Global Properties of X-Ray Flashes and X-Ray-Rich Gamma-Ray Bursts Observed by Swift
T. Sakamoto, D. Hullinger, G. Sato, R. Yamazaki, L. Barbier, S. D. Barthelmy, J. R. Cummings, E. E. Fenimore, N. Gehrels, H. A. Krimm, D. Q. Lamb, C. B. Markwar… 展开作者
T. Sakamoto, D. Hullinger, G. Sato, R. Yamazaki, L. Barbier, S. D. Barthelmy, J. R. Cummings, E. E. Fenimore, N. Gehrels, H. A. Krimm, D. Q. Lamb, C. B. Markwardt, J. P. Osborne, D. M. Palmer, A. M. Parsons, M. Stamatikos, J. Tueller
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50 pages, 22 figures, Accepted for publication in ApJ
We describe and discuss the spectral and temporal characteristics of the prompt emission and X-ray afterglow emission of X-ray flashes (XRFs) and X-ray-rich gamma-ray bursts (XRRs) detected and observed by Swift between December 2004 and September 2006. We compare these characteristics to a sample of conventional classical gamma-ray bursts (C-GRBs) observed during the same period. We confirm the correlation between Epeak_obs and fluence noted by others and find further evidence that XRFs, XRRs and C-GRBs form a continuum. We also confirm that our known redshift sample is consistent with the correlation between the peak energy in the GRB rest frame (Epeak_src) and the isotropic radiated energy (Eiso), so called the Epeak_src-Eiso relation. The spectral properties of X-ray afterglows of XRFs and C-GRBs are similar, but the temporal properties of XRFs and C-GRBs are quite different. We found that the light curves of C-GRB afterglows show a break to steeper indices (shallow-to-steep break) at much earlier times than do XRF afterglows. Moreover, the overall luminosity of XRF X-ray afterglows is systematically smaller by a factor of two or more compared to that of C-GRBs. These distinct differences between the X-ray afterglows of XRFs and C-GRBs may be the key to understanding not only the mysterious shallow-to-steep break in X-ray afterglow light curves, but also the unique nature of XRFs.
X-Ray Flashes (XRFs) are soft gamma-ray bursts whose nature is not clear. Their soft spectrum can be due to cosmological effects (high redshift), an off-axis view of the jet or can be intrinsic to the source. We use SWIFT observations to investigate different scenarios proposed to explain their origin. We have made a systematic analysis of the afterglows of XRFs with known redshift observed by SWIFT. We derive their redshift and luminosity distributions, and compare their properties with a sample of normal GRBs observed by the same instrument. The high distance hypothesis is ruled out by the r…
If X-ray flashes are due to the forward jet emissions from gamma ray bursts (GRBs) observed with large viewing angles, we show that a prompt emission from a counter jet should be observed as a delayed flash in the UV or optical band several hours to a day after the X-ray flash. Ultraviolet and Optical Telescope on Swift can observe the delayed flashes within ~13 Mpc, so that (double-sided) jets of GRBs may be directly confirmed. Since the event rate of delayed flashes detected by Swift may be as small as 6*10^{-5}events/yr, we require more sensitive detectors in future experiments.
Heise et al. (2001) have reported the identification of a new class of sources by Beppo-SAX, the so-called X-ray flashes (XRFs), which have many common properties with gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) but are not detected in the gamma-ray range. In the framework of the internal shock model, we investigate the possibility that XRFs have the same origin than GRBs but are intrinsically softer due to different shock parameters.
Recent data gathered and triggered by the SWIFT satellite have greatly improved our knowledge of long-duration gamma ray bursts (GRBs) and X-ray flashes (XRFs). This is particularly the case for the X-ray data at all times, and for UV and optical data at very early times. I show that the optical and X-ray observations are in excellent agreement with the predictions of the "cannonball" model of GRBs and XRFs. Elementary physics and just two mechanisms underlie these predictions: inverse Compton scattering and synchrotron radiation, generally dominant at early and late times, respectively. I put…
We propose a possible unified model of short and long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), X-ray rich GRBs, and X-ray flashes. The jet of a GRB is assumed to consist of multiple sub-jets or sub-shells (i.e., an inhomogeneous jet model). The multiplicity of the sub-jets along a line of sight n_s is an important parameter. If n_s is large (>> 1) the event looks like a long GRB, while if n_s=1, the event looks like a short GRB. Finally, when n_s=0, the event looks like an X-ray flash or an X-ray rich GRB. Furthermore, our model may also explain the bimodal distributions of T_{90} duration of BATSE-GRBs.
Ioka and Nakamura (2001) proposed a simple jet model that is compatible with the peak luminosity-spectral lag relation, the peak luminosity-variability relation and various other relations in the Gamma-Ray Bursts. If the viewing angle is much larger than the collimation angle of the jet in the model by Ioka and Nakamura, for appropriate model parameters we obtain the observational characteristics of the X-ray flashes, such as the peak flux ratio and the fluence ratio between the $γ$-ray (50-300 keV) and the X-ray band (2-10 keV), the X-ray photon index, the typical duration and the event rate …
X-ray flashes are detected in the Wide Field Cameras on BeppoSAX in the energy range 2-25 keV as bright X-ray sources lasting of the order of minutes, but remaining undetected in the Gamma Ray Bursts Monitor on BeppoSAX. They have properties very similar to the x-ray counterparts of GRBs and account for some of the Fast X-ray Transient events seen in almost every x-ray satellite. We review their X-ray properties and show that x-ray flashes are in fact very soft, x-ray rich, untriggered gamma ray bursts, in which the peak energy in 2-10 keV x-rays could be up to a factor of 100 larger than the …
It is widely believed that outflows of gamma-ray bursts are jetted. Some people also suggest that the jets may have structures like $ε(θ)\proptoθ^{-k}$. We test the possibility of X-ray flashes coming from such jets in this paper. Both qualitative and quantitative analyses have shown that this model can reproduce most observational features for both X-ray flashes and gamma-ray bursts. Using common parameters of gamma-ray bursts, we have done both uniform and nonuniform jets' numerical calculations for their fluxes, spectra and peak energies. It seems that nonuniform jets are more appropriated …
The recent observations of bright optical and x-ray flares by the Swift satellite suggest these are produced by the late activities of the central engine. We study the neutrino emission from far-ultraviolet and x-ray flares under the late internal shock model. We show that the efficiency of pion production in the highest energy is comparable to or higher than the unity, and the contribution from such neutrino flashes to a diffuse very high energy neutrino background can be larger than that of prompt bursts if the total baryonic energy input into flares is comparable to the radiated energy of p…
We consider dissipative effects occurring in the optically thick inner parts of the relativistic outflows producing gamma-ray bursts and X-ray flashes, emphasizing specially the Comptonization of the thermal radiation flux that is advected from the base of the outflow. Such dissipative effects --e.g. from magnetic reconnection, neutron decay or shocks -- would boost the energy density of the thermal radiation. The dissipation can lead to pair production, in which case the pairs create an effective photosphere further out than the usual baryonic one. In a slow dissipation scenario, pair creatio…
Taking into account the recent suggestion that a short gamma-ray burst (GRB) looks like the first 1 sec of a long GRB, we propose that the jet of a GRB consists of multiple sub-jets or sub-shells (i.e., an inhomogeneous jet model). The multiplicity of the sub-jets along a line of sight n_s is an important parameter. If n_s is large (>> 1) the event looks like a long GRB, while if n_s is small (~1) the event looks like a short GRB. If our line of sight is off-axis to any sub-jets, the event looks like an X-ray flash or an X-ray rich GRB. The log-normal distribution of durations of short and lon…
X-ray flashes (XRFs) are a new type of fast transient source observed with the BeppoSAX Wide Field Cameras (WFC) at a rate of about four per year. Apart from their large fraction of 2-26 keV X-rays, the bulk properties of these events are similar to those of classical gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). By investigating the wide-band spectra of ten events detected in common with WFC and BATSE, we explore the possibility that XRFs are a low-energy branch of the GRB population. We find that XRF spectra are similar to those of GRBs, and that their low peak energies could be an extension of known GRB propert…
The synchrotron optical flash caught in GRB 990123 overlaps with the MeV radiation front, and the optical-emitting electrons must also produce GeV-TeV emission by inverse Compton scattering of MeV photons. The ultra-high-energy flash can be much stronger than its optical counterpart. We also note that Compton cooling by MeV photons immediately terminates the optical emission unless the fireball Lorentz factor exceeds 10^3. Severe Compton losses may explain the non-detections of optical flashes in several long GRBs. Such failed optical flashes should be especially efficient GeV producers and li…
Only one optical flash associated with a gamma-ray burst has been detected so far by ROTSE. There are also upper limits obtained by several groups for several bursts. Recent model calculations indicate a possibility that optical flash may precede the main GRB. Such flashes are undetectable in the currently popular observing mode, with optical instruments responding to GRB triggers. There is a need to develop all sky optical monitoring system capable of recognizing flashes in real time, and more powerful instruments that could respond robotically to optical triggers and carry out follow up obse…
The transient X-ray source GS 1826-238 was monitored during five different observing periods between August 1996 and October 1998 with the BeppoSAX Wide Field Camera instrument in the framework of a deep observation of the Galactic Center region. A first detection of X-ray bursts from this source occurred, ruling out its previously suggested black hole candidacy and strongly suggesting the compact object to be a weakly magnetized neutron star. During the 2.5 years of monitoring, corresponding to ~2.0 Ms observing time, 70 bursts were detected from the source. We here report a quasi-periodicity…
Current phenomenology suggests the presence of a compact baryon-poor energy source to cosmological gamma-ray bursts reacting to high-density matter. The association of short and long gamma-ray bursts with hyper- and suspended accretion onto slowly and rapidly spinning black holes predicts weak X-ray afterglow emissions from short bursts, as in GRB050509B and GRB050709. Long gamma-ray bursts are probably the birth place of rapidly spinning high-mass black holes in core-collapse of massive stars, as in GRB030329 with supernova SN2003dh. This predicts a long-duration burst of gravitational radiat…
If typical gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have X-ray counterparts similar to those detected by Ginga, then sensitive focusing X-ray telescopes will be able to detect GRBs three orders of magnitude fainter than the detection limit of the Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE). If a substantial portion of the burst population detected by BATSE originates in a Galactic halo at distances greater than or equal to 150 kpc, existing X-ray telescopes will be able to detect GRBs in external galaxies out to a distance of at least 4.5 Mpc. As reported in Gotthelf, Hamilton, & Helfand (1996) the Imaging P…
HETE-2 has provided strong evidence that the properties of X-Ray Flashes (XRFs), X-ray-rich GRBs, and GRBs form a continuum, and therefore that these three kinds of bursts are the same phenomenon. A key feature found by HETE-2 is that the density of bursts is roughly constant per logarithmic interval in burst fluence S_E and observed spectral peak energy Ep_obs, and in isotropic-equivalent energy Eiso and rest frame spectral peak energy Epeak. In this paper, we explore a unified jet model of all three kinds of bursts, using population synthesis simulations of the bursts and detailed modeling o…
We use the two-zone model of Cooper & Narayan to study the onset and time evolution of hydrogen-triggered type I X-ray bursts on accreting neutron stars. At the lowest accretion rates, thermally unstable hydrogen burning ignites helium as well and produces a mixed hydrogen and helium burst. For somewhat higher accretion rates, thermally unstable hydrogen burning does not ignite helium and thus triggers only a weak hydrogen flash. The peak luminosities of weak hydrogen flashes are typically much lower than the accretion luminosity. These results are in accord with previous theoretical work. We …
An observed correlation Ep \propto (E_{iso})^{1/2} extending from Gamma-ray Bursts (GRBs) to X-ray flashes (XRFs) poses problems both for a power-law universal jet model where the energy per solid angle decreases as the inverse square of the angle respect to the jet axis, and for a conical jet model with a uniform energy density within the jet beam and a sharp energy cut-off at the jet edge. Here we show that the current GRB-XRF prompt emission/afterglow data can be understood in terms of a picture in which the GRB-XRF jets are quasi-universal and structured, with a Gaussian-like or similar st…
Thermal X-ray emission which is simultaneous with the prompt gamma-rays has been detected for the first time from a supernova connected with a gamma-ray burst (GRB), namely GRB060218/SN2006aj. It has been interpreted as arising from the breakout of a mildly relativistic, radiation-dominated shock from a dense stellar wind surrounding the progenitor star. There is also evidence for the presence of a mildly relativistic ejecta in GRB980425/SN1998bw, based on its X-ray and radio afterglow. Here we study the process of repeated bulk Compton scatterings of shock breakout thermal photons by the mild…
The dependence of Swift's detection sensitivity on a burst's temporal and spectral properties shapes the detected burst population. Using simplified models of the detector hardware and the burst trigger system I find that Swift is more sensitive to long, soft bursts than CGRO's BATSE, a reference detector because of the large burst database it accumulated. Thus Swift has increased sensitivity in the parameter space region into which time dilation and spectral redshifting shift high redshift bursts.
HETE-2 has provided strong evidence that the properties of X-Ray Flashes (XRFs) and GRBs form a continuum, and therefore that these two types of bursts are the same phenomenon. We show that both the structured jet and the uniform jet models can explain the observed properties of GRBs reasonably well. However, if one tries to account for the properties of both XRFs and GRBs in a unified picture, the uniform jet model works reasonably well while the structured jet model does not. The uniform jet model of XRFs and GRBs implies that most GRBs have very small jet opening angles (~ half a degree). T…
Bright optical and X-ray flares have been observed in many Gamma-ray Burst (GRB) afterglows. These flares have been attributed to late activity of the central engine. In most cases the peak energy is not known and it is possible and even likely that there is a significant far-ultraviolet component. These far-ultraviolet photons escape our detection because they are absorbed by the neutral hydrogen before reaching Earth. However, these photons cross the blast wave produced by the ejecta that have powered the initial GRB. They can be inverse Compton upscattered by hot electrons within this blast…
In the past two years, tremendous progresses to understand X-ray Flashes have been made. Now it is widely believed that X-ray Flashes and Gamma-ray Bursts are intrinsically the same, their much different peak energy and flux may be just due to our different viewing angles to them. Here we analytically calculate the very early afterglow of X-ray Flashes, i.e., the reverse shock emission powered by the outflows interacting with the interstellar medium. Assuming $z\sim 0.3$, we have shown that typically the R Band flux of reverse shock emission can be bright to $16\sim 17$th magnitude (the actual…
One third of all HETE-2--localized bursts are X-Ray Flashes (XRFs), a class of events first identified by Heise in which the fluence in the 2-30 keV energy band exceeds that in the 30-400 keV energy band. We summarize recent HETE-2 and other results on the properties of XRFs. These results show that the properties of XRFs, X-ray-rich gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), and GRBs form a continuum, and thus provide evidence that all three kinds of bursts are closely related phenomena. As the most extreme burst population, XRFs provide severe constraints on burst models and unique insights into the structure…
In their recent paper, Campana et al. (2007) found that 5 bursts, among those detected by Swift, are outliers with respect to the E_peak-E_gamma ("Ghirlanda") correlation. We instead argue that they are not.
We study the spectrum of the prompt emission and the X-ray and optical afterglow fluxes of 54 X-Ray Rich Gamma Ray Burst (XRRs) and X-Ray Flashes (XRFs), observed by BeppoSax and HETE-2. A comparison is then performed with classical Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs). The goal of this paper is to investigate the nature of XRRs/XRFs, as high redshift GRBs or off-axis GRBs, analyzing both their prompt and afterglow properties. We find that the XRR/XRF spectral indexes of the Band function are similar to those of classical GRBs, whereas the peak energy is lower by a factor of 4. We study the optical and X-R…
SWIFT bursts appear to be more distant than previous bursts. We present the Boer & Gendre relation that link redshift and afterglow luminosities. Taking advantage of the XMM-Newton, Chandra and BeppoSAX catalogs, and using this relation, we have investigated the redshift distribution of GRBs. We find that XMM burst sources with unknown redshift appear to be more distant than those with a known redshift. We propose that this effect may be due to a selection effect of pre-SWIFT optical observations.
The "canonical behaviour" of the early X-ray afterglows of long-duration Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) --observed by the X-Ray Telescope of the SWIFT satellite-- is precisely the one predicted by the Cannonball model of GRBs.
Since the successful launch of NASA's dedicated gamma-ray burst (GRB) mission, Swift, the study of cosmological GRBs has entered a new era. Here I review the rapid observational and theoretical progress in this dynamical research field during the first two-year of the Swift mission, focusing on how observational breakthroughs have revolutionized our understanding of the physical origins of GRBs. Besides summarizing how Swift helps to solve some pre-Swift mysteries, I also list some outstanding problems raised by the Swift observations. An outlook of GRB science in the future, especially in the…
The Swift satellite will be a self-contained observatory that will bring new capabilities to the observing of the early afterglow emission of Gamma-ray Bursts. Swift is completely autonomous and will do all of the observations without help from the ground. There are three instruments on Swift. A large (5200 sq cm) coded aperture imager will locate the bursts within about 15 seconds. The satellite will be able to slew to point at the location within a minute or two. There are two narrow field of view instruments: an optical telescope and an x-ray telescope. Thus, Swift will provide simultaneous…
Neutron stars, with their strong surface gravity, have interestingly short timescales for the sedimentation of heavy elements. Recent observations of unstable thermonuclear burning (observed as X-ray bursts) on the surfaces of slowly accreting neutron stars ($< 0.01$ of the Eddington rate) motivate us to examine how sedimentation of CNO isotopes affects the ignition of these bursts. We further estimate the burst development using a simple one-zone model with a full reaction network. We report a region of mass accretion rates for weak H flashes. Such flashes can lead to a large reservoir of He,…
HETE-2 has provided strong evidence that the properties of X-Ray Flashes (XRFs) and GRBs form a continuum, and therefore that these two types of bursts are the same phenomenon. We show that both the structured jet and the uniform jet models can explain the observed properties of GRBs reasonably well. However, if one tries to account for the properties of both XRFs and GRBs in a unified picture, the uniform jet model works reasonably well while the structured jet model fails utterly. The uniform jet model of XRFs and GRBs implies that most GRBs have very small jet opening angles (~ half a degre…
Gamma-ray Bursts are the most powerful objects in the Universe. Discovered in the 1960's as brief flashes of gamma-radiation, we now know they emit across the entire electromagnetic spectrum, are located in distant galaxies and comprise two distinct populations, one of which may originate in the deaths of massive stars. The launch of the Swift satellite in 2004 has brought a flurry of new discoveries, advancing our understanding of these sources and the galaxies that host them. We highlight a number of important results from the Swift era thus far.
The currently accepted model for gamma-ray burst phenomena involves the violent formation of a rapidly rotating solar-mass black hole. Gravitational waves should be associated with the black-hole formation, and their detection would permit this model to be tested. Even upper limits on the gravitational-wave strength associated with gamma-ray bursts could constrain the gamma-ray burst model. This requires joint observations of gamma-ray burst events with gravitational and gamma-ray detectors. Here we examine how the quality of an upper limit on the gravitational-wave strength associated with ga…
Systematic variations of average observational characteristics and correlation properties between different parameters of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) with time from 1991 April to 1994 September are revealed. It is hard to explain the observed long-term variability by variations of experimental conditions. The variability of GRB properties with the time scale of months to years, together with the similarity between GRBs, solar hard X-ray flares and terrestrial gamma-ray flashes, may indicate an origin of GRBs, at least partly, within the heliosphere. Large-voltage and high-temperature pinch plasma …
We compute the probability to detect long Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) at z>5 with Swift, assuming that GRBs form preferentially in low-metallicity environments. The model fits well both the observed BATSE and Swift GRB differential peak flux distribution and is consistent with the number of z>2.5 detections in the 2-year Swift data. We find that the probability to observe a burst at z>5 becomes larger than 10% for photon fluxes P<1 ph s^{-1} cm^{-2}, consistent with the number of confirmed detections. The corresponding fraction of z>5 bursts in the Swift catalog is ~10%-30% depending on the adopte…
Using the sample of long Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) detected by Swift-BAT before June 2007, we measure the cumulative distribution of the peak photon fluxes (log N - log P) of the Swift bursts. Compared with the BATSE sample, we find that the two distributions are consistent after correcting the band pass difference, suggesting that the two instruments are sampling the same population of bursts. We also compare the log N - log P distributions for sub-samples of the Swift bursts, and find evidence for a deficit (99.75% confident) of dark bursts without optical counterparts at high peak flux levels…
We describe and discuss the global properties of 45 gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) observed by HETE-2 during the first three years of its mission, focusing on the properties of X-Ray Flashes (XRFs) and X-ray-rich GRBs (XRRs). We find that the numbers of XRFs, XRRs, and GRBs are comparable. We find that the durations and the sky distributions of XRFs and XRRs are similar to those of GRBs. We also find that the spectral properties of XRFs and XRRs are similar to those of GRBs, except that the values of the peak energy $E^{\rm obs}_{\rm peak}$ of the burst spectrum in $νF_ν$, the peak energy flux $\Fp$,…
We present optical, near-IR, and radio follow up of sixteen Swift bursts, including our discovery of nine afterglows and a redshift determination for three. These observations, supplemented by data from the literature, provide an afterglow recovery rate of 60% in the optical/near-IR, much higher than in previous missions (BeppoSAX, HETE-2, INTEGRAL, and IPN). The optical/near-IR afterglows of Swift events are on average 1.7 mag fainter at t=12 hr than those of previous missions. The X-ray afterglows are similarly fainter compared to those of pre-Swift bursts. In the radio the limiting factor i…
We present a multiwavelength analysis of Swift GRB 061007. The 2-m robotic Faulkes Telescope South (FTS) began observing 137 s after the onset of the gamma-ray emission, when the optical counterpart was already decaying from R 10.3 mag, and continued observing for the next 5.5 hours. These observations begin during the final gamma-ray flare and continue through and beyond a long, soft tail of gamma-ray emission whose flux shows an underlying simple power-law decay identical to that seen at optical and X-ray wavelengths, with temporal slope alpha 1.7 This remarkably simple decay in all of these…
We present an optical flux vs. X-ray flux diagram for all known gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) for which an X-ray afterglow has been detected. We propose an operational definition of dark bursts as those bursts that are optically subluminous with respect to the fireball model, i.e., which have an optical-to-X-ray spectral index beta_OX < 0.5. Out of a sample of 52 GRBs we identify 5 dark bursts. The definition and diagram serve as a simple and quick diagnostic tool for identifying dark GRBs based on limited information, particularly useful for early and objective identification of dark GRBs observed …
We present multi-color optical observations of long-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) made over a three year period with the robotic Palomar 60 inch telescope (P60). Our sample consists of all 29 events discovered by Swift for which P60 began observations less than one hour after the burst trigger. We were able to recover 80% of the optical afterglows from this prompt sample, and we attribute this high efficiency to our red coverage. Like Melandri et al. (2008), we find that a significant fraction (~ 50%) of Swift events show a suppression of the optical flux with regards to the X-ray emission …
Until 6 October 2005 sixteen redshifts have been measured of long gamma-ray bursts discovered by the Swift satellite. Further 45 redshifts have been measured of the long gamma-ray bursts discovered by other satellites. Here we perform five statistical tests comparing the redshift distributions of these two samples assuming - as the null hypothesis - identical distribution for the two samples. Three tests (Student's $t$-test, Mann-Whitney test, Kolmogorov-Smirnov test) reject the null hypothesis on the significance levels between 97.19 and 98.55%. Two different comparisons of the medians show e…
In the introduction we give the main characteristics of the Swift mission outlining how the design was driven by the science goals and by the heritage we got from the Italian - Dutch satellite Beppo SAX. We show some of the new characteristics of the X - ray light curves that became evident soon after we obtained the first set of data. In addition to the early phase steep slope afterglow discovered by Swift, we discuss the frequently observed GRB flares and the first localization of a short burst.
We predict the redshift distribution of long Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) with Monte Carlo simulations. Our improved analysis constrains free parameters with three kinds of observation: (i) the log(N)-log(P) diagram of BATSE bursts; (ii) the peak energy distribution of bright BATSE bursts; (iii) the HETE2 fraction of X-ray rich GRBs and X-ray flashes. The statistical analysis of the Monte Carlo simulation results allow us to carefully study the impact of the uncertainties in the GRB intrinsic properties on the redshift distribution. The comparison with SWIFT data then leads to the following conclus…
The discovery of X-ray afterglows accompanying two short bursts from SGR 1900+14 is presented. The afterglow luminosities at the end of each observation are lower by 30-50% than their initial luminosities, and decay with power law indices p ~ 0.2-0.4. Their initial bolometric luminosities are L ~ 10^34-10^35 erg s^-1. We discuss analogies and differences between the X-ray afterglows of SGR short bursts and short gamma-ray bursts.
A few tight correlations linking several properties of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), namely the spectral peak energy, the total radiated energy, and the afterglow break time, have been discovered with pre-Swift GRBs. They were used to constrain the cosmological parameters, together with type-Ia supernovae. However, the tightness of these correlations is a challenge to GRB models. We explore the effect of adding Swift bursts to the Ghirlanda and Liang-Zhang relations. Although they are both still valid, they become somewhat weakened mostly due to the presence of significant outliers, which otherwise…
Correlation studies of prompt and afterglow emissions from gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) between different spectral bands has been difficult to do in the past because few bursts had comprehensive and intercomparable afterglow measurements. In this paper we present a large and uniform data set for correlation analysis based on bursts detected by the Swift mission. For the first time, short and long bursts can be analyzed and compared. It is found for both classes that the optical, X-ray and gamma-ray emissions are linearly correlated, but with a large spread about the correlation line; stronger burst…
Given the paucity of empirical constraints, the nature of the newly-recognized phenomena called X-Ray Flashes (XRFs) has been an open question. However, with the recent detections of radio and X-ray afterglow it is finally possible to study the large- and small-scale environments of XRFs. We present Chandra, Hubble Space Telescope (HST), and Keck observations of the fields of XRFs 011030 and 020427. Astrometric comparisons of the X-ray transient positions and the HST images reveal the XRFs to be associated with faint blue galaxies. Photometric evidence of these putative hosts suggests that the…
We summarize our model for long-duration gamma ray bursts (GRBs) that fits the redshift (z) distributions measured with Swift and missions before Swift, and the pre-Swift GRB jet opening-angle distribution inferred from achromatic breaks in the optical light curves. We find that the comoving rate density of GRB sources exhibits positive evolution to $z \gtrsim 3$ -- 5, whereas the star formation rate inferred from measurements of the blue and UV luminosity density peaks at $z\sim 1$ -- 3. The mean intrinsic beaming factor of GRBs is found to be $\approx 34$ -- 42, and we predict that the mean …
We report the systematic analysis of the durations for Swift gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and compare the results with those of pre-Swift data. For 95 GRBs with known redshift, we show that the observed durations have two lognormal distributions that are clearly divided at $T_{90}\simeq2$ s. This is consistent with the earlier BATSE results. The intrinsic durations also show a bimodal distribution but shift systematically toward the smaller value and the distribution exhibits a narrower width compared with the observed one. We find that the intrinsic distributions of long GRBs between Swift and pre…
We use the cannonball (CB) model of gamma ray bursts (GRBs) and their afterglows (AGs) to analyze the observational data on X-ray flashes (XRFs) and their AGs. We show that the observations support the CB-model interpretation that XRFs, like GRBs, are produced by the explosions of core-collapse supernovae (SNe) akin to SN1998bw, by jets of highly-relativistic CBs. The XRFs and GRBs are intrinsically identical objects, but the XRFs are viewed from angles (relative to the jet direction) which are typically a few times larger than the typical viewing angles of ``classical'', long-duration GRBs. T…
We have applied the proposed variability -> luminosity indicator to ten "X-Ray Flashes" (XRFs) observed by the Wide-Field Cameras on BeppoSAX for which BATSE survey data exists. Our results suggest that the variability -> luminosity indicator probably works for XRFs. Assuming this to be so, we find that the luminosity and redshift distributions of XRFs are consistent with those of long-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), and therefore most XRFs are probably not very high redshift GRBs. The fact that XRFs and GRBs have similar luminosity and redshift distributions suggests that XRFs and long-dura…
The gravitational redshift measured by Cottam, Paerels and Mendez for the neutron star (NS) in the low-mass X-ray binary EXO 0748-676 depends on the identification of an absorption line during a type I burst as the H$α$ line from hydrogenic Fe. We show that Fe is present above the photosphere as long as $\dot M>4\times 10^{-13}M_\odot {\rm yr^{-1}}$ during the burst. In this limit, the total Fe column is $N_{\rm Fe}\approx 3\times 10^{19}{\rm cm^{-2}}$ for incident material of solar abundances and only depends on the nuclear physics of the proton spallation. The Fe destruction creates many hea…
Two classes of gamma-ray bursts have been identified in the BATSE catalogs characterized by durations shorter and longer than about 2 seconds. There are, however, some indications for the existence of a third class. Swift satellite detectors have different spectral sensitivity than pre-Swift ones for gamma-ray bursts. Therefore, it is worth to reanalyze the durations and their distribution. We analyze, the maximum likelihood estimation, the bursts duration distribution, published in The First BAT Catalog, whether it contains two, three or more groups. The three log-normal fit is significantly …
The advent of large panoramic photometric surveys of the sky offers the possibly of exploring the association of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) with supernovae. To date, a few gamma-ray bursts have been connected possibly with supernovae: GRB 980425 -- SN 1998bw, GRB 011121 -- SN 2001ke, GRB 970228 and GRB 980326. A combination of a large detection rate of GRBs and rapid coverage of a large portion of the sky to faint magnitude limits offers the possibility of detecting a supernova preceding an associated GRB or at least placing limits on the rate of association between these two phenomena and the ti…
The recently launched Swift satellite is providing an unprecedented number of rapid and accurate Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) localizations, facilitating a flurry of follow-up observations by a large number of telescopes at many different wavelengths. The Very High Energy (VHE, >100 GeV) regime has so far been relatively unexplored. Milagro is a wide field of view (2 sr) and high duty cycle (> 90%) ground-based gamma-ray telescope which employs a water Cherenkov detector to monitor the northern sky almost continuously in the 100 GeV to 100 TeV energy range. We have searched the Milagro data for emiss…
