The redshift and afterglow of the extremely energetic gamma-ray burst GRB 080916C
J. Greiner, C. Clemens, T. Kruehler, A. v. Kienlin, A. Rau, R. Sari, D. B. Fox, N. Kawai, P. Afonso, M. Ajello, E. Berger, S. B. Cenko, A. Cucchiara, R. Filgas,… 展开作者
J. Greiner, C. Clemens, T. Kruehler, A. v. Kienlin, A. Rau, R. Sari, D. B. Fox, N. Kawai, P. Afonso, M. Ajello, E. Berger, S. B. Cenko, A. Cucchiara, R. Filgas, S. Klose, A. Kuepue Yoldas, G. G. Lichti, S. Loew, S. McBreen, T. Nagayama, A. Rossi, S. Sato, G. Szokoly, A. Yoldas, X. -L. Zhang
The detection of GeV photons from gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) has important consequences for the interpretation and modelling of these most-energetic cosmological explosions. The full exploitation of the high-energy measurements relies, however, on the accurate knowledge of the distance to the events. Here we report on the discovery of the afterglow and subsequent redshift determination of GRB 080916C, the first GRB detected by the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope with high significance detection of photons at >0.1 GeV. Observations were done with 7-channel imager GROND at the 2.2m MPI/ESO telescope, the SIRIUS instrument at the Nagoya-SAAO 1.4m telescope in South Africa, and the GMOS instrument at Gemini-S. The afterglow photometric redshift of z=4.35+-0.15, based on simultaneous 7-filter observations with the Gamma-Ray Optical and Near-infrared Detector (GROND), places GRB 080916C among the top 5% most distant GRBs, and makes it the most energetic GRB known to date. The detection of GeV photons from such a distant event is rather surprising.
The observed gamma-ray variability in the prompt emission together with the redshift suggests a lower limit for the Lorentz factor of the ultra-relativistic ejecta of Gamma > 1090. This value rivals any previous measurements of Gamma in GRBs and strengthens the extreme nature of GRB 080916C.
With the launch of Gaia satellite, detection of many different types of transient sources will be possible, one of them being optical afterglows of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). Using the knowledge of the satellites dynamics and properties of GRB optical afterglows we performed a simulation in order to estimate an average GRB detection rate with Gaia. Here we present the simulation results for two types of GRB optical afterglows, differing in the observer's line-of-sight compared to a GRB jet axis: regular (on-axis) and orphan afterglows. Results show that for on-axis GRBs, less than 10 detections …
We have performed detailed calculations of spectra and light curves of GRB afterglows assuming that the observed GRBs can have a jet geometry. The calculations are based on an expanding relativistic shock GRB afterglow model where the afterglow is the result of synchrotron radiation of relativistic electrons with power-law energy distribution at the front of external shock being decelerated in a circumstellar medium. To determine the intensity on the radiation surface we solve numerically the full time-, angle-, and frequency-dependent special relativistic transfer equation in the comoving fra…
We discuss the potential of the eROSITA telescope on board the \emph{Spectrum-X-Gamma} observatory to detect gamma-ray burst (GRB) X-ray afterglows during its 4-year all-sky survey. The expected rate of afterglows associated with long-duration GRBs without any information on the bursts proper that can be identified by a characteristic power-law light curve in the eROSITA data is 4--8 events per year. An additional small number, $\lesssim 2$ per year, of afterglows may be associated with short GRBs, ultra hard (GeV) GRBs and X-ray flashes. eROSITA can thus provide the first unbiased (unaffected…
It has been reported that some X-ray spectra of gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglows cannot be fitted by a simple power law. A blackbody component is added to precisely fit the thermal feature in these spectra. Alternatively, we propose that bremsstrahlung radiation can also be one possible mechanism to explain the thermal component of the GRB X-ray afterglow. In particular, we examine the X-ray afterglow of the ultra-long GRB 130925A in this paper. By our calculation, we find that the X-ray thermal component observed by both Swift-XRT and NuSTAR can be well explained by the bremsstrahlung radiati…
We constrain the physical composition of the outflows of GRBs 080916C and 090510 with the prompt emission data and find that the former is likely magnetic while the latter may be baryonic. The X-ray and optical afterglow emission of both GRBs can be reasonably fitted using the standard external shock model but the density profiles of the circum-burst medium are different. We also propose a simple method to estimate the number of the seed photons suppose the GeV afterglow photons are due to the inverse Compton radiation of external forward shock electrons. The seed photons needed in the modelin…
A new model using a general expression of the radiation energy and explaining the dynamics of the afterglows is proposed. It is shown that this model is suitable for the ultra-relativistic and non-relativistic phases as well as the study of radiative and adiabatic fireballs.
The late-time high-resolution X-ray and radio observations of GRB980425/SN1998bw, the closest known gamma ray burst (GRB) associated with a supernova (SN) explosion, may have actually resolved the hyperluminal source that produced the GRB and its afterglow. Its hyperluminal speed ~350c is consistent with that expected in the cannonball (CB) model of GRBs. The observed superluminal expansion of the late-time radio image of GRB030329/SN2003dh, the GRB with the brightest and longest followed up radio afterglow to date, is also consistent with that expected in the CB model of GRBs and extrapolates…
GRB 140903A, a short duration $γ-$ray burst (SGRB) detected by {\it Swift}, is characterized by its long-lasting radio emission among SGRBs. In addition to the $\sim 10^{6}$ s radio afterglow emission, the afterglow of GRB 140903A displays a plateau from $10^3$ s to $7 \times 10^3 $ s in the X-rays. In this work, we attribute the X-ray plateau to the energy injection into the decelerating blast wave and then model the later radio/optical/X-ray afterglow emission within the standard fireball afterglow model. The afterglow emission has been well reproduced with reasonable physical parameters, in…
GRB 070610, which is also named Swift J195509.6+261406, is a peculiar Galactic transient with significant variability on short timescales in both X-ray and optical light curves. One possible explanation is that GRB 070610/Swift J195509.6 + 261406 is a soft gamma-ray repeater (SGR) in our Galaxy. Here we use the fireball model which is usually recognized as the standard model of gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglows, and the energy injection hypothesis to interpret the X-ray and optical afterglow light curves of GRB 070610/Swift J195509.6 + 261406. It is found that the model is generally consistent …
GRB afterglows are among the best examples of astrophysical sources requiring a true multiwavelength observational approach. Radiation processes and main physical ingredients can only be disentangled with knowledge of their spectral and temporal properties through the largest possible band, i.e. from the X-ray down to radio. We now briefly review some of the most relevant observational findings recently obtained through optical observations.
Early rebrightenings at a post-burst time of 10^2 - 10^4 s have been observed in the afterglows of some gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). Unlike X-ray flares, these rebrightenings usually last for a relatively long period. The continuous energy injection mechanism usually can only produce a plateau in the afterglow light curve, but not a rebrightening. Also, a sudden energy injection can give birth to a rebrightening, but the rebrightening is a bit too rapid. Here we argued that the early rebrightenings can be produced by the ring-shaped jet model. In this scenario, the GRB outflow is not a full cone, …
The extended high-energy gamma-ray (>100 MeV) emission occurred after the prompt gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) is usually characterized by a single power-law spectrum, which has been explained as the afterglow synchrotron radiation. The afterglow inverse-Compton emission has long been predicted to be able to produce a high-energy component as well, but previous observations have not revealed such a signature clearly, probably due to the small number of >10 GeV photons even for the brightest GRBs known so far. In this Letter, we report on the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) observations of the >100 …
We analyzed 199 GRBs detected by Fermi-LAT during the years 2008-2019. We found 67 photons at energies >=10 GeV, which come from 34 GRBs. Out of these 34 GRBs, Fermi-LAT detects significant (TS>=4) afterglow 0.1-200 GeV photons from 25 GRBs. We present time-integrated 0.1-200 GeV spectra of these 25 GRBs. The spectra of a significant fraction (9/25) of these GRBs revealed a harder component above an energy break of 0.3-2 GeV. While shock synchrotron may account for the photons at the lower energy end, high energy photons above the break is naturally explained by synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) …
The gamma-ray burst (GRB) jet powers the afterglow emission by shocking the surrounding medium, and radio afterglow can now be routinely observed to almost a year after the explosion. Long-duration GRBs are accompanied by supernovae (SNe) that typically contain much more energy than the GRB jet. Here we consider the fact that the SN blast wave will also produce its own afterglow (supernova remnant emission), which will peak at much later time (since it is non-relativistic), when the SN blast wave transitions from a coasting phase to a decelerating Sedov-Taylor phase. We predict that this compo…
The afterglow of GRBs is believed to originate from the synchrotron emission of shock-accelerated electrons produced by the interaction between the outflow and the external medium. The accelerated electrons are usually assumed to follow a power law energy distribution with an index of $p$. Observationally, although most GRB afterglows have a $p$ larger than 2, there are still a few GRBs suggestive of a hard ($p<2$) electron spectrum. GRB 091127, with well-sampled broad-band afterglow data, shows evidence of a hard electron spectrum and strong spectral evolution, with a spectral break moving fr…
Electrons accelerated in relativistic collisionless shocks are usually assumed to follow a power-law energy distribution with an index of $p$. Observationally, although most gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have afterglows that are consistent with $p>2$, there are still a few GRBs suggestive of a hard ($p<2$) electron energy spectrum. Our previous work showed that GRB 091127 gave strong evidence for a double power-law hard electron energy (DPLH) spectrum with $1<p_1<2$, $p_2>2$ and an "injection break" assumed as $γ_{\rm b}\propto γ^q$ in the highly relativistic regime, where $γ$ is the bulk Lorentz fa…
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), which are bright flashes of gamma rays from extragalactic sources followed by fading afterglow emission, are associated with stellar core collapse events. We report the detection of very-high-energy (VHE) gamma rays from the afterglow of GRB 190829A, between 4 and 56 hours after the trigger, using the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.). The low luminosity and redshift of GRB 190829A reduce both internal and external absorption, allowing determination of its intrinsic energy spectrum. Between energies of 0.18 and 3.3 tera-electron volts, this spectrum is describ…
We perform calorimetry on the bright gamma ray burst (GRB) 030329 by fitting simultaneously the broadband radio afterglow and the observed afterglow image size to a semi-analytic magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) and afterglow emission model. Our semi-analytic method is valid in both the relativistic and non-relativistic regimes, and incorporates a model of the interstellar scintillation that substantially effects the broadband afterglow below 10 GHz. The model is fitted to archival measurements of the afterglow flux from 1 day to 8.3 years after the burst. Values for the initial burst parameters ar…
Conventionally, long GRBs are thought to be caused by the core collapses of massive stars. During the lifetime of a massive star, a stellar wind bubble environment should be produced. Furthermore, the microphysics shock parameters may vary along with the evolution of the fireball. Here we investigate the variation of the microphysics shock parameters under the condition of wind bubble environment, and allow the microphysics shock parameters to be discontinuous at shocks in the ambient medium. It is found that our model can acceptably reproduce the rebrightenings observed in GRB afterglows, at …
The VHE component from at least two GRBs, i.e., GRB180720B and GRB190114C, has been detected in the afterglow phase. We systematically analyzed 199 GRBs detected by Fermi-LAT during 2008-2019. If an additional high-energy component exists in the afterglows of Fermi-LAT GRBs, the best-fit spectral model could be a broken power-law (BPL) model with an upturn above a break energy. We compare the afterglow spectra using PL and BPL representations. Out of the 30 GRBs with >10GeV photons that arrived after T90, 25 GRBs are tentatively or significantly detected at 0.1-200 GeV after 2*T90. The spectru…
Measuring GRB properties in their rest-frame is crucial to understand the physics at work in gamma-ray bursts. This can only be done for GRBs with known redshift. Since redshifts are usually measured from the optical spectrum of the afterglow, correlations between prompt and afterglow emissions may introduce biases in the distribution of rest-frame properties of the prompt emission, especially considering that we measure the redshift of only one third of Swift GRBs. In this paper we study the brightness of optical GRB afterglows and the role of optical selection effects in the distribution of …
A certain degree of linear polarization has been measured in several GRB afterglows. More surprisingly, circular polarization has been recently measured in GRB121024A. For synchrotron emission, the polarization level depends on: (i) the local magnetic field orientation (ii) the geometry of the emitting region with respect to the line of sight and (iii) the electron pitch-angle distribution. For this reason, polarization measurements are a valuable tool to probe afterglow micro-physics. We present numerical estimates of linear and circular polarization for different configurations (i.e., magnet…
Extensive multi-band afterglow data are available for GRB 980703. Especially, its radio afterglow was very bright and was monitored until more than 1000 days after the trigger time. Additionally, there is no obvious special feature, i.e., no rebrightenings, no plateau, and no special steep decay or slow decay in the multi-band afterglow light curves. All these conditions make GRB 980703 a precious sample in gamma-ray burst research. Here we use the observational data of GRB 980703 to test the standard fireball model in depth. It is found that the model can give a satisfactory explanation to th…
We study thermal emission from circumstellar structures heated by gamma-ray burst (GRB) radiation and ejecta and calculate its contribution to GRB optical and X-ray afterglows using the modified radiation hydro-code small STELLA. It is shown that thermal emission originating in heated dense shells around the GRB progenitor star can reproduce X-ray plateaus (like observed in GRB 050904, 070110) as well as deviations from a power law fading observed in optical afterglows of some GRBs (e.g. 020124, 030328, 030429X, 050904). Thermal radiation pressure in the heated circumburst shell dominates the …
GRB 090926A was detected by both the GBM and LAT instruments on-board the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope. Swift follow-up observations began ~13 hours after the initial trigger. The optical afterglow was detected for nearly 23 days post trigger, placing it in the long lived category. The afterglow is of particular interest due to its brightness at late times, as well as the presence of optical flares at T0+10^5 s and later, which may indicate late-time central engine activity. The LAT has detected a total of 16 GRBs; 9 of these bursts, including GRB 090926A, also have been observed by Swift. …
Short-duration GRBs with extended emission form a subclass of short GRBs, comprising about 15% of the short-duration sample. Afterglow detections of short GRBs are also rare (about 30%) due to their smaller luminosity. We present a multi-band data set of the short burst with extended emission GRB 150424A, comprising of GROND observations, complemented with data from Swift/UVOT, Swift/XRT, HST, Keck/LRIS and data points from the literature. The GRB 150424A afterglow shows an extended plateau phase, lasting about 8hrs. The analysis of this unique GRB afterglow might shed light on the understandi…
We present photometric and polarimetric measurements of gamma-ray burst (GRB) optical afterglows observed by the RINGO3 imaging polarimeter over its $\sim$7 year lifetime mounted on the Liverpool Telescope. During this time, RINGO3 responded to 67 GRB alerts. Of these, 28 had optical afterglows and a further ten were sufficiently bright for photometric and polarimetric analysis ($R\lessapprox{17}$). We present high quality multicolour light curves of ten sources: GRB 130606A, GRB 130610A, GRB 130612A, GRB 140430A, GRB 141220A, GRB 151215A, GRB 180325A, GRB 180618A, GRB 190114C, and GRB 191016A…
We study GRB 221009A, the brightest gamma-ray burst in the history of observations, using Fermi data. To calibrate them for large inclination angles, we use the Vela X gamma-ray source. Light curves in different spectral ranges demonstrate a 300 s overlap of afterglow and delayed episodes of soft prompt emission. We demonstrate that a relatively weak burst precursor that occurs 3 minutes before the main episode has its own afterglow, i.e., presumably, its own external shock. The main afterglow is the brightest one, includes a photon with an energy of 400 GeV 9 hours after the burst, and is vis…
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are ultra-relativistic collimated outflows, which emit synchrotron radiation throughout the entire electromagnetic spectrum when they interact with their environment. This afterglow emission enables us to probe the dynamics of relativistic blast waves, the microphysics of shock acceleration, and environments of GRBs. We perform Bayesian inference on a sample of GRB afterglow data sets consisting of 22 long GRBs and 4 short GRBs, using the afterglow model "scalefit", which is based on 2D relativistic hydrodynamic simulations. We make use of Gaussian processes to account …
We investigate the prospects of detecting radio afterglows from long Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) from Population III (Pop III) progenitors using the SKA precursor instruments WMA (Murchison Widefield Array) and ASKAP (Australian SKA Pathfinder). We derive a realistic model of GRB afterglows that encompasses the widest range of plausible physical parameters and observation angles. We define the best case scenario of Pop III GRB energy and redshift distributions. Using probability distribution functions fitted to the observed microphysical parameters of long GRBs, we simulate a large number of Pop I…
Context. Gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglows originate from the interaction between the relativistic ejecta and the surrounding medium. Consequently, their properties depend on several aspects: radiation mechanisms, relativistic shock micro-physics, circumburst environment, and the structure and geometry of the relativistic jet. While the standard afterglow model accounts for the overall spectral and temporal evolution for a number of GRBs, its validity limits emerge when the data set is particularly rich and constraining, especially in the radio band. Aims. We aimed to model the afterglow of the…
We study the observed correlations between the duration and luminosity of the early afterglow plateau and the isotropic gamma-ray energy release during the prompt phase. We discuss these correlations in the context of two scenarios for the origin of the plateaus. In the first one the afterglow is made by the forward shock and the plateau results from variations of the microphysics parameters while in the second one the early afterglow is made by a long-lived reverse shock propagating in a low Lorentz factor tail of the ejecta.
We present the result of a search for orphan Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) afterglows in the Pan-STARRS1 (PS1) COSMOS survey. There is extensive theoretical and observational evidence suggesting that GRBs are collimated jets; the direct observation of orphan GRB afterglows would further support this model. An optimal survey strategy is designed by coupling the PS1 survey with the Subaru/Hyper-Suprime-Cam (HSC) survey. The PS1 COSMOS survey, one of the survey fields in the PS1 Medium Deep Survey (PS1/MDS), searches a field of 7 deg$^2$ from December 2011 to January 2014, reaching a limiting magnitude R…
We present the discovery of two distinct classes in the Swift short duration gamma-ray bursts (S-GRBs) from the X-Ray Telescope (XRT) X-ray afterglow light curve. We find that about 40% of the Swift S-GRBs have an X-ray afterglow light curves which only lasts less than 10000 seconds after the burst trigger (hereafter short-lived S-GRBs). On the other hand, another 60% of S-GRBs have a long lasting X-ray afterglow light curve which resembles the long duration gamma-ray bursts. We also find that none of the short-lived S-GRBs shows the extended emission in the Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) energy …
We examine a sample of 21 gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglow light curves at radio frequencies, and compare them to the X-ray and/or optical properties of the afterglows and to the predictions of the standard jet/fireball model. Our sample includes every \textit{Swift} GRB with an X-ray light curve indicating a jet break and with a published radio light curve, as well as several other targets with observed X-ray or and/optical jet breaks. We examine the late-time decline of each burst, and attempt to fit an analytical model based on the standard GRB afterglow equations to each data set. We show t…
As indicated by the observed X-ray flares, a great amount of energy could be intermediately released from the postburst central engine of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). As a natural consequence, the GRB external shock could be energized over and over. With such a multiple energy injection model, we explore the unique X-ray afterglow light curve of GRB 050712, which exists four apparent shallow decay plateaus. Together with three early X-ray flares, the central engine of GRB 050712 is supposed to release energy at least seven times after the burst. Furthermore we find that the energy released during …
A long plateau phase and an amazing brightness have been observed in the Xray afterglow of GRB 060729. This peculiar light curve is likely due to long-term energy injection in external shock. Here we present a detailed numerical study on the energy injection process of magnetic dipole radiation from a strongly magnetized millisecond pulsar and model the multi-band afterglow observations. It is found that this model can successfully explain the long plateaus in the observed X-ray and optical afterglow light curves. The sharp break following the plateaus should be due to the rapid decline of the…
Aim: To present the optical observations of the afterglow of GRB 101024A and to try to reconcile these observations with the X-ray afterglow data of GRB 101024A using current afterglow models Method: We employ early optical observations using the Zadko Telescope combined with X-ray data and compare with the reverse shock/forward shock model. Results: The early optical light curve reveals a very unusual steep decay index of alpha~5. This is followed by a flattening and possibly a plateau phase coincident with a similar feature in the X-ray. We discuss these observations in the framework of the …
Gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglows are likely produced in the shock that is driven as the GRB jet interacts with the external medium. Long-duration GRBs are also associated with powerful supernovae (SNe). We consider the optical and radio afterglows of long GRBs for both blasts viewed along the jet axis ("on-axis" afterglows) and misaligned observes ("off-axis" afterglows). Comparing the optical emission from the afterglow with that of the accompanying SN, using SN 1998bw as an archetype, we find that only a few percent of afterglows viewed off-axis are brighter than the SN. For observable optic…
RINGO on the Liverpool Telescope has now measured the optical polarization of GRB 060418 (where a 2 sigma upper limit of P<8% was determined) and GRB 090102 (when a detection of P = 10 +/-1 % was made). We discuss the implications of these observations for the various competing models of GRB jet magnetization and describe a possible unified model that can explain both measurements.
The redshift distribution of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) is strongly biased by selection effects. We investigate, via Monte Carlo simulations, one possible selection effect that may be modifying the Swift GRB redshift distribution. We show how telescope response times to acquire a GRB redshift may, via the Malmquist effect and GRB optical afterglow brightness distribution, introduce a bias into the average of the observed redshift distribution. It is difficult to reconcile a recently reported correlated trend between telescope response time and average redshifts unless we employ a redshift-depende…
We present the results of our radio observational campaign on GRB 100418a, for which we used the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA), Very Large Array (VLA) and the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA). GRB 100418a was a peculiar GRB with unusual X-ray and optical afterglow profiles featuring a plateau phase with a very shallow rise. This observed plateau phase was believed to be due to a continued energy injection mechanism which powered the forward shock, giving rise to an unusual and long-lasting afterglow. The radio afterglow of GRB 100418a was detectable several weeks after the prompt emi…
It has been claimed recently that Swift has captured for the first time a late-time afterglow re-brightening of clear nonflaring origin after the steep decay of the prompt emission in a long gamma-ray burst (GRB), which may have been produced by a narrow jet viewed far off-axis. However, this interpretation of the observed re-brightening of the X-ray afterglow (AG) of GRB081028 is unlikely in view of its large equivalent isotropic gamma-ray energy. Moreover, we show that the late-time re-brightening of the AG of GRB081028 is well explained by the cannonball (CB) model of GRBs as a synchrotron …
GW170817, the first neutron star merger event detected by advanced LIGO/Virgo detectors, was associated with an underluminous short duration GRB 170817A. In this work we compare the forward shock afterglow emission of GW170817/GRB 170817A to other luminous short GRBs (sGRBs) with both a known redshift and an afterglow emission lasting at least one day after the burst. In the rapid decay phase, the afterglow emission of the bright sGRBs and GW170817/GRB 170817A form a natural and continuous sequence, though separated by an observation time gap. If viewed on-axis, the forward shock afterglow emi…
Using the generic hydrodynamic model of Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) afterglows, we calculate the radio afterglow light curves of low luminosity, high luminosity, failed and standard GRBs in different observational bands of FAST's energy window. The GRBs are assumed to be located at different distances from us. Our results rank the detectability of GRBs in descending order as high luminosity, standard, failed and low luminosity GRBs. We predict that almost all types of radio afterglows except that of low luminosity GRBs could be observed by the large radio telescope as long as the domains of time and…
The study of the rest frame properties of long Gamma-Ray bursts (GRBs) afterglows is a fundamental aspect for a better understanding of the nature of these powerful explosions. The launch of the Swift satellite (November 2004) marked a strong improvement of the observational capabilities of X-rays and optical afterglows. We studied the intrinsic optical afterglows of a sample of long GRBs finding an unexpected clustering and a hint of bimodality of the optical luminosity distribution (at 12h after the trigger). Through a Montecarlo simulation we proved that both the observed clustering and bim…
We investigate the optical/near-infrared light curve of the afterglow of GRB 080710 in the context of rising afterglows. Optical and near-infrared photometry was performed using the seven channel imager GROND and the Tautenburg Schmidt telescope. X-ray data were provided by the X-ray Telescope onboard the Swift satellite. The optical/NIR light curve of the afterglow of GRB 080710 is dominated by an initial increase in brightness, which smoothly turns over into a shallow power law decay. The initially rising achromatic light curve of the afterglow of GRB 080710 can be accounted for with a model…
GRB absorption spectroscopy opened up a new window in the study of the high redshift Universe, especially with the launch of the Swift satellite and the quick and precise localization of the afterglow. Eight-meter class telescopes can be repointed within a few hours from the GRB, enabling the acquisition of high signal-to-noise ratio and high resolution afterglow spectra. In this paper I will give a short review of what we learned through this technique, and I will present some of the first results obtained with the X-shooter spectrograph.
Polarization measurements of gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglows are a promising means of probing the structure, geometry, and magnetic composition of relativistic GRB jets. However, a precise treatment of instrumental calibration is vital for a robust physical interpretation of polarization data, requiring tests of and validations against potential instrumental systematics. We illustrate this with ALMA Band 3 (97.5 GHz) observations of GRB 171205A taken $\approx5.19$ days after the burst, where a detection of linear polarization was recently claimed. We describe a series of tests for evaluating …
Short duration Gamma Ray Bursts(SGRB) and their afterglows are among the most promising electro-magnetic (EM) counterparts of Neutron Star (NS) mergers. The afterglow emission is broadband, visible across the entire electro-magnetic window from $γ$-ray to radio frequencies. The flux evolution in these frequencies is sensitive to the multi-dimensional afterglow physical parameter space. Observations of gravitational wave (GW) from BNS mergers in spatial and temporal coincidence with SGRB and associated afterglows can provide valuable constraints on afterglow physics. We run simulations of GW-de…
