Dim Bursts Research Articles

PROBING THE COSMIC GAMMA-RAY BURST RATE WITH TRIGGER SIMULATIONS OF THE SWIFT BURST ALERT TELESCOPE

The gamma-ray burst (GRB) rate is essential for revealing the connection between GRBs, supernovae and stellar evolution. Additionally, the GRB rate at high redshift provides a strong probe of star formation history in the early universe. While hundreds of GRBs are observed by Swift, it remains difficult to determine the intrinsic GRB rate due to the complex trigger algorithm of Swift. Current studies of the GRB rate usually approximate the Swift trigger algorithm by a single detection threshold. However, unlike the previously flown GRB instruments, Swift has over 500 trigger criteria based on photon count rate and additional image threshold for localization. To investigate possible systematic biases and explore the intrinsic GRB properties, we develop a program that is capable of simulating all the rate trigger criteria and mimicking the image threshold. Our simulations show that adopting the complex trigger algorithm of Swift increases the detection rate of dim bursts. As a result, our simulations suggest bursts need to be dimmer than previously expected to avoid over-producing the number of detections and to match with Swift observations. Moreover, our results indicate that these dim bursts are more likely to be high redshift events than low-luminosity GRBs. This would imply an even higher cosmic GRB rate at large redshifts than previous expectations based on star-formation rate measurements, unless other factors, such as the luminosity evolution, are taken into account. The GRB rate from our best result gives a total number of 4571^{+829}_{-1584} GRBs per year that are beamed toward us in the whole universe. SPECIAL NOTE (2015.05.16): This new version incorporates an erratum. All the GRB rate normalizations ($R_{\rm GRB}(z=0)$) should be a factor of 2 smaller than previously reported. Please refer to the Appendix for more details. We sincerely apologize for the mistake.

DETAILED INVESTIGATIONS OF THE DIMMEST BURSTS FROM TWO MAGNETARS, SGR J0501+4516 AND SGR J1550–5418

We applied the Bayesian blocks representation technique to search for the dimmest bursts from two magnetars: we identified 320 events from SGR J0501+4516 using a deep XMM-Newton observation and 404 bursts from SGR J1550-5418 using two Swift/XRT pointings. The fluence level of our sample for both sources are about 1-2 orders of magnitude lower than earlier studies. We systematically investigated morphological characteristics and duration distributions of these bursts, as these properties are directly obtained from their Bayesian blocks profiles. We also studied the spectral behavior of the dimmest bursts, which were grouped based on the morphological types and fluences. Our results helped us further differentiate the spectral nature of very dim bursts from that of the persistent emission, both fitted with physically motivated continuum emission models. Moreover, we generated the differential burst fluence distribution for these two magnetars in the lowest fluence regime.

DISCOVERY OF A NEW SOFT GAMMA REPEATER: SGR J0418 + 5729

On 2009 June 5, the Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) onboard the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope triggered on two short, and relatively dim bursts with spectral properties similar to Soft Gamma Repeater (SGR) bursts. Independent localizations of the bursts by triangulation with the Konus-RF and with the Swift satellite, confirmed their origin from the same, previously unknown, source. The subsequent discovery of X-ray pulsations with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE), confirmed the magnetar nature of the new source, SGR J0418+5729. We describe here the Fermi/GBM observations, the discovery and the localization of this new SGR, and our infrared and Chandra X-ray observations. We also present a detailed temporal and spectral study of the two GBM bursts. SGR J0418+5729 is the second source discovered in the same region of the sky in the last year, the other one being SGR J0501+4516. Both sources lie in the direction of the galactic anti-center and presumably at the nearby distance of ~2 kpc (assuming they reside in the Perseus arm of our galaxy). The near-threshold GBM detection of bursts from SGR J0418+5729 suggests that there may be more such dim SGRs throughout our galaxy, possibly exceeding the population of bright SGRs. Finally, using sample statistics, we conclude that the implications of the new SGR discovery on the number of observable active magnetars in our galaxy at any given time is <10, in agreement with our earlier estimates.

GRB 070518: a gamma-ray burst with optically dim luminosity

We present our optical observations of {\em Swift} GRB 070518 afterglow obtained at the 0.8-m Tsinghua University-National Astronomical Observatory of China telescope (TNT) at Xinglong Observatory. Our follow-up observations were performed from 512 sec after the burst trigger. With the upper limit of redshift $\sim$0.7, GRB 070518 is found to be an optically dim burst. The spectra indices $\beta_{ox}$ of optical to X-ray are slightly larger than 0.5, which implies the burst might be a dark burst. The extinction $A_{V}$ of the host galaxy is 3.2 mag inferred from the X-ray hydrogen column density with Galactic extinction law, and 0.3 mag with SMC extinction law. Also, it is similar to three other low-redshift optically dim bursts, which belong to XRR or XRF, and mid-term duration($T_{90}<10$, except for GRB 070419A, $T_{90}$=116s). Moreover, its $R$ band afterglow flux is well fitted by a single power-law with an index of 0.87. The optical afterglow and the X-ray afterglow in the normal segment might have the same mechanism, as they are consistent with the prediction of the classical external shock model. Besides, GRB 070518 agrees with Amati relation under reasonable assumptions. The Ghirlanda relation is also tested with the burst.

Constraining the dark GRB mystery with HETE-2 SXC localizations

Over 85% of the long GRBs fully localized by HETEs soft X-ray camera (SXC) have an associated fading optical counterpart, suggesting that we are close to solving the mystery of “dark” bursts. SXC localizations are characterized by small error boxes (∼1 arcmin) sent out within a few hours after the burst. Are there selection effects that may account for this favorable statistic? Examining and comparing the list of SXC detections with the overall HETE sample, we find no spectral differences between the two sets, e.g., the SXC sample spans both X-ray bright and dim bursts similar to the overall HETE sample. SXC localizations, however, have prompted fast, and deep counterpart searches over highly constrained error boxes. A large fraction of optically dark bursts are probably classified as such due to inadequate follow-up observations, and most GRBs should have a detectable optical counterpart.

HETE‐2Localization and Observation of the Bright, X‐Ray–rich Gamma‐Ray Burst GRB 021211

A bright, X-ray-rich gamma-ray burst (GRB) was detected by the French Gamma Telescope (FREGATE) and localized with the Wide Field X-ray Monitor (WXM) and Soft X-ray Camera (SXC) instruments on the High Energy Transient Explorer 2 satellite (HETE-2) at 11:18:34.03 UT (40714.03 SOD) on 2002 December 11. The WXM flight software localized the burst to a 14' radius; this was relayed to the astronomical community 22 s after the start of the burst. Ground analysis of WXM and SXC data provided refined localizations; the latter can be described as a circle with a radius of 2' centered at R.A. 08h09m00s, decl. 06°44'20'' (J2000.0). GRB 021211 consists of a single, FRED-like pulse with a duration t90 ≈ 2.3 s at high energies (85-400 keV), which increases to t90 ≈ 8.5 s at low energies (2-10 keV). The peak photon number and photon energy fluxes in the 2-400 keV band are (34.0 ± 1.8) photons cm-2 s-1 and (1.68 ± 0.11) × 10-6 ergs cm-2 s-1, respectively. The energy fluences in the 2-30 and 30-400 keV energy bands are SX = (1.36 ± 0.05) × 10-6 ergs cm-2 and Sγ = (2.17 ± 0.15) × 10-6 ergs cm-2, respectively. Thus, GRB 021211 is an X-ray-rich GRB (SX/Sγ = 0.63 > 0.32). The average spectrum of the burst is well fitted by a Band function (low-energy power-law index α = -0.805; high-energy power-law index β = -2.37; and energy of the peak of the spectrum in νFν, E = 46.8 keV). The near-real-time optical follow-up of GRB 021211 made possible by HETE-2 led to the detection of an optical afterglow for what otherwise would quite likely have been classified as an GRB, since the optical transient faded rapidly (from R < 14 to R ≈ 19) within the first 20 minutes, and was fainter than R ≈ 23 within 24 hr after the burst. GRB 021211 demonstrates that some fraction of burst afterglows are optically dark because their optical afterglows at times greater than 1 hr after the burst are very faint, and previously have often escaped detection. Such bursts are rather than truly optically dark. GRB 021211 also shows that even such optically dim bursts can have very bright optical afterglows at times less than 20 minutes after the burst.

Power Density Spectra of Gamma‐Ray Bursts

Power density spectra (PDSs) of long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) provide useful information on GRBs, indicating their self-similar temporal structure. The best power-law PDSs are displayed by the longest bursts (T90 > 100 s) in which the range of self-similar timescales covers more than 2 decades. Shorter bursts have apparent PDS slopes more strongly affected by statistical fluctuations. The underlying power law can then be reproduced with high accuracy by averaging the PDSs for a large sample of bursts. This power law has a slope α ≈ -5/3 and a sharp break at ~1 Hz. The power-law PDS provides a new sensitive tool for studies of GRBs. In particular, we calculate the PDSs of bright bursts in separate energy channels. The PDS flattens in the hard channel (hν > 300 keV) and steepens in the soft channel (hν < 50 keV), while the PDS of bolometric light curves approximately follows the -5/3 law. We then study dim bursts and compare them to the bright ones. We find a strong correlation between the burst brightness and the PDS slope. This correlation shows that the bursts are far from being standard candles and dim bursts should be intrinsically weak. The time dilation of dim bursts is probably related to physical processes occurring in the burst rather than to a cosmological redshift.

A Complexity‐Brightness Correlation in Gamma‐Ray Bursts

We observe strong correlations between the temporal properties of gamma ray bursts (GRBs) and their apparent peak brightness. The strongest effect (with a significance level of 10^{-6}) is the difference between the brightness distributions of simple bursts (dominated by a single smooth pulse) and complex bursts (consisting of overlapping pulses). The latter has a break at a peak flux of 1.5 ph/cm^2/s, while the distribution of simple bursts is smooth down to the BATSE threshold. We also observe brightness dependent variations in the shape of the average peak aligned time profile (ATP) of GRBs. The decaying slope of the ATP shows time dilation when comparing bright and dim bursts while the rising slope hardly changes. Both slopes of the ATP are deformed for weak bursts as compared to strong bursts. The interpretation of these effects is simple: a complex burst where a number of independent pulses overlap in time appears intrinsically stronger than a simple burst. Then the BATSE sample of complex bursts covers larger redshifts where some cosmological factor causes the break in the peak brightness distribution. This break could correspond to the peak in the star formation rate that was recently shown to occur at a redshift of z~1.5.

Statistics of time histories and spectral variability of GRBs

We introduce new parameters for characterizing gamma-ray burst time profiles and energy spectra. Bursts with short and long duration T 90 are compared, and significant differences are found in the number of pulses and equivalent pulse widths. The trend of the average spectral parameters was resolved at the (α,E p) plane. The comparison between bright and dim bursts is done, which manifests the difference in the average emissivity curves and in the average spectral hardness.

A Direct Test of the Cosmological Model for Cosmic Gamma‐Ray Bursts Based on Peak Alignment Averaging

The cosmological origin of cosmic gamma-ray bursts is tested using the method of peak alignment for the averaging of time profiles. The test is applied to the basic cosmological model with standard sources, which postulates that difference between bright and dim bursts results from different cosmological red-shifts of their sources. The average emissivity curve (ACEbright) of the group of bright BATSE bursts is approximated by a simple analytical function, which takes into account the effect of squeezing of the time pulses with increasing energy of photons. This function is used to build the model light curve for ACEdim of dim BATSE bursts, which takes into account both the cosmological time- stretching of bursts light curves and the red-shifting of photons energies. Direct comparison between the model light curve and the ACEdim of dim bursts is performed, which is based on the estimated probabilities of differences between ACEs of randomly selected groups of bursts. It shows no evidence for the predicted cosmological effects. The 3 sigma upper limit of the average red- shift Zdim of emitters of dim bursts is estimated to be as small, as 0.1-0.5, which is not consistent with values 1 predicted by the known cosmological models of gamma-ray bursts.

Brightness‐independent Measurements of Gamma‐Ray Burst Durations

We demonstrate that a brightness bias exists in the third BATSE catalog duration measurements of cosmic gamma-ray bursts. This bias, caused by the fact that the outlying emission from bright bursts is easier to detect than from dim bursts, is sufficient to obscure a time-dilation factor of order 2. To avoid this problem, we construct brightness-independent measures of duration and apply them to a sample of long bursts containing no known brightness biases. We render all bursts to the same signal-to-noise ratio level, and thereby miss comparable amounts of temporal structure in both dim and bright bursts. We show that of two popular duration measures, T50 and T90, the former is to be preferred when the primary requirement is a comparison between bright and dim bursts. Our background subtraction approach involves the simultaneous examination of time profiles from all eight of the BATSE's large area detectors and all four energy channels, enabling us to identify appropriate background regions and to discriminate effectively between burst and nonburst emission. We report the first brightness-independent duration measurements over a continuous range of peak flux. These results indicate an increasing time-dilation factor with decreasing flux. We estimate that the energy dependence of the derived durations is relatively small. Under the cosmological hypothesis, a self-consistent treatment, including the corresponding energy correction implied by redshift, indicates that (1 + zdim)/(1 + zbrt) is ~2.

Brightness-dependent Properties of Gamma-Ray Bursts

Brightness-dependent correlations have been conclusively detected in the average time profiles of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). Determining the time constants of the stretched exponential slopes of the average peak-aligned time profile of GRBs as a function of the peak brightness, we find that the postpeak slope shows time dilation when comparing bright and dim bursts, while the prepeak slope hardly changes. Stronger bursts are thus more symmetric than weaker bursts at a high confidence level. The very weakest bursts have a different shape (i.e., a different stretched exponential index) of their average time profile as compared to brighter bursts. This difference is too large to be explained by trigger effects and Poisson noise. We interpret these correlations as being the result of an intrinsic positive correlation between brightness and complexity of GRBs. This interpretation is directly confirmed by simulations as well as by a morphological classification of bursts. The fact that such a correlation can be observed should impose new constraints on the distribution of GRBs over luminosity distance.

The Average Intensity and Spectral Evolution of BATSE Cosmic Gamma-Ray Bursts

Statistical studies of BATSE gamma-ray bursts are presented: we average the time profiles, aligning the events at their highest peaks. Using the time histories in different energy channels, we summarize the general features of the average intensity and spectral evolution of gamma-ray bursts (GRBS) and compare the average evolution of bright and dim events. While no differences are found between the average intensity histories, the average hardness ratio histories demonstrate a hardness/brightness correlation. The observed lack of differences between the intensity histories of bright and dim bursts is incompatible with cosmological time dilation effects predicted by simple cosmological models. The combined results of no intensity history difference but a hardness history difference between bright and dim bursts places constraints on galactic models for the origin of GRBS.

The nu F nu Peak Energy Distributions of Gamma-Ray Bursts Observed by BATSE

view Abstract Citations (156) References (25) Co-Reads Similar Papers Volume Content Graphics Metrics Export Citation NASA/ADS The nu F nu Peak Energy Distributions of Gamma-Ray Bursts Observed by BATSE Mallozzi, Robert S. ; Paciesas, William S. ; Pendleton, Geoffrey N. ; Briggs, Michael S. ; Preece, Robert D. ; Meegan, Charles A. ; Fishman, Gerald J. Abstract The majority of gamma-ray bursts exhibit a peak in their νFν photon energy spectra at an energy Ep that is in the range of ∼20-2000 keV available to the Large Area Detectors of the Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. If gamma-ray burst sources are at cosmological distances (d ≳ 1 Gpc), then the spectra of dim bursts should be redshifted to lower energies relative to those of bright bursts. The magnitude of the shift is a function of the cosmological redshifts z of both the dim and bright burst sources and hence yields the range of redshift available to the bursts; this range is further constrained by considering cosmological model fits to the burst number-intensity distribution. We have produced photon energy spectra for ∼400 bursts using data from BATSE to investigate if this expected shift in the νFν peak is observed. We find that he mean peak energies of the burst spectra are correlated with intensity: lower intensity groups of burst spectra exhibit a lower average peak energy, although the distributions of Ep are quite wide. Denoting the redshift of an event with an observed peak photon flux P (photons cm-2 s-1) by zp, we find that the maximum range consistent with the bursts of our sample is (1 + z1)/(1 + z100) = 1.86+0.36-.24. Publication: The Astrophysical Journal Pub Date: December 1995 DOI: 10.1086/176513 Bibcode: 1995ApJ...454..597M Keywords: GAMMA RAYS: BURSTS; COSMOLOGY: OBSERVATIONS full text sources ADS |

Gamma-ray bursts: the time domain

Temporal aspects of the gamma-ray burst phenomenon are reviewed in a hierarchical schema. The macrocosm - burst profiles taken as a whole - is fairly well characterized. The bimodal duration distribution can be framed in terms of discretization of pulse structures. The average burst envelope is slightly asymmetric, an aspect possibly related to spectral softening. Burst durations are longer for dim BATSE bursts, an effect explainable by either cosmic time dilation or a luminosity function governed by special relativistic beaming, or a combination. GeV emission, persisting up to thousands of seconds after burst cessation at keV-MeV energies is one of the most challenging features of bursts. On the timescale of pulses structures (the “mesocosm”), some properties mirror the macrocosm: rise/decay asymmetry; wider pulses and longer intervals between pulses in dim bursts than in bright ones; and the tendency of pulses to soften with time. A central clue to the burst mechanism may be the organization in time and energy, manifest as pulses, for both long and short bursts. Burst profiles appear to be well represented by pulses, accounting for the vast majority of emission in the BATSE energy band. In the microcosm, existence of a higher frequency component - with properties possibly unlike those of pulses - has not been well addressed.

Duration distributions of bright and DIM BATSE gamma-ray bursts

We have measured the T(sub 90) and T(sub 50) durations of bright and dim gamma-ray bursts detected by the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory's (CGRO) Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BASTE). The T(sub 90) T(sub 50) duration is defined as the interval over which 5% (25%) to 95% (75%) of the burst counts accumulate. Out of 775 bursts observed by BATSE 159 bursts were analyzed; bursts with durations shorter than 1.5 s were excluded. A Kolmogorov-Smirnov test yields a probability of 6 x 10(exp -5) that the T(sub 50) durations of the dim and bright samples are drawn from the same parent population. We find that the centroid and extent of the duration distribution for the dim sample are scaled by approximately a factor of 2 relative to those of the bright sample. The measured time-dilation factor is not sensitive to choice of energy band. These results are quantitatively consistent with previous tests for time dilation in a smaller sample of BATSE bursts. The sources of dimmer bursts, if cosmological, would lie at redshifts of order 2.

Detection of signature consistent with cosmological time dilation in gamma-ray bursts

If gamma ray bursts are at cosmological distances-as suggested by their isotropic distribution on the sky and by their number-intensity relation-then the burst profiles will be stretched in time, by an amount proportional to the redshift, 1 + Z. We have tested data from the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory's (CGRO's) Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) for such time dilation. Out of 590 bursts observed by BATSE, 131 bursts were analyzed; bursts with durations shorter than 1.5 s were excluded. We used three tests to compare the timescales of bright and dim bursts, the latter, on average, being more distant than the former. Our measures of timescale are constructed to avoid selection effects arising from intensity differences by rescaling all bursts to fiducial levels of peak intensity and noise bias. (1) We found that the total rescaled count above background for the dim burst ensemble is approximately twice that for the brightest bursts-translating into longer durations for the dim bursts. (2) Wavelet-transform decompositions of the burst profiles confirmed that this dilation operates over a broad range of timescales. (3) Structure on the shortest timescales was examined using a procedure which aligns the highest peaks of profiles from which the noise has been optimally removed using a wavelet threshold technique. In all three tests, the dim bursts are stretched by a factor of approximately 2 relative to the bright ones, over seven octaves of timescale. We calibrated the measurements by dilating synthetic bursts that approximate the temporal characteristics of bright BATSE bursts. Results are consistent with bursts at BATSE's peak-flux completeness limit being at cosmological distances corresponding to Z approximately equal to 1, and thus with independent cosmological interpretations of the BATSE number-intensity relation. Alternative explanations of our results, arising from the nature of physical processes in bursts, are still possible.

EXOSAT observations of bursts from 2S1636-536: Burst morphology

In two observations with the EXOSAT ME a total of 11 bursts were detected; 7 in July and 4 in May 1984. In terms of rise time and peak count rate there are only 2 kinds, those with a sharp rise and peak count rate of 500 cts/sec/detector and those with a slow rise and a peak count rate of 200 cts/sec/detector. The spectral analysis of these bursts shows a similar situation: for the sharp bright bursts the black body radius increases rapidly to >20 km and the temperature lags. For the slow dim bursts the temperature rises ahead of the black body radius expansion which is small and slow. The time t 1/2 at which half the total burst energy has been released is ~3.5 seconds for bright bursts and ~8 seconds for dim ones. These gross differences may be related to the predominance of helium or hydrogen in the thermonuclear flash.