Afterglow Observations Research Articles

ENERGY INJECTION IN GAMMA-RAY BURST AFTERGLOWS

We present multi-wavelength observations and modeling of Gamma-ray Bursts (GRBs) that exhibit a simultaneous re-brightening in their X-ray and optical light curves, and are also detected at radio wavelengths. We show that the re-brightening episodes can be modeled by injection of energy into the blastwave and that in all cases the energy injection rate falls within the theoretical bounds expected for a distribution of energy with ejecta Lorentz factor. Our measured values of the circumburst density, jet opening angle, and beaming corrected kinetic energy are consistent with the distribution of these parameters for long-duration GRBs at both z~1 and z>6, suggesting that the jet launching mechanism and environment of these events are similar to that of GRBs that do not have bumps in their light curves. However, events exhibiting re-brightening episodes have lower radiative efficiencies than average, suggesting that a majority of the kinetic energy of the outflow is carried by slow-moving ejecta, which is further supported by steep measured distributions of the ejecta energy as a function of Lorentz factor. We do not find evidence for reverse shocks over the energy injection period, implying that the onset of energy injection is a gentle process. We further show that GRBs exhibiting simultaneous X-ray and optical re-brightenings are likely the tail of a distribution of events with varying rates of energy injection, forming the most extreme events in their class. Future X-ray observations of GRB afterglows with Swift and its successors will thus likely discover several more such events, while radio follow-up and multi-wavelength modeling of similar events will unveil the role of energy injection in GRB afterglows.

GRB 110731A: EARLY AFTERGLOW IN STELLAR WIND POWERED BY A MAGNETIZED OUTFLOW

One of the most energetic gamma-ray bursts, GRB 110731A, was observed from an optical to GeV energy range. Previous analysis of the prompt phase revealed similarities between the Large Area Telescope (LAT) bursts observed by Fermi: (1) a delayed onset of the high-energy emission ( MeV), (2) a short-lasting bright peak at later times, and (3) a temporally extended component from this phase, lasting hundreds of seconds. Additionally to the prompt phase, multiwavelength observations over different epochs showed that the spectral energy distribution was better fitted by a wind afterglow model. We present a leptonic model based on an early afterglow that evolves in a stellar wind of its progenitor. We apply this model to interpret the temporally extended LAT emission and the brightest LAT peak exhibited by the prompt phase of GRB 110731A. Additionally, using the same set of parameters, we describe the multiwavelength afterglow observations. The origin of the temporally extended LAT, X-ray, and optical flux is explained through synchrotron radiation from the forward shock (FS) and the brightest LAT peak is described, evoking the synchrotron self-Compton emission from the reverse shock (RS). The bulk Lorentz factor required in this model (Γ ≃ 520) lies in the range of values demanded for most LAT-detected GRBs. We show that the strength of the magnetic field in the RS region is ∼50 times stronger than that in the FS region. This result suggests that, for GRB 110731A, the central engine is likely entrained with strong magnetic fields.

The multi-messenger picture of compact binary mergers

In the last decade, enormous progress has been achieved in the understanding of the various facets of coalescing double neutron star and neutron black hole binary systems. One hopes that the mergers of such compact binaries can be routinely detected with the advanced versions of the ground-based gravitational wave detector facilities, maybe as early as in 2016. From the theoretical side, there has also been mounting evidence that compact binary mergers could be major sources of heavy elements and these ideas have gained recent observational support from the detection of an event that has been interpreted as a "macronova", an electromagnetic transient powered by freshly produced, radioactively decaying heavy elements. In addition, compact binaries are the most plausible triggers of short gamma-ray bursts (sGRBs) and the last decade has witnessed the first detection of a sGRB afterglow and subsequent observations have delivered a wealth of information on the environments in which such bursts occur. To date, compact binary mergers can naturally explain most — though not all — of the observed sGRB properties. This paper reviews major recent developments in various areas related to compact binary mergers.

MAGNETAR GIANT FLARES IN MULTIPOLAR MAGNETIC FIELDS. II. FLUX ROPE ERUPTIONS WITH CURRENT SHEETS

We propose a physical mechanism to explain giant flares and radio afterglows in terms of a magnetospheric model containing both a helically twisted flux rope and a current sheet (CS). With the appearance of CS, we solve a mixed boundary value problem to get the magnetospheric field based on a domain decomposition method. We investigate properties of the equilibrium curve of the flux rope when the CS is present in background multipolar fields. In response to the variations at the magnetar surface, it quasi-statically evolves in stable equilibrium states. The loss of equilibrium occurs at a critical point and, beyond that point, it erupts catastrophically. New features show up when the CS is considered. Especially, we find two kinds of physical behaviors, i.e., catastrophic state transition and catastrophic escape. Magnetic energy would be released during state transitions. The released magnetic energy is sufficient to drive giant flares. The flux rope would go away from the magnetar quasi-statically, which is inconsistent with the radio afterglow. Fortunately, in the latter case, i.e., the catastrophic escape, the flux rope could escape the magnetar and go to infinity in a dynamical way. This is more consistent with radio afterglow observations of giant flares. We find that the minor radius of flux rope has important implications for its eruption. Flux ropes with larger minor radius are more prone to erupt. We stress that the CS provides an ideal place for magnetic reconnection, which would further enhance the energy release during eruptions.

Constraining the magnetic field in GRB relativistic collisionless shocks using radio data

Using GRB radio afterglow observations, we calculate the fraction of shocked plasma energy in the magnetic field in relativistic collisionless shocks ($\epsilon_B$). We obtained $\epsilon_B$ for 38 bursts by assuming that the radio afterglow light curve originates in the external forward shock and that its peak at a few to tens of days is due to the passage of the minimum (injection) frequency through the radio band. This allows for the determination of the peak synchrotron flux of the external forward shock, $f_p$, which is $f_p \propto \epsilon_B^{1/2}$. The obtained value of $\epsilon_B$ is conservatively a minimum if the time of the "jet break" is unknown, since after the "jet break" $f_p$ is expected to decay with time faster than before it. Claims of "jet breaks" have been made for a subsample of 23 bursts, for which we can estimate a measurement of $\epsilon_B$. Our results depend on the blast wave total energy, $E$, and the density of the circum-stellar medium (CSM), $n$, as $\epsilon_B \propto E^{-2}n^{-1}$. However, by assuming a CSM magnetic field ($\sim 10$ $\mu$G), we can express the lower limits/measurements on $\epsilon_B$ as a density-independent ratio, $B/B_{sc}$, of the magnetic field behind the shock to the CSM shock-compressed magnetic field. We find that the distribution on both the lower limit on and the measurement of $B/B_{sc}$ spans $\sim 3.5$ orders of magnitude and both have a median of $B/B_{sc} \sim 30$. This suggests that some amplification, beyond simple shock-compression, is necessary to explain these radio afterglow observations.

VLT/X-shooter spectroscopy of the GRB 120327A afterglow

We present a study of the environment of the Swift long gamma-ray burst GRB 120327A at z ~2.8 through optical spectroscopy of its afterglow. We analyzed medium-resolution, multi-epoch spectroscopic observations (~7000 - 12000, corresponding to ~ 15 - 23 km/s, S/N = 15- 30 and wavelength range 3000-25000AA) of the optical afterglow of GRB 120327A, taken with X-shooter at the VLT 2.13 and 27.65 hr after the GRB trigger. The first epoch spectrum shows that the ISM in the GRB host galaxy at z = 2.8145 is extremely rich in absorption features, with three components contributing to the line profiles. The hydrogen column density associated with GRB 120327A has log NH / cm^(-2) = 22.01 +/- 0.09, and the metallicity of the host galaxy is in the range [X/H] = -1.3 to -1.1. In addition to the ground state lines, we detect absorption features associated with excited states of CII, OI, SiII, FeII, and NiII, which we used to derive information on the distance between the host absorbing gas and the site of the GRB explosion. The variability of the FeI\lambda2396 excited line between the two epochs proves that these features are excited by the GRB UV flux. Moreover, the distance of component I is found to be dI=200+100-60 pc, while component II is located closer to the GRB, at dII=100+40-30 pc. These values are among the lowest found in GRBs. Component III does not show excited transitions, so it should be located farther away from the GRB. The presence of H2 molecules is firmly established, with a molecular fraction in the range f=4 X 10^(-7) - 10^(-4). This particularly low value can be attributed to the small dust content. This represents the third positive detection of molecules in a GRB environment.

Evidence for dust destruction from the early-time colour change of GRB 120119A

We present broadband observations and analysis of Swift gamma-ray burst (GRB) 120119A. Our early-time afterglow detections began under 15 s after the burst in the host frame (redshift z = 1.73), and they yield constraints on the burst energetics and local environment. Late-time afterglow observations of the burst show evidence for a moderate column of dust (A_V ~ 1.1 mag) similar to, but statistically distinct from, dust seen along Small Magellanic Cloud sightlines. Deep late-time observations reveal a dusty, rapidly star-forming host galaxy. Most notably, our early-time observations exhibit a significant red-to-blue colour change in the first ~200 s after the trigger at levels heretofore unseen in GRB afterglows. This colour change, which is coincident with the final phases of the prompt emission, is a hallmark prediction of the photodestruction of dust in GRB afterglows. We test whether dust-destruction signatures are significantly distinct from other sources of colour change, namely a change in the intrinsic spectral index {\beta}. We find that a time-varying power-law spectrum alone cannot adequately describe the observed colour change, and allowing for dust destruction (via a time-varying A_V) significantly improves the fit. While not definitively ruling out other possibilities, this event provides the best support yet for the direct detection of dust destruction in the local environment of a GRB.

MAGNETIC FIELDS IN RELATIVISTIC COLLISIONLESS SHOCKS

We present a systematic study on magnetic fields in Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) external forward shocks (FSs). There are 60 (35) GRBs in our X-ray (optical) sample, mostly from Swift. We use two methods to study epsilon_B (fraction of energy in magnetic field in the FS). 1. For the X-ray sample, we use the constraint that the observed flux at the end of the steep decline is $\ge$ the X-ray FS flux. 2. For the optical sample, we use the condition that the observed flux arises from the FS (optical sample light curves decline as ~t^-1, as expected for the FS). Making a reasonable assumption on E (jet isotropic equivalent kinetic energy), we converted these conditions into an upper limit (measurement) on epsilon_B n^{2/(p+1)} for our X-ray (optical) sample, where n is the circumburst density and p is the electron index. Taking n=1 cm^-3, the distribution of epsilon_B measurements (upper limits) for our optical (X-ray) sample has a range of ~10^-8 -10^-3 (~10^-6 -10^-3) and median of ~few x 10^-5 (~few x 10^-5). To characterize how much amplification is needed, beyond shock compression of a seed magnetic field ~10 muG, we expressed our results in terms of an amplification factor, AF, which is very weakly dependent on n (AF propto n^0.21 ). The range of AF measurements (upper limits) for our optical (X-ray) sample is ~ 1-1000 (~10-300) with a median of ~50 (~50). These results suggest that some amplification, in addition to shock compression, is needed to explain the afterglow observations.

Chemical abundances associated with gamma-ray bursts: nucleosynthesis in afterglows

Gamma-ray burst (GRB) ejecta carries huge amounts of energy expanding into the surrounding medium and heats up these materials, making it possible that nucleosynthesis can take place in such hot sites in afterglow stage. Here, we study possible changes in chemical abundances in the GRB afterglow processes of Wolf-Rayet (WR) star wind environments (Case A) and constant density surroundings (Case B). We find that the light element of lithium-beryllium-boron could occur in the afterglows via He+He process and spallation reactions. Some isotopes of F, Ne, Mg, Al, Si, P, S and Fe-group elements are also new species formed in the afterglows via proton-, neutron- and alpha-capture. The results show that the nucleosynthetic yields might be a diagnostic of the GRB's ambient environment. Our calculations indicate that Mg, Al, Si, P, Cr, Mn, Fe and Co have trended to appear in Case A, while Ne, Ti and Ni trend to occur in Case B. Furthermore, although some species have occurred both in Cases A and B, their mass fractions are quite different in these two cases. Here, we show that the mass fractions of Li-7, Be-7, Mg-24 and Si-30 are higher in Case A than that in Case B, but F-18 gives an opposite conclusion. Nucleosynthetic outputs might also be an indice to estimate the luminosity-temperature relation factor beta. In this study, when beta reduces, the mass abundances of B-11 and Ne-20 are higher in Case B than that in Case A; in contrast, as the beta becomes larger, this trend would be reversed; therefore, perhaps we could select the above elements as the indicators to estimate the properties of the surroundings around the GRBs. We also suggest that the spectroscopic observations of a GRB afterglow could only reveal the nucleosynthetic outputs from the interaction site between the GRB jet and its ambient matter, but could not represent the original composition of the pre-GRB surrounding medium.

On the nature of the ‘hostless’ short GRBs

A significant proportion ($\sim30\%$) of the short-duration gamma-ray bursts (SGRBs) localised by Swift have no detected host galaxy coincident with the burst location to deep limits, and also no high-likelihood association with proximate galaxies on the sky. These SGRBs may represent a population at moderately high redshifts ($z\gtrsim1$), for which the hosts are faint, or a population where the progenitor has been kicked far from its host or is sited in an outlying globular cluster. We consider the afterglow and host observations of three 'hostless' bursts (GRBs 090305A, 091109B and 111020A), coupled with a new observational diagnostic to aid the association of SGRBs with putative host galaxies to investigate this issue. Considering the well localised SGRB sample, 7/25 SGRBs can be classified as 'hostless' by our diagnostic. Statistically, however, the proximity of these seven SGRBs to nearby galaxies is higher than is seen for random positions on the sky. This suggests that the majority of 'hostless' SGRBs have likely been kicked from proximate galaxies at moderate redshift. Though this result still suggests only a small proportion of SGRBs will be within the AdLIGO horizon for NS-NS or NS-BH inspiral detection ($z\sim0.1$), in the particular case of GRB 111020A a plausible host candidate is at $z=0.02$.

NuSTAR OBSERVATIONS OF GRB 130427A ESTABLISH A SINGLE COMPONENT SYNCHROTRON AFTERGLOW ORIGIN FOR THE LATE OPTICAL TO MULTI-GEV EMISSION

GRB 130427A occurred in a relatively nearby galaxy; its prompt emission had the largest GRB fluence ever recorded. The afterglow of GRB 130427A was bright enough for the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope ARray (NuSTAR) to observe it in the 3-79 keV energy range long after its prompt emission (~1.5 and 5 days). This range, where afterglow observations were previously not possible, bridges an important spectral gap. Combined with Swift, Fermi and ground-based optical data, NuSTAR observations unambiguously establish a single afterglow spectral component from optical to multi-GeV energies a day after the event, which is almost certainly synchrotron radiation. Such an origin of the late-time Fermi/LAT > 10 GeV photons requires revisions in our understanding of collisionless relativistic shock physics.

Short-Duration Gamma-Ray Bursts

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) display a bimodal duration distribution with a separation between the short- and long-duration bursts at about 2 s. The progenitors of long GRBs have been identified as massive stars based on their association with Type Ic core-collapse supernovae (SNe), their exclusive location in star-forming galaxies, and their strong correlation with bright UV regions within their host galaxies. Short GRBs have long been suspected on theoretical grounds to arise from compact object binary mergers (neutron star–neutron star or neutron star–black hole). The discovery of short GRB afterglows in 2005 provided the first insight into their energy scale and environments, as well as established a cosmological origin, a mix of host-galaxy types, and an absence of associated SNe. In this review, I summarize nearly a decade of short GRB afterglow and host-galaxy observations and use this information to shed light on the nature and properties of their progenitors, the energy scale and collimation of the relativistic outflow, and the properties of the circumburst environments. The preponderance of the evidence points to compact object binary progenitors, although some open questions remain. On the basis of this association, observations of short GRBs and their afterglows can shed light on the on- and off-axis electromagnetic counterparts of gravitational wave sources from the Advanced LIGO/Virgo experiments.

Radio afterglows of a complete sample of bright Swift GRBs: predictions from present days to the SKA era

Radio observations of Gamma Ray Bursts afterglows are fundamental in providing insights into their physics and environment, and in constraining the true energetics of these sources. Nonetheless, radio observations of GRB afterglows are presently sparse in the time/frequency domain. Starting from a complete sample of 58 bright Swift long bursts (BAT6), we constructed a homogeneous sub-sample of 38 radio detections/upper limits which preserves all the properties of the parent sample. One half of the bursts have detections between 1 and 5 days after the explosion with typical fluxes F>100 muJy at 8.4 GHz. Through a Population SYnthesis Code coupled with the standard afterglow Hydrodynamical Emission model (PSYCHE) we reproduce the radio flux distribution of the radio sub-sample. Based on these results we study the detectability in the time/frequency domain of the entire long GRB population by present and future radio facilities. We find that the GRBs that typically trigger Swift can be detected at 8.4 GHz by JVLA within few days with modest exposures even at high redshifts. The final SKA can potentially observe the whole GRB population provided that there will be a dedicated GRB gamma-ray detector more sensitive than Swift. For a sizable fraction (50%) of these bursts, SKA will allow us to perform radio-calorimetry, after the trans-relativistic transition (occurring ~100 d), providing an estimate of the true (collimation corrected) energetics of GRBs.

Applying an accurate spherical model to gamma-ray burst afterglow observations

We present results of model fits to afterglow data sets of GRB970508, GRB980703 and GRB070125, characterized by long and broadband coverage. The model assumes synchrotron radiation (including self-absorption) from a spherical adiabatic blast wave and consists of analytic flux prescriptions based on numerical results. For the first time it combines the accuracy of hydrodynamic simulations through different stages of the outflow dynamics with the flexibility of simple heuristic formulas. The prescriptions are especially geared towards accurate description of the dynamical transition of the outflow from relativistic to Newtonian velocities in an arbitrary power-law density environment. We show that the spherical model can accurately describe the data only in the case of GRB970508, for which we find a circumburst medium density consistent with a stellar wind. We investigate in detail the implied spectra and physical parameters of that burst. For the microphysics we show evidence for equipartition between the fraction of energy density carried by relativistic electrons and magnetic field. We also find that for the blast wave to be adiabatic, the fraction of electrons accelerated at the shock has to be smaller than 1. We present best-fit parameters for the afterglows of all three bursts, including uncertainties in the parameters of GRB970508, and compare the inferred values to those obtained by different authors.

Implications of early time observations of optical afterglows of GRBs

Optical observations of afterglows at very times are very useful towards understanding the least known problem of GRB research field i.e. the transition from prompt emission to early afterglows. The comparison of a subset of well-monitored GRBs and their early time properties at optical are compared with that seen at XRT and BAT wavelengths. In most of the observed cases, the very early optical observations of GRBs do not trace the canonical decay nature seen at XRT wavelengths, suggesting different origins for the observed early emissions in the two bands. In some of the early optical light-curves, the decay followed by smooth rise features are consistent with the onset of the afterglow although such features are also expected if the emission is seen off-axis and/or the outflow is structured.

Short GRB afterglows observed with GROND

We report on follow-up observations of 20 short-duration gamma-ray bursts (T90 < 2s) performed in g′r′i′z′JHKs with the Gamma-Ray Burst Optical Near-Infrared Detector (GROND) between mid-2007 and the end of 2010. This is the most homogeneous and comprehensive data set on GRB afterglow observations of short bursts. In three cases, GROND was on target within less than 10 min after the trigger, leading to the discovery of the afterglow of GRB 081226A and its faint underlying host galaxy. In addition, GROND was able to image the optical afterglow and follow the light curve evolution in five further cases: GRBs 090305, 090426, 090510, 090927, and 100117A. Three of the aforementioned six bursts with optical light curves show a break: GRBs 090426 and 090510 as well as GRB 090305. For GRB 090927, no break is seen in the optical/X-ray light curve until about 150 ks/600 ks after the burst. A decay slope of the optical afterglow of GRB 100117A could be measured. Using these data supplemented by about ten events taken from the literature, we compare the jet half-opening angles of long and short bursts. We find a tentative evidence that short bursts have wider opening angles than long bursts. However, the statistics are still very poor and follow-up observations of these events are therefore very important to gain as much observational data as possible.

A comparative study of GRB-Supernovae

AbstractOptical afterglow observations hold the indirect key to type-Ic Supernovae associated with Gamma Ray Bursts. In several cases where there is no spectroscopic confirmation available, presence of the supernova is inferred from the red bump seen in late afterglow light-curves. We do extensive afterglow modeling to extract the supernova contribution as residue. We compare the residual lightcurves of Supernovae associated with GRB041006, GRB030329, GRB050525A and GRB090618.

Managing GRB afterglows optical/IR observations in the web 2.0 era

We present an overview of top internet technologies that can be used to build webtools and rich internet applications for astronomy. The aim is to simplify the data handling, reduction and access, in particular of optical/infrared images collected by traditional, automatic or robotic telescopes. These tools are particularly suitable for real-time management of GRB afterglow observations. Using these technologies we are developing a web-based images database management system. We present available features and discuss further improvements to the mentioned system.

Fermi/LAT observations of GRB 110625A

We report γ-ray afterglow observations of GRB 110625A using Fermi's Large Area Telescope (LAT) above 100 MeV. Gamma-ray emission was clearly detected using data taken between 180 s and 580 s after the burst. The GeV light curve differs from a power-law decay, and probably consists of two emission periods. Simultaneous Swift/XRT observations did not show flaring behaviors, distinguishing its origin of the extended GeV emission from the case of GRB 100728A. © EAS, EDP Sciences 2013.(5 refs)

Multi-color observations of short GRB afterglows: 20 events observed between 2007 and 2010

We report on follow-up observations of 20 short-duration gamma-ray bursts performed in g'r'i'z'JHKs with the seven-channel imager GROND between mid-2007 and the end of 2010. This is one of the most comprehensive data sets on GRB afterglow observations of short bursts published so far. In three cases GROND was on target within less than 10 min after the trigger, leading to the discovery of the afterglow of GRB 081226A and its faint underlying host galaxy. In addition, GROND was able to image the optical afterglow and follow the light-curve evolution in further five cases, GRBs 090305, 090426, 090510, 090927, and 100117A. In all other cases optical/NIR upper limits can be provided on the afterglow magnitudes.