuss several mechanisms that may be able to explain the observed properties of the hot gas, including supershells, a galactic fountain, and the infall of gas previously stripped from the SMC by tidal interactions with the Milky Way and the Large Magellanic Cloud. If a galactic fountain produces the hot gas, the mass flux per unit surface area is _

Using the Hubble Space Telescope/Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, ultraviolet (UV) extinction curves have been measured in M31 along 13 new sight lines, increasing the M31 sample to 17. This sample covers a wide area of M31, having galactocentric distances of 5–16 kpc, enabling the analysis of UV extinction curve variations over a large region of an external galaxy similar to the Milky Way with global galactic characteristics such as metallicity for the first time. No correlation is found between the extinction parameters and galactocentric distance, which might be expected if there is a radial metallicity gradient in M31. Most of the new UV extinction curves presented here are significantly different from the average extinction curves of the Milky Way, Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), and Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), but the average M31 extinction curve is similar to the average extinction curve in the 30 Dor region of the LMC. The wide range of extinction curves seen in each individual Local Group galaxy suggests that global galactic properties such as metallicity may be less important than the local environmental conditions, such as density, UV radiation field, and shocks along each sight line. The combined behavior of the Milky Way, LMC, SMC, and now M31 UV extinction curves supports the idea that there is a family of curves in the Local Group with overlapping dust grain properties between different galaxies.

Soft X-ray absorption in excess of Galactic is observed in the afterglows of\nmost gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), but the correct solution to its origin has not\nbeen arrived at after more than a decade of work, preventing its use as a\npowerful diagnostic tool. We resolve this long-standing problem and find that\nHe in the GRB's host HII region is responsible for most of the absorption. We\nshow that the X-ray absorbing column density (N_Hx) is correlated with both the\nneutral gas column density and with the optical afterglow extinction (Av). This\ncorrelation explains the connection between dark bursts and bursts with high\nN_Hx values. From these correlations we exclude an origin of the X-ray\nabsorption which is not related to the host galaxy, i.e. the intergalactic\nmedium or intervening absorbers are not responsible. We find that the\ncorrelation with the dust column has a strong redshift evolution, whereas the\ncorrelation with the neutral gas does not. From this we conclude that the\ncolumn density of the X-ray absorption is correlated with the total gas column\ndensity in the host galaxy rather than the metal column density, in spite of\nthe fact that X-ray absorption is typically dominated by metals. The strong\nredshift evolution of N_Hx/Av is thus a reflection of the cosmic metallicity\nevolution of star-forming galaxies. We conclude that the absorption of X-rays\nin GRB afterglows is caused by He in the HII region hosting the GRB. While dust\nis destroyed and metals are stripped of all of their electrons by the GRB to\ngreat distances, the abundance of He saturates the He-ionising UV continuum\nmuch closer to the GRB, allowing it to remain in the neutral or singly-ionised\nstate. Helium X-ray absorption explains the correlation with total gas, the\nlack of strong evolution with redshift as well as the absence of dust, metal or\nhydrogen absorption features in the optical-UV spectra.\n

Modern data of the extinction curve from the ultraviolet to the near infrared are revisited to study the property of dust grains in the Milky Way (MW) and the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). We confirm that the graphite-silicate mixture of grains yields the observed extinction curve with the simple power-law distribution of the grain size but with a cutoff at some maximal size: the parameters are tightly constrained to be $q = 3.5 \pm 0.2$ for the size distribution $a^{-q}$ and the maximum radius $a_{max} = 0.24 \pm 0.05$ um, for both MW and SMC. The abundance of grains, and hence the elemental abundance, is constrained from the reddening versus hydrogen column density, E(B-V)/N_H. If we take the solar elemental abundance as the standard for the MW, >56 % of carbon should be in graphite dust, while it is <40 % in the SMC using its available abundance estimate. This disparity and the relative abundance of C to Si explain the difference of the two curves. We find that 50-60 % of carbon may not necessarily be in graphite but in the amorphous or the glassy phase. Iron may also be in the metallic phase or up to ~80 % in magnetite rather than in silicates, so that the Mg/Fe ratio in astronomical olivine is arbitrary. With these substitutions the parameters of the grain size remain unchanged. The mass density of dust grains relative to hydrogen is $\rho_{dust}/\rho_H = 1/(120 {+10 \atop -16})$ for the MW and $1/(760 {+70 \atop -90}) for the SMC under some abundance constraints. We underline the importance of the wavelength-dependence slope of the extinction curve in the near infrared in constructing the dust model: if $A_{\lambda} \propto \lambda^{-gamma}$ with gamma ~ 1.6, the power-law grain-size model fails, whereas it works if gamma ~ 1.8-2.0.

Context. Dust grains are fundamental components of the interstellar medium (ISM), playing a crucial role in star formation as catalysts for chemical reactions and planetary building blocks. Extinction curves can serve as a tool for characterizing dust properties, however mid-infrared (MIR) extinction remains less constrained in protostellar environments. Gas-phase line ratios from embedded protostellar jets offer a spatially resolved method for measuring the extinction from protostellar envelopes, complementing traditional background starlight techniques. Aims. We aim to derive MIR extinction curves along the lines of sight toward a protostellar jet embedded within an envelope and to assess whether they differ from those inferred from dense molecular clouds. Methods. We analyzed JWST NIRSpec IFU and MIRI MRS observations, focusing on four locations along the blue-shifted TMC1A jet. After extracting observed [Fe II] line intensities, we modeled the intrinsic line ratios using the Cloudy spectral synthesis code across a range of electron densities and temperatures. By comparing observed near-IR (NIR) and MIR line ratios to intrinsic ratios predicted with Cloudy, we were able to infer the relative extinction between the NIR and MIR wavelengths. Results. The electron densities (ne) derived from NIR [Fe II] lines range from ~5 × 104 to ~5 × 103 cm−3 along the jet axis at scales ≲350 AU, serving as reference points for comparing the relative NIR and MIR extinction. The derived MIR extinction results display a higher reddening than empirical dark cloud curves at the corresponding ne values and temperatures (from a few 103 to ~104 K) adopted from shock models. While both the electron density and temperature influence the NIR-to-MIR [Fe II] line ratios, the ratios are more strongly dependent on ne over the adopted range. If the MIR emission originates from gas that is less dense and cooler than the NIR-emitting region, the inferred extinction curves remain consistent with background star-derived values. Conclusions. This study introduces a new line-based method for deriving spatially resolved MIR extinction curves towards embedded protostellar sources exhibiting a bright [Fe II] jet. These results suggest that protostellar envelopes may contain dust with a modified grain size distribution, such as an increased fraction of larger grains (potentially due to grain growth) if the MIR and NIR lines originate from similar regions along the same sight lines. Alternatively, if the grain size distribution has not changed (i.e., there is no grain growth), the MIR lines may trace cooler, less dense gas than the NIR lines along the same sight lines. This method provides a novel approach for studying dust properties in star-forming regions that could be extended to other protostellar systems to refine extinction models in embedded environments.

The dust extinction of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) host galaxies, containing important clues to the nature of GRB progenitors and crucial for dereddening, is still poorly known. Here we propose a straightforward method to determine the extinction of GRB host galaxies by comparing the observed optical spectra to the intrinsic ones extrapolated from the X-ray spectra. The rationale for this method is from the standard fireball model: if the optical flux decay index equals to that of the X-ray flux, then there is no break frequency between the optical and X-ray bands, therefore we can derive the intrinsic optical flux from the X-ray spectra. We apply this method to three GRBs of which the optical and X-ray fluxes have the same decay indices and another one with inferred cooling break frequency, and obtain the rest-frame extinction curves of their host galaxies. The derived extinction curves are gray and do not resemble any extinction curves of local galaxies (e.g. the Milk Way, the Small/Large Magellanic Clouds, or nearby starburst galaxies). The amount of extinction is rather large (with visual extinction $A_V$ $\sim$ 1.6--3.4$\magni$). We model the derived extinction curves in terms of the silicate-graphite interstellar grain model. As expected from the ``gray'' nature of the derived extinction curve, the dust size distribution is skewed to large grains. We determine, for the first time, the local dust-to-gas ratios of GRB host galaxies using the model-derived dust parameters and the hydrogen column densities determined from X-ray absorptions.

Original article can be found at: http://www.iop.org/EJ/journal/apjl Copyright American Astronomical Society DOI: 10.1086/518310 [Full text of this article is not available in the UHRA]