Gamma-ray Bursts Research Articles

Cautionary Tales on Heating-rate Prescriptions in Kilonovae

A major ingredient for kilonova lightcurves is the radioactive heating rate and its dependence on the electron fraction and velocity of the ejecta and, in principle, on the nuclear mass formula. Heating-rate formulae commonly used as the basis for kilonova models previously employed in the literature produce substantially different outputs for high electron fractions (Y e ≳ 0.3) and at late times (t ≳ 1 day) compared to newer prescriptions. Here, we employ standard semianalytical models for kilonovae with better heating rate prescriptions valid for the full parameter space of kilonova velocities and electron fractions to explore the impact of the heating rate on kilonova lightcurves. We show the dangers of using inappropriate heating rate estimates by simulating realistic observations and inferring the kilonova parameters via a misspecified heating-rate prescription. While providing great fits to the photometry, an incorrect heating-rate prescription fails to recover the input ejecta masses with a bias significantly larger than the typical statistical uncertainty. This bias from an incorrect prescription has significant consequences for interpreting kilonovae, their use as additional components in gamma-ray burst afterglows, and understanding their role in cosmic chemical evolution or for multimessenger constraints on the nuclear equation of state. We showcase a framework and tool to better determine the impact of different modeling assumptions and uncertainties on inferences into kilonova properties.

GRB 231129C: Another Thermal Emission Dominated Gamma-Ray Burst

This study presents detailed time-integrated and time-resolved spectral analysis of the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor observations of the bright GRB 231129C. The results reveal its distinct spectral characteristics, featuring a hard low-energy spectral index (α) and soft high-energy spectral index (β), similar to GRB 090902B, suggesting a possible dominance of thermal emission. Further analysis indicates that 92% of the spectral indices exceed the synchrotron “line of death,” with the hardest index at α ∼ +0.44. Simultaneously, 53% of the spectra can be well fitted by the nondissipative photosphere model, supporting a potential origin from a nondissipative photosphere. Additionally, we observe strong correlations between the spectral index α and peak energy E p with flux. For the α−F relationship, we employ F = F 0 e (3.00±0.10)α to describe it, whereas the E p−F relationship requires a smoothly bending power-law function. Based on the framework proposed by Hascoët et al. and Gao & Zhang, the jet characteristics of this burst were studied, revealing that both methods support the suitability of a pure fireball model for this GRB at small initial jet radii.

Constraining the physical properties of large-scale jets from black hole X-ray binaries and their impact on the local environment with blast-wave dynamical models

ABSTRACT Relativistic discrete ejecta launched by black hole X-ray binaries (BH XRBs) can be observed to propagate up to parsec-scales from the central object. Observing the final deceleration phase of these jets is crucial to estimate their physical parameters and to reconstruct their full trajectory, with implications for the jet powering mechanism, composition, and formation. In this paper, we present the results of the modelling of the motion of the ejecta from three BH XRBs: MAXI J1820$+$070, MAXI J1535–571, and XTE J1752–223, for which high-resolution radio and X-ray observations of jets propagating up to $\sim$15 arcsec ($\sim$0.6 pc at 3 kpc) from the core have been published in the recent years. For each jet, we modelled its entire motion with a dynamical blast-wave model, inferring robust values for the jet Lorentz factor, inclination angle and ejection time. Under several assumptions associated to the ejection duration, the jet opening angle and the available accretion power, we are able to derive stringent constraints on the maximum jet kinetic energy for each source (between $10^{43}$ and $10^{44}$ erg, including also H1743–322), as well as placing interesting upper limits on the density of the ISM through which the jets are propagating (from $n_{\rm ISM} \lesssim 0.4$ cm$^{-3}$ down to $n_{\rm ISM} \lesssim 10^{-4}$ cm$^{-3}$). Overall, our results highlight the potential of applying models derived from gamma-ray bursts to the physics of jets from BH XRBs and support the emerging picture of these sources as preferentially embedded in low-density environments.

The consequence of higher-order curvature-based constraints on [formula omitted] gravity

In this investigation, we perform an observational statistical analysis in the theory of f(R,Lm) gravity. The proposed theoretical model is based on the Ricci scalar’s non-linear contribution. We use a distinct parametrization for the deceleration parameter and constrain the model parameters by using various observational data. To determine the best-fit model for the cosmological parameters, we use different observational datasets such as the Hubble Space Telescope, the Pantheon Supernova Survey, the Gold dataset, the Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB), and the Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO). Furthermore, we study the late-time cosmic evolution of the Universe in detail and examine the implications of the constraint values on cosmological parameters. Additionally, we conduct a thorough comparison with the standard cosmological model ΛCDM and other standard models obtained by Odintsov et al. (2024); Odintsov et al. (2023) to examine the validity of our proposed model in the low-redshift regimes. Finally, we find that the proposed model encapsulates an intriguing transition from early deceleration at high redshift to acceleration at low redshift, a quintessence dark energy scenario, and convergence towards the well-established ΛCDM model in late-time Universe’s evolution.

POEMMA-Balloon with Radio: A balloon-born multi-messenger multi-detector observatory

The Probe Of Extreme Multi-Messenger Astrophysics (POEMMA) is a proposed dual-satellite mission to observe Ultra-High-Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECRs), increasing the statistics at the highest energies, and Very-High-Energy Neutrinos (VHENs), following multi-messenger alerts of astrophysical transient events throughout the universe such as gamma-ray bursts and gravitational wave events. POEMMA-Balloon with Radio (PBR) is a scaled-down version of the POEMMA design, adapted to be flown as a payload on one of NASA’s sub-orbital Super Pressure Balloons (SPBs) circling over the Southern Ocean for up to 100 days after a launch from Wanaka, New Zealand. This overview will provide a summary of the mission with its science goals, the instruments, and the current status of PBR.

Constraining Near-simultaneous Radio Emission from Short Gamma-Ray Bursts Using CHIME/FRB

We use the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) Fast Radio Burst (FRB) Project to search for FRBs that are temporally and spatially coincident with gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) occurring between 2018 July 7 and 2023 August 3. We do not find any temporal (within 1 week) and spatial (within overlapping 3σ localization regions) coincidences between any CHIME/FRB candidates and all GRBs with 1σ localization uncertainties <1°. As such, we use CHIME/FRB to constrain the possible FRB-like radio emission for 27 short gamma-ray bursts (SGRBs) that were within 17° of CHIME/FRB’s meridian at a point either 6 hr prior up to 12 hr after the high-energy emission. Two SGRBs, GRB 210909A and GRB 230208A, were above the horizon at CHIME at the time of their high-energy emission and we place some of the first constraints on simultaneous FRB-like radio emission from SGRBs. While neither of these two SGRBs have known redshifts, we construct a redshift range for each GRB based on their high-energy fluence and a derived SGRB energy distribution. For GRB 210909A, this redshift range corresponds to z = [0.009, 1.64] with a mean of z = 0.13. Thus, for GRB 210909A, we constrain the radio luminosity at the time of the high-energy emission to L < 2 × 1046 erg s−1, L < 5 × 1044 erg s−1, and L < 3 × 1042 erg s−1 assuming redshifts of z = 0.85, z = 0.16, and z = 0.013, respectively. We compare these constraints with the predicted simultaneous radio luminosities from different compact object merger models.

The Density and Ionization Profiles of Optically Dark and High-Redshift GRBs Probed by X-ray Absorption

The X-ray column density (NHX) of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) can probe the local environment of their progenitors over a wide redshift range. Previous work has suggested an increasing trend as a function of redshift. The relevance of this current analysis relies on investigating the selection bias method, such as the effect of the X-ray spectrum in high-redshift GRBs, which complicates the measurement of small NHX; this has yet to be fully evaluated or discussed elsewhere. In this work, we evaluated these effects through simulations to define appropriate observational limits in the NHX versus redshift plane. We then applied a one-sided nonparametric method developed by Efron and Petrosian. Within the framework of this method, we investigated the redshift dependence of NHX and the local distribution function. Our results show that the evolution of NHX with redshift firmly exists with a significance of more than four sigma and follows a power law of (1+z)1.39(+0.22,−0.27). Based on these analyses and previous studies, the GRB progenitor mass varies but is more massive in the high-redshift environment and has a higher gas column density. This suggests that part of the luminosity evolution of GRBs, which has been widely reported, may be due to the evolution of the progenitor’s mass. Using the same method, we demonstrate that optically dark GRBs show a consistent evolution: (1+z)1.15(+0.67,−0.83). By applying the Kolmogorov–Smirnov (KS) test, it is shown that optically dark GRBs have statistically identical flux and photon index distributions compared to normal GRBs, but the NHX is systematically larger. This result suggests that the darkness of some GRB populations is not due to an intrinsic mechanism, but rather because a higher density surrounds them.

Polytropic gas cosmology and late-time acceleration

The accelerated expansion of the Universe has sparked significant interest in the mysterious concept of dark energy within cosmology. Various theories have been proposed to explain dark energy, and many models have been developed to understand its origins and properties. This research explores cosmic expansion using the Polytropic Gas (PG) approach, which combines Dark Matter (DM) and Dark Energy (DE) into a single mysterious fluid. We used the principles of general relativity and built our model within the homogeneous and isotropic framework of Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) spacetime. We revised the Original Polytropic Gas (OPG) model to expand its applicability beyond the OPG, to the ΛCDM model. Our model's parameters were carefully adjusted to reflect key cosmological features of the variable PG approach. To validate our model, we performed a Markov chain Monte Carlo analysis using recent Supernova data from the Pantheon+ survey, 36 observational data points, 162 Gamma-Ray Bursts, and 24 binned Quasars distance modulus data. The AIC and BIC criteria indicate that our model is slightly preferred over the ΛCDM model based on observational data. We also tested our model with data, Supernova, Gamma-Ray Bursts, and Quasars and found that it exhibits a transition from a quintessential to phantom regime. The Polytropic dark fluid model (PDFM) is a promising candidate that effectively addresses the interplay between cosmic acceleration and dark energy.

The Intrinsic Correlations between Prompt Emission and X-ray Flares of Gamma-Ray Bursts

X-ray flare (XRF) is a common phenomenon in the X-ray afterglow of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). Although it is commonly believed that XRFs may share a common origin with prompt emission, i.e., the “internal” origin, the origin of XRFs is still unknown. In this work, we compile a GRB sample containing 31 GRBs with a single XRF, a well-measured spectrum, and a redshift, and investigate the intrinsic properties and correlations between prompt emission and the XRFs of these events. We find that the distributions of main physical parameters of prompt emission and XRFs are basically log-normal. The median value of the rise time is shorter than the decay time for all flares, with a ratio of about 1:2, which is similar to the fast rise and exponential decay structure of prompt emission pulses. We also find that the prompt emission energy (Eiso) and peak luminosity (Liso) have tight correlations with XRF energy (EX,iso) and peak luminosity (LX,p), Eiso∝EX,iso0.74 (LX,p0.62) and Liso∝EX,iso0.85 (LX,p0.68). However, the durations of prompt emissions are independent of the temporal properties of XRFs. Furthermore, we also analyze the three-parameter correlations between prompt emissions and XRFs, and find that there are tight correlations among the XRF peak time (Tp,z), LX,p, and Eiso/Liso, LX,p∝Tp,z−1.08Eiso0.84 and LX,p∝Tp,z−1.09Liso0.71. Interestingly, these results are very similar to the properties of an X-ray plateau in GRBs, which indicates that X-ray flares and plateaus may have the same physical origin, and strongly supports that the two emission components originate from the late-time activity of the central engine.

Single-pulse Gamma-Ray Bursts Have Prevalent Hard-to-soft Spectral Evolution

We analyze the spectral evolution of 62 bright Fermi gamma-ray bursts with large enough signal-to-noise to allow for time-resolved spectral analysis. We develop a new algorithm to test for single-pulse morphology that is insensitive to the specific shape of pulses. Instead, it only checks whether or not there are multiple, isolated, or statistical significant peaks in the light curve. In addition, we carry out a citizen science test to assess light-curve morphology and spectral evolution. We find that, no matter the adopted assessment method, bursts characterized by single-peaked prompt emission light curves have a greater tendency to also have a consistently decaying peak energy or hard-to-soft spectral evolution. This contrasts with the behavior of multipeaked bursts, for which the tendency is to have a peak frequency that is not monotonically decreasing. We discuss this finding in the theoretical framework of internal/external shocks and find it to be consistent with at least some single-pulse bursts associated with particularly high-density environments.

A Search for Soft X-Ray Emission Lines in the Afterglow Spectrum of GRB 221009A

GRB 221009A was the brightest gamma-ray burst (GRB) of all time (BOAT), surpassing in prompt brightness all GRBs discovered in ∼50 yr and in afterglow brightness in ∼20 yr. We observed the BOAT with XMM-Newton 2.3 days after the prompt. The X-ray afterglow was still very bright and we collected the largest number of photons with the reflection grating spectrometers (RGSs) on a GRB. We searched the RGS data for narrow emission or absorption features. We did not detect any bright line feature. A candidate narrow feature is identified at a (rest-frame) energy of 1.455−0.014+0.006 keV, consistent with an Mg xii K α emission line, slightly redshifted (0.012) with respect to the host galaxy. We assessed a marginal statistical significance of 3.0σ for this faint feature based on conservative Monte Carlo simulations, which requires caution for any physical interpretation. If this line feature would be for real, we propose that it might originate from the reflection in the innermost regions of the infalling funnel from low-level late-time activity emission of the central engine.

Origin of the Twice-90° Rotations of the Polarization Angle in GRB 170114A and GRB 160821A

The observed abrupt twice-90° rotations of the polarization angle (PA) in the prompt phase of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are difficult to understand within the current one-emitting-shell models. Here, we apply a model with multiple emitting shells to solve this new challenging problem. Two configurations of large-scale ordered magnetic fields in the shells are considered: toroidal and aligned. Together with the light curves and the spectral peak energy evolutions, the twice-90° PA rotations in GRB 170114A and GRB 160821A could be well interpreted with the multishell aligned magnetic field configuration (MFC). Our numerical calculations also show that the multiple shells with the toroidal MFC could not explain the observed twice-90° PA rotations. An aligned MFC in the GRB outflow usually indicates the preference of a magnetar central engine, while a toroidal field configuration is typically related to a central black hole. Therefore, the magnetar central engines for the two GRBs are favored.

Magnetization Factors of Gamma-Ray Burst Jets Revealed by a Systematic Analysis of the Fermi Sample

The composition of gamma-ray burst (GRB) jets remained a mystery until recently. In practice, we usually characterize the magnetization of the GRB jets (σ 0) through the ratio between the Poynting flux and matter (baryonic) flux. With the increasing value of σ 0, magnetic energy gradually takes on a dominant role in the acceleration and energy dissipation of the jet, causing the proportion of thermal component in the prompt-emission spectrum of GRBs to gradually decrease or even be completely suppressed. In this work, we conducted an extensive analysis of the time-resolved spectrum for all Fermi GRBs with known redshift, and we diagnose σ 0 for each time bin by contrasting the thermal and nonthermal radiation components. Our results suggest that most GRB jets should contain a significant magnetic energy component, likely with magnetization factors σ 0 ≥ 10. The value of σ 0 seems to vary significantly within the same GRB. Future studies with more samples, especially those with lower-energy spectral information coverage, will further verify our results.

Recent progresses in strange quark stars

According to the hypothesis that strange quark matter may be the true ground state of matter at extremely high densities, strange quark stars should be stable and could exist in the Universe. It is possible that pulsars may actually be strange stars, but not neutron stars. Here we present a short review on recent progresses in the field of strange quark stars. First, three popular phenomenological models widely used to describe strange quark matter are introduced, with special attention being paid on the corresponding equation of state in each model. Combining the equation of state with the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkov equations, the inner structure and mass-radius relation can be obtained for the whole sequence of strange stars. Tidal deformability and oscillations (both radial and non-radial oscillations), which are sensitive to the composition and the equations of state, are then described. Hybrid stars as a special kind of quark stars are discussed. Several other interesting aspects of strange stars are also included. For example, strong gravitational wave emissions may be generated by strange stars through various mechanisms, which may help identify strange stars via observations. Especially, close-in strange quark planets with respect to their hosts may provide a unique test for the existence of strange quark objects. Fierce electromagnetic bursts could also be generated by strange stars. The energy may come from the phase transition of neutron stars to strange stars, or from the merger of binary strange stars. The collapse of the strange star crust can also release a huge amount of energy. It is shown that strange quark stars may be involved in short gamma-ray bursts and fast radio bursts.

Closing the Net on Transient Sources of Ultrahigh-energy Cosmic Rays

The arrival directions of ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) observed above 4 × 1019 eV provide evidence of localized excesses that are key to identifying their sources. We leverage the 3D matter distribution from optical and infrared surveys as a density model of UHECR sources, which are considered to be transient. Agreement of the sky model with UHECR data imposes constraints on both the emission rate per unit matter and the time spread induced by encountered turbulent magnetic fields. Based on radio measurements of cosmic magnetism, we identify the Local Sheet as the magnetized structure responsible for the kiloyear duration of UHECR bursts for an observer on Earth and find that the turbulence amplitude must be within 0.5–20 nG for a coherence length of 10 kpc. At the same time, the burst-rate density must be above 50 Gpc−3 yr−1 for Local Sheet galaxies to reproduce the UHECR excesses and below 5000 Gpc−3 yr−1 (30,000 Gpc−3 yr−1) for the Milky Way (Local Group galaxies) not to outshine other galaxies. For the transient emissions of protons and nuclei to match the energy spectra of UHECRs, the kinetic energy of the outflows responsible for UHECR acceleration must be below 4 × 1054 erg and above 5 × 1050 erg (2 × 1049 erg) if we consider the Milky Way (or not). The only stellar-sized transients that satisfy both Hillas’ and our criteria are long-duration gamma-ray bursts.

The GRB221009A gamma-ray burst as revealed by the gamma-ray spectrometer onboard the KPLO (Danuri)

The strongest gamma-ray burst (GRB) of the century, GRB20221009A, has been detected by the Korean Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter Gamma-ray Spectrometer (KGRS) instrument onboard the Korean Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO). KGRS uses a LaBr3 detector to measure GRB counts with five energy bins in the energy range from 30 keV to 12 MeV. KGRS detected GRB221009A at a distance of 1.508 million kilometers from the Earth. The full duration of the main burst was recorded between 13:20 and 13:26 on October 9, 2022 with peak counts of over 1000 times background. The dead time of KGRS reached as high as 50%, and the intrinsic gamma-ray spectrum of LaBr3 was significantly altered.

Stringent Tests of Lorentz Invariance Violation from LHAASO Observations of GRB 221009A.

On 9 October 2022, the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) reported the observation of the very early TeV afterglow of the brightest-of-all-time gamma-ray burst 221009A, recording the highest photon statistics in the TeV band ever obtained from a gamma-ray burst. We use this unique observation to place stringent constraints on the energy dependence of the speed of light in vacuum, a manifestation of Lorentz invariance violation (LIV) predicted by some quantum gravity (QG) theories. Our results show that the 95% confidence level lower limits on the QG energy scales are E_{QG,1}>10 times the Planck energy E_{Pl} for the linear LIV effect, and E_{QG,2}>6×10^{-8}E_{Pl} for the quadratic LIV effect. Our limits on the quadratic LIV case improve previous best bounds by factors of 5-7.

Constraining the variable generalized Chaplygin gas model in matter creation cosmology

We explore the variable generalized Chaplygin gas (VGCG) model in the theory of matter creation cosmology within the framework of a spatially homogeneous and isotropic flat Friedmann—Lemaître—Robertson—Walker space-time. Matter creation cosmology is based on reinterpretation of the energy–momentum tensor in Einstein’s field equations. This creation corresponds to an irreversible energy flow from the gravitational field to the created matter constituents. The variable Chaplygin gas (VCG) is also studied as a particular solution. We use the Markov chain Monte Carlo method to constrain the free parameters of three models, namely, Lambda-Cold-Dark matter (ΛCDM), VGCG and VCG models with and without matter creation from the latest observational data from baryon acoustic oscillations, cosmic chronometer, type Ia supernovae (Pantheon) including gamma-ray bursts, quasars and the local measurement of H 0 from R21 data. Two different combinations of dataset provide a fairly tight constraint on the parameters of the ΛCDM, VGCG and VCG models. The present values of various cosmological parameters are obtained, which are very close to the ΛCDM model. Furthermore, we perform stability analysis, Bayesian evidence analysis and information criteria analysis for these models through studying the sound speed, Bayes factor, and Akaike information criteria (AIC) and Bayesian information criteria (BIC) selection criteria. The values of sound speed for VGCG and VCG models shows that both the models are stable. According to AIC, it is observed that VGCG and VCG models with matter creation are supported considerably less by current observations, while BIC shows that these models are not favoured by observational data.

Convolutional Neural Network Processing of Radio Emission for Nuclear Composition Classification of Ultra-High-Energy Cosmic Rays

Ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) are extremely rare energetic particles of ordinary matter in the Universe, traveling astronomical distances before reaching the Earth’s atmosphere. When primary cosmic rays interact with atmospheric nuclei, cascading extensive air showers (EASs) of secondary elementary particles are developed. Radio detectors have proven to be a reliable method for reconstructing the properties of EASs, such as the shower’s axis, its energy, and its maximum (Xmax). This aids in understanding fundamental astrophysical phenomena, like active galactic nuclei and gamma-ray bursts. Concurrently, data science has become indispensable in UHECR research. By applying statistical, computational, and deep learning methods to both real-world and simulated radio data, researchers can extract insights and make predictions. We introduce a convolutional neural network (CNN) architecture designed to classify simulated air shower events as either being generated by protons or by iron nuclei. The classification achieved a stable test error of 10%, with Accuracy and F1 scores of 0.9 and an MCC of 0.8. These metrics indicate strong prediction capability for UHECR’s nuclear composition, based on data that can be gathered by detectors at the world’s largest cosmic rays experiment on Earth, the Pierre Auger Observatory, which includes radio antennas, water Cherenkov detectors, and fluorescence telescopes.

X-ray Afterglow limits on the viewing angles of short gamma-ray bursts

Abstract The behavior of a short gamma-ray burst (sGRB) afterglow lightcurve can reveal the angular structure of the relativistic jet and constrain the observer’s viewing angle θobs. The observed deceleration time of the jet, and, therefore, the time of the afterglow peak, depends on the observer’s viewing angle. A larger viewing angle leads to a later peak of the afterglow and a lower flux at peak. We utilize the earliest afterglow detections of 58 sGRBs detected with the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory X-ray Telescope to constrain the ratio of the viewing angle θobs to the jet’s core θc. We adopt a power-law angular jet structure in both energy E(θ)∝θ−a and Lorentz factor Γ(θ)∝θ−b beyond the core. We find that either sGRBs are viewed within θobs/θc &amp;lt; 1 or the initial Lorentz factor of material in their jet’s core is extremely high (Γ0 &amp;gt; 500). If we consider tophat jets, we constrain 90% of our sample to be viewed within θobs/θc &amp;lt; 1.06 and 1.15 for our canonical and conservative afterglow scenarios. For a subset of events with measurements of the jet break, we can constrain Γ0θc ≳ 30. This confirmation that cosmological sGRBs are viewed either on-axis or very close to their jet’s core has significant implications for the nature of the prompt gamma-ray production mechanism and for the rate of future sGRB detections coincident with gravitational waves (GWs), implying that they are extremely rare.