Duration Gamma-ray Bursts Research Articles

Neutrino signal dependence on gamma-ray burst emission mechanism

Long duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are among the least understood astrophysical transients powering the high-energy universe. To date, various mechanisms have been proposed to explain the observed electromagnetic GRB emission. In this work, we show that, although different jet models may be equally successful in fitting the observed electromagnetic spectral energy distributions, the neutrino production strongly depends on the adopted emission and dissipation model. To this purpose, we compute the neutrino production for a benchmark high-luminosity GRB in the internal shock model, including a dissipative photosphere as well as three emission components, in the jet model invoking internal-collision-induced magnetic reconnection and turbulence (ICMART), in the case of a magnetic jet with gradual dissipation, and in a jet with dominant proton synchrotron radiation. We find that the expected neutrino fluence can vary up to three orders of magnitude in amplitude and peak at energies ranging from 104 to 108 GeV. For our benchmark input parameters, none of the explored GRB models is excluded by the targeted searches carried out by the IceCube and ANTARES Collaborations. However, our work highlights the potential of high-energy neutrinos of pinpointing the underlying GRB emission mechanism and the importance of relying on different jet models for unbiased stacking searches.

Testing Blandford–Znajek Mechanism in Black Hole Hyperaccretion Flows for Long-duration Gamma-Ray Bursts

Abstract Long-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are generally related to the core-collapse of massive stars. In the collapsar scenario, a rotating stellar-mass black hole (BH) surrounded by a hyperaccretion disk has been considered as one of the plausible candidates of GRB central engines. In this paper, we work on a sample including 146 long GRBs with significant jet break features in the multiband afterglows. The jet opening angles can then be obtained by the jet break time. By assuming GRB jets powered by the Blandford–Znajek (BZ) mechanism in the BH hyperaccretion system, we analyze the distributions of the long GRB luminosities and durations in the samples, and constrain the accretion rates for the different BH spins. As a result, we find that the BZ mechanism is so powerful that it is possible to interpret the long GRB prompt emissions within reasonable accretion rates.

Electromagnetic counterpart to gravitational waves from coalescence of binary black hole with magnetic monopole charge

A Satellite Fermi GBM detected recent putative short Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) in coincident with the gravitational wave signal GW 150914 produced by the merger of binary black hole (BH). If at least one BH possess magnetic monopole charge in the binary BH system then the short-duration GRBs may produce during the final phase of a binary BH merger. The detection of gravitational waves GW 150914, GW 151226 and LVT 151012 by LIGO gave the evidence that merging of the compact object like binary BH often happens in our universe. In this paper, we report the qualitative model to discuss the generation of electromagnetic radiation from the merging of two BHs with equal masses and at least one BH carrying the magnetic monopole charge in the binary system. In this model, BH possess a magnetic monopole charge that may not be neutralized before the coalescence. During the inspiralling process, the magnetic monopole charge on the BH would produced the electric dipole moment. Short duration GRB would produce by the rapidly evolution of the electric dipole moment which may detectable on Earth. We predict that this model would be beneficial in the future to explain the generation of gravitational wave (GW) plus a electromagnetic signal of multi-wavelength from mergers of magnetically charged BHs.

Short Duration Gamma-Ray Bursts and Their Outflows in Light of GW170817

The detection of GW170817, it's extensive multi-wavelength follow-up campaign, and the large amount of theoretical development and interpretation that followed, have resulted in a significant step forward in the understanding of the binary neutron star merger phenomenon as a whole. One of its aspects is seeing the merger as a progenitor of short gamma-ray bursts (SGRB), which will be the subject of this review. On the one hand, GW170817 observations have confirmed some theoretical expectations, exemplified by the confirmation that binary neutron star mergers are the progenitors of SGRBs. In addition, the multimessenger nature of GW170817 has allowed for gathering of unprecedented data, such as the trigger time of the merger, the delay with which the gamma-ray photons were detected, and the brightening afterglow of an off-axis event. All together, the incomparable richness of the data from GW170817 has allowed us to paint a fairly detailed picture of at least one SGRB. I will detail what we learned, what new questions have arisen, and the perspectives for answering them when a sample of GW170817-comparable events have been studied.

Searching for the radio remnants of short-duration gamma-ray bursts

ABSTRACT Neutron star mergers produce a substantial amount of fast-moving ejecta, expanding outwardly for years after the merger. The interaction of these ejecta with the surrounding medium may produce a weak isotropic radio remnant, detectable in relatively nearby events. We use late-time radio observations of short duration gamma-ray bursts (sGRBs) to constrain this model. Two samples of events were studied: four sGRBs that are possibly in the local (<200 Mpc) Universe were selected to constrain the remnant non-thermal emission from the sub-relativistic ejecta, whereas 17 sGRBs at cosmological distances were used to constrain the presence of a proto-magnetar central engine, possibly re-energizing the merger ejecta. We consider the case of GRB 170817A/GW170817 and find that in this case the early radio emission may be quenched by the jet blast-wave. In all cases, for ejecta mass range of ${M}_{\rm {ej}}\lesssim 10^{-2}\, (5\times 10^{-2})\, \mathrm{M}_\odot$, we can rule out very energetic merger ejecta ${E}_{\rm {ej}}\gtrsim 5\times 10^{52}\, (10^{53})\, \rm erg$, thus excluding the presence of a powerful magnetar as a merger remnant.

A new class of weighted bimodal distribution with application to gamma-ray burst duration data

ABSTRACT Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have been confidently identified thus far and are prescribed to different physical scenarios, black hole mergers, and collapse of massive stars. The distribution of GRBs duration, which is one of the main characteristics of GRBs, is bimodal. Hence, many authors have used mixtures of distribution models to fit them, which suffers serious estimation problems either from classical or Bayesian approaches. Therefore, in this article we introduced a more flexible class of weighted bimodal distribution, called alpha two-piece skew normal (ATPSN), for modeling GRBs duration data set. Some of the main probabilistic and inferential properties of the distribution are discussed and a simulation study is carried out to illustrate the performance of the MLEs.

Luminous supernovae associated with ultra-long gamma-ray bursts from hydrogen-free progenitors extended by pulsational pair-instability

We show that the luminous supernovae associated with ultra-long gamma-ray bursts can be related to the slow cooling from the explosions of hydrogen-free progenitors that are extended by pulsational pair-instability. We have recently shown that some rapidly-rotating hydrogen-free gamma-ray burst progenitors that experience pulsational pair-instability can keep an extended structure caused by pulsational pair-instability until the core collapse. These types of progenitors have large radii exceeding 10 R⊙ and they sometimes reach beyond 1000 R⊙ at the time of the core collapse. They are, therefore, promising progenitors of ultra-long gamma-ray bursts. Here, we perform light-curve modeling of the explosions of one extended hydrogen-free progenitor with a radius of 1962 R⊙. The progenitor mass is 50 M⊙ and 5 M⊙ exists in the extended envelope. We use the one-dimensional radiation hydrodynamics code STELLA in which the explosions are initiated artificially by setting given explosion energy and 56Ni mass. Thanks to the large progenitor radius, the ejecta experience slow cooling after the shock breakout and they become rapidly evolving (≲10 days), luminous (≳1043 erg s−1) supernovae in the optical even without energy input from the 56Ni nuclear decay when the explosion energy is more than 1052 erg. The 56Ni decay energy input can affect the light curves after the optical light-curve peak and make the light-curve decay slowly when the 56Ni mass is around 1 M⊙. They also have a fast photospheric velocity above 10 000 km s−1 and a hot photospheric temperature above 10 000 K at around the peak luminosity. We find that the rapid rise and luminous peak found in the optical light curve of SN 2011kl, which is associated with the ultra-long gamma-ray burst GRB 111209A, can be explained as the cooling phase of the extended progenitor. The subsequent slow light-curve decline can be related to the 56Ni decay energy input. The ultra-long gamma-ray burst progenitors we proposed recently can explain both the ultra-long gamma-ray burst duration and the accompanying supernova properties. When the gamma-ray burst jet is off-axis or choked, the luminous supernovae could be observed as fast blue optical transients without accompanying gamma-ray bursts.

Can the Cosmological Dilation Explain the Skewness in the Gamma-Ray Burst Duration Distribution?

Abstract In order to explain the origin of skewness in the gamma-ray burst (GRB) duration distribution, a statistical model, based on the cosmological time dilation and taking into account the GRB formation rate and instrumental effects, is examined. It is concluded that the considered effects are able to account for only a small fraction of the observed skewness. Therefore, its origin needs to be searched for in the processes governing the progenitors of GRBs​.

On the Energetics of a Possible Relativistic Jet Associated with the Binary Neutron Star Merger Candidate S190425z

Abstract Advanced LIGO and Virgo (AdvLIGO/VIRGO) detectors reported the first binary neutron star merger candidate in the third observing run, S190425z , on 2019 April 25. A weak γ-ray excess was reported nearly coincidentally by the INTErnational Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL) satellite, which accidentally covered the entire localization region of AdvLIGO/VIRGO. Electromagnetic follow-up in longer wavelengths has not lead to the detection of any associated counterparts. Here we combine the available information from gravitational wave measurements and upper limits of fluence from INTEGRAL to show that the observations are completely consistent with a relativistic Gaussian structured jet and a typical short duration gamma-ray burst (GRB) being produced in the merger. We obtain posterior bounds on the on-axis isotropic equivalent energy of the associated GRB under different prior distributions. This study demonstrates that even limited gravitational wave and electromagnetic information could be combined to produce valuable insights about outflows from mergers. Future follow-ups may help constrain the jet structure further, especially if there is an orphan afterglow detection associated with the candidate.

Fast extragalactic x-ray transients from binary neutron star mergers

The observed light curves and other properties of the two extragalactic fast x-ray transients, CDF-S XT1 and CDF-S XT2, which were discovered recently in archival data of the Chandra Deep Field-South (CDF-S) observations, indicate that they belong to two different populations of X-ray transients. XT1 seems to be an x-ray flash (XRF), i.e., a narrowly beamed long duration gamma ray burst viewed from far off-axis while XT2 seems to be a nebular emission powered by a newly born millisecond pulsar in a neutron stars binary merger.

A quark nova in the wake of a core-collapse supernova: a unifying model for long duration gamma-ray bursts and fast radio bursts

By appealing to a quark nova (QN; the explosive transition of a neutron star to a quark star) in the wake of a core-collapse supernova (CCSN) explosion of a massive star, we develop a unified model for long duration gamma-ray bursts (LGRBs) and fast radio bursts (FRBs). The time delay (years to decades) between the SN and the QN, and the fragmented nature (i.e., millions of chunks) of the relativistic QN ejecta are key to yielding a robust LGRB engine. In our model, an LGRB light curve exhibits the interaction of the fragmented QN ejecta with turbulent (i.e., filamentary and magnetically saturated) SN ejecta which is shaped by its interaction with an underlying pulsar wind nebula (PWN). The afterglow is due to the interaction of the QN chunks, exiting the SN ejecta, with the surrounding medium. Our model can fit BAT/XRT prompt and afterglow light curves simultaneously with their spectra, thus yielding the observed properties of LGRBs (e.g., the Band function and the X-ray flares). We find that the peak luminositypeak photon energy relationship (i.e., the Yonetoku law), and the isotropic energy-peak photon energy relationship (i.e., the Amati law) are not fundamental but phenomenological. FRB-like emission in our model results from coherent synchrotron emission (CSE) when the QN chunks interact with non-turbulent weakly magnetized PWN-SN ejecta, where conditions are prone to the Weibel instability. Magnetic field amplification induced by the Weibel instability in the shocked chunk frame sets the bunching length for electrons and pairs to radiate coherently. The resulting emission frequency, luminosity and duration in our model are consistent with FRB data. We find a natural unification of high-energy burst phenomena from FRBs (i.e., those connected to CCSNe) to LGRBs including X-ray flashes (XRFs) and X-ray rich GRBs (XRR-GRBs) as well as superluminous SNe (SLSNe). We find a possible connection between ultra-high energy cosmic rays and FRBs and propose that a QN following a binary neutron star merger can yield a short duration GRB (SGRB) with fits to BAT/XRT light curves.

Spectral Analysis of Fermi-LAT Gamma-Ray Bursts with Known Redshift and their Potential Use as Cosmological Standard Candles

Abstract Long duration gamma-ray bursts may serve as standard candles to constrain cosmological parameters by probing the Hubble diagram well beyond the range of redshift currently accessible using SNe Ia. The standardization of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) is based on phenomenological relations between two or more parameters found from spectral modeling, one of which is strongly dependent on the cosmological model. The Amati relation links the source-frame energy at which the prompt gamma-ray spectral energy distribution νF ν peaks, and the isotropic-equivalent bolometric energy emitted during the prompt phase. We performed spectral analysis of 26 GRBs with known redshift that have been detected by the Fermi-Large Area Telescope (LAT) during its nine years of operations from 2008 July to 2017 September, thus extending the computation of E iso to the 100 MeV range. Multiple components are required to fit the spectra of a number of GRBs. We found that the Amati relation is satisfied by the 25 LGRBs, with best-fit parameters similar to previous studies that used data from different satellite experiments, while the only short GRB with known redshift is an outlier. Using the Amati relation, we extend the Hubble diagram to redshift 4.35 and constrain the Hubble constant and dark-energy density in the ΛCDM model, with Fermi-LAT GRBs alone and together with another sample of 94 GRBs and with the latest Supernovae type-Ia data. Our results are consistent with the currently acceptable ranges of those cosmological parameters within errors.

The afterglow and kilonova of the short GRB 160821B

Abstract GRB 160821B is a short duration gamma-ray burst (GRB) detected and localized by the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory in the outskirts of a spiral galaxy at z=0.1613, at a projected physical offset of ≈16 kpc from the galaxy’s center. We present X-ray, optical/nIR and radio observations of its counterpart and model them with two distinct components of emission: a standard afterglow, arising from the interaction of the relativistic jet with the surrounding medium, and a kilonova, powered by the radioactive decay of the sub-relativistic ejecta. Broadband modeling of the afterglow data reveals a weak reverse shock propagating backward into the jet, and a likely jet-break at ≈3.5 d. This is consistent with a structured jet seen slightly off-axis (θview ∼ θcore) while expanding into a low-density medium (n ≈ 10−3 cm−3). Analysis of the kilonova properties suggests a rapid evolution toward red colors, similar to AT2017gfo, and a low nIR luminosity, possibly due to the presence of a long-lived neutron star. The global properties of the environment, the inferred low mass (Mej ≲ 0.006 M⊙) and velocities (vej ≳ 0.05c) of lanthanide-rich ejecta are consistent with a binary neutron star merger progenitor.

An unusual transient following the short GRB 071227

ABSTRACT We present X-ray and optical observations of the short duration gamma-ray burst GRB 071227 and its host at z = 0.381, obtained using Swift, Gemini South, and the Very Large Telescope. We identify a short-lived and moderately bright optical transient, with flux significantly in excess of that expected from a simple extrapolation of the X-ray spectrum at 0.2–0.3 d after burst. We fit the SED with afterglow models allowing for high extinction and thermal emission models that approximate a kilonova to assess the excess’ origins. While some kilonova contribution is plausible, it is not favoured due to the low temperature and high luminosity required, implying superluminal expansion and a large ejecta mass of ∼0.1 M$\odot$. We find, instead, that the transient is broadly consistent with power-law spectra with additional dust extinction of E(B − V) ∼ 0.4 mag, although a possibly thermal excess remains in the z band. We investigate the host, a spiral galaxy with an edge-on orientation, resolving its spectrum along its major axis to construct the galaxy rotation curve and analyse the star formation and chemical properties. The integrated host emission shows evidence for high extinction, consistent with the afterglow findings. The metallicity and extinction are consistent with previous studies of this host and indicate the galaxy is a typical, but dusty, late-type SGRB host.

Constraints on the Environment and Energetics of the Broad-line Ic SN2014ad from Deep Radio and X-Ray Observations

Abstract Broad-line type Ic Supernovae (BL-Ic SNe) are characterized by high ejecta velocity (≳104 km s−1) and are sometimes associated with the relativistic jets typical of long duration (≳2 s) Gamma-Ray Bursts. The reason why a small fraction of BL-Ic SNe harbor relativistic jets is not known. Here we present deep X-ray and radio observations of the BL-Ic SN 2014ad extending from 13 to 930 days post explosion. SN 2014ad was not detected at either frequency and has no observational evidence of a GRB counterpart. The proximity of SN 2014ad (d ∼ 26 Mpc) enables very deep constraints on the progenitor mass-loss rate and on the total energy of the fast ejecta E. We consider two synchrotron emission scenarios for a wind-like circumstellar medium (CSM): (i) uncollimated nonrelativistic ejecta, and (ii) off-axis relativistic jet. Within the first scenario our observations are consistent with GRB-less BL-Ic SNe characterized by a modest energy budget of their fast ejecta (E ≲ 1045 erg), like SNe 2002ap and 2010ay. For jetted explosions, we cannot rule out a GRB with E ≲ 1051 erg (beam-corrected) with a narrow opening angle (θ j ∼ 5°) observed moderately off-axis (θ obs ≳ 30°) and expanding in a very low CSM density ( M ⊙ yr−1). Our study shows that off-axis low-energy jets expanding in a low-density medium cannot be ruled out even in the most nearby BL-Ic SNe with extensive deep observations, and might be a common feature of BL-Ic SNe.

The photospheric origin of the Yonetoku relation in gamma-ray bursts

Long duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), the brightest events since the Big Bang itself, are believed to originate in an ultra-relativistic jet breaking out from a massive stellar envelope. Despite decades of study, there is still no consensus on their emission mechanism. One unresolved question is the origin of the tight correlation between the spectral peak energy and peak luminosity discovered in observations. This Yonetoku relation is the tightest correlation found in the properties of the prompt phase of GRB emission, providing the best diagnostic for the radiation mechanism. Here we present three-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations, and post-process radiation transfer calculations, of photospheric emission from a relativistic jet. Our simulations reproduce the Yonetoku relation as a natural consequence of viewing angle. Although jet dynamics depend sensitively on luminosity, the correlation holds regardless. This result strongly suggests that photospheric emission is the dominant component in the prompt phase of GRBs.

Joint gravitational wave – gamma-ray burst detection rates in the aftermath of GW170817

The observational follow-up campaign of the gravitational wave (GW) multi-messenger event GW170817/GRB170817A has shown that the prompt $\gamma$-rays are consistent with a relativistic structured jet observed from a wide viewing angle $\gtrsim 20$\deg. We perform Bayesian inference using the data from early and late EM observations to determine the jet profile of GRB170817A assuming a structured jet model. We use the geometric dependence on the burst luminosity to produce a short duration gamma-ray burst (sGRB) efficiency function with redshift, which folded in with binary neutron star detection rate, allows us to estimate the future joint GW/sGRB detection rates for LIGO and Virgo detectors. We show that, if the jet structured profile of GRB170817A is a relatively common feature of sGRBs, then there is a realistic probability of another off-axis coincident detection during the third aLIGO/Virgo observing run (O3). We also find that up to 4 yr$^{-1}$ joint events may be observed during the advanced LIGO run at design sensitivity and up to 10 yr$^{-1}$ by the upgraded advanced LIGO configuration A+. We show that the detection efficiencies for wide-angled sGRB emissions will be limited by GRB satellites as the GW detection range increases through proposed upgrades. Therefore, although the number of coincident detections will increase with GW detector sensitivity, the relative proportion of detected binary neutron stars with $\gamma$-ray counterparts will decrease; 11\% for O3 down to 2\% during A+.

The Correlation between Isotropic Energy and Duration of Gamma-Ray Bursts

Abstract In this Letter, we study the correlation between isotropic energy and duration of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) for the first time. The correlation is found to be from the Swift GRB sample. After comparing with solar flares from RHESSI and stellar superflares from the Kepler satellite, we find that the correlation of GRBs shows a similar exponent with those of solar flares and stellar superflares. Inspired by the physical mechanism of solar flares and stellar superflares, magnetic reconnection, Inspired by treating magnetic reconnection as the physical mechanism of solar flares, we interpret the correlation using magnetic reconnection theory. This similarity suggests that magnetic reconnection may dominate the energy-releasing process of GRBs.

Simulating the magnetorotational collapse of supermassive stars: Incorporating gas pressure perturbations and different rotation profiles.

Collapsing supermassive stars (SMSs) with masses M ≳ 104-6 M ⊙ have long been speculated to be the seeds that can grow and become supermassive black holes (SMBHs). We previously performed general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) simulations of marginally stable Γ = 4/3 polytropes uniformly rotating at the mass-shedding limit and endowed initially with a dynamically unimportant dipole magnetic field to model the direct collapse of SMSs. These configurations are supported entirely by thermal radiation pressure and reliably model SMSs with M ≳ 106 M ⊙. We found that around 90% of the initial stellar mass forms a spinning black hole (BH) remnant surrounded by a massive, hot, magnetized torus, which eventually launches a magnetically-driven jet. SMSs could be therefore sources of ultra-long gamma-ray bursts (ULGRBs). Here we perform GRMHD simulations of Γ ≳ 4/3, polytropes to account for the perturbative role of gas pressure in SMSs with M ≲ 106 M ⊙. We also consider different initial stellar rotation profiles. The stars are initially seeded with a dynamically weak dipole magnetic field that is either confined to the stellar interior or extended from its interior into the stellar exterior. We calculate the gravitational wave burst signal for the different cases. We find that the mass of the black hole remnant is 90%-99% of the initial stellar mass, depending sharply on Γ - 4/3 as well as on the initial stellar rotation profile. After t ~ 250-550M ≈ 1 - 2 × 103(M/106 M ⊙) s following the appearance of the BH horizon, an incipient jet is launched and it lasts for ~104-105(M/106 M ⊙) s, consistent with the duration of long gamma-ray bursts. Our numerical results suggest that the Blandford-Znajek mechanism powers the incipient jet. They are also in rough agreement with our recently proposed universal model that estimates accretion rates and electromagnetic (Poynting) luminosities that characterize magnetized BH-disk remnant systems that launch a jet. This model helps explain why the outgoing electromagnetic luminosities computed for vastly different BH-disk formation scenarios all reside within a narrow range (~1052±1 erg s-1), roughly independent of M.

Merger delay time distribution of extended emission short GRBs

The most popular progenitor model for short duration Gamma-Ray bursts (sGRBs) is the merger of two compact objects. However, the short GRB population exhibit a certain diversity: some bursts display an extended emission (EE), continuing in soft $\gamma$-rays for a few hundreds of seconds post the initial short pulse. It is currently unclear whether the origin of such bursts is linked to compact object mergers. Within the merger hypothesis, the redshift ($z$) distribution of short GRBs is influenced by the merger delay time, i.e., time elapsed between the merger and the formation of the binary star system, which is dominated by the time-scale for gravitational wave losses during the compact binary phase. We examine redshift distributions of short GRBs with extended emission to see whether their formation channel requires considerable delay post the star formation episode. Our results show that the $z$ distribution of EE bursts is consistent with the merger model. We attempted to compare the delay time distribution of the EE and the non-EE short bursts. However, no statistically significant difference could be seen within the limited sample size.