A fraction of massive stars are expected to collapse into compact objects (accreting black holes or rapidly rotating neutron stars) that successfully produce gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). We examine the possibility of directly observing these gamma-ray burst compact objects (GCOs) using post-explosion observations of past and future GRB sites. In particular, we present a search for early pulsations from the nearby (z=0.0335) gamma-ray burst GRB 060218, which exhibited features possibly consistent with a rapidly spinning neutron star as its underlying GCO. We also consider alternative techniques that could potentially achieve a detection of GCOs either in the Local Volume or near the plane of our own Galaxy.
A newly formed magnetar has been proposed as the central engine of short GRBs to explain on-going energy injection giving observed plateau phases in the X-ray lightcurves. These rapidly spinning magnetars may be capable of emitting pulsed emission comparable to known pulsars and magnetars. In this paper we show that, if present, a periodic signal would be detectable during the plateau phases observed using the Swift X-Ray Telescope recording data in Window Timing mode. We conduct a targeted deceleration search for a periodic signal from a newly formed magnetar in 2 Swift short GRBs and rule ou…
We searched for periodic and quasiperiodic signal in the prompt emission of a sample of 44 bright short gamma-ray bursts detected with Fermi/GBM, Swift/BAT, and CGRO/BATSE. The aim was to look for the observational signature of quasiperiodic jet precession which is expected from black hole-neutron star mergers, but not from double neutron star systems. Thus, this kind of search holds the key to identify the progenitor systems of short GRBs and, in the wait for gravitational wave detection, represents the only direct way to constrain the progenitors. We tailored our search to the nature of the …
We show that the luminous supernovae (SNe) associated with ultra-long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) can be related to the slow cooling from the explosions of hydrogen-free progenitors extended by pulsational pair-instability. In the accompanying paper (Marchant & Moriya 2020), we have shown that some rapidly-rotating hydrogen-free GRB progenitors that experience pulsational pair-instability can keep an extended structure caused by pulsational pair-instability until the core collapse. Such progenitors have large radii exceeding 10 Rsun and they sometimes reach beyond 1000 Rsun at the time of the core…
The precise origin of short gamma ray bursts (SGRBs) remains an important open question in relativistic astrophysics. Increasingly, observational evidence suggests the merger of a binary compact object system as the source for most SGRBs, but it is currently unclear how to distinguish observationally between a binary neutron star progenitor and a black hole-neutron star progenitor. We suggest the quasi-periodic signal of jet precession as an observational signature of SGRBs originating in mixed binary systems, and quantify both the fraction of mixed binaries capable of producing SGRBs, and the…
Gamma Ray Burst (GRBs) are empirically classified as long-duration GRBs (LGRBs, $>$ 2s) and short-duration GRBs (SGRBs, $<$ 2s). Physically they can be grouped into two distinct progenitor categories: those originating from collapse of massive stars (also known as Type II) and those related to mergers of compact stars (also known as Type I). Even though most LGRBs are Type II and most SGRBs are Type I, the duration criterion is not always reliable to determine the physical category of a certain GRB. Based on our previous comprehensive study of the multi-wavelength properties of long and short …
Most young neutron stars belonging to the class of Central Compact Objects in supernova remnants (CCOs) do not have known periodicities. We investigated seven such CCOs to understand the common reasons for the absence of detected pulsations. Making use of XMM-Newton, Chandra, and NICER observations, we perform a systematic timing and spectral analysis to derive updated sensitivity limits for both periodic signals and multi-temperature spectral components that could be associated with radiation from hotspots on the neutron star surface. Based on these limits, we then investigated for each targe…
A possible high-redshift origin for the short GRB 061201: implications of a compact binary merger beyond cosmic noon
University of Rome “Tor Vergata”（罗马托维加塔大学）；Carnegie Mellon University（卡内基梅隆大学）；The Pennsylvania State University（宾夕法尼亚州立大学）；University of Rome “Sapienza”（罗马第一大学）
研究短伽马暴GRB 061201，结合余辉和JWST近红外成像约束，认为其发生在红移z>2的 faint F322W2~28.4 AB mag星系中，若被证实将是最遥远短伽马暴之一，扩展致密合并观测范围。
The origin and progenitors of short-hard gamma-ray bursts remain a puzzle and a highly debated topic. Recent Swift observations suggest that these GRBs may be related to catastrophic explosions in degenerate compact stars, denoted as "Type I" GRBs. The most popular models include the merger of two compact stellar objects (NS-NS or NS-BH). We utilize a Monte Carlo approach to determine whether a merger progenitor model can self-consistently account for all the observations of short-hard GRBs, including a sample with redshift measurements in the Swift era (z-known sample) and the CGRO/BATSE samp…
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are luminous and violent phenomena in the universe. Traditionally, long GRBs are expected to be produced by the collapse of massive stars and associated with supernovae. However, some low-redshift long GRBs have no detection of supernova association, such as GRBs 060505, 060614 and 111005A. It is hard to classify these events convincingly according to usual classifications, and the lack of the supernova implies a non-massive star origin. We propose a new path to produce long GRBs without supernova association, the unstable and extremely violent accretion in a contact bi…
Long-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) associated with supernovae (SNe) are believed to originate from massive star core-collapse events, whereas short-duration GRBs that are related to compact star mergers are expected to be accompanied by kilonovae. GRB 211227A, which lasted about 84 s, had an initial short/hard spike followed by a series of soft gamma-ray extended emission at redshift $z=$0.228. We performed follow-up observations of the optical emission using BOOTES, LCOGT, and the Lijiang 2.4m telescope, but we detected no associated supernova signature, even down to very stringent limits …
The recent discovery of a faint gamma-ray burst (GRB) coincident with the gravitational wave (GW) event GW 170817 revealed the existence of a population of low-luminosity short duration gamma-ray transients produced by neutron star mergers in the nearby Universe. These events could be routinely detected by existing gamma-ray monitors, yet previous observations failed to identify them without the aid of GW triggers. Here we show that GRB150101B was an analogue of GRB170817A located at a cosmological distance. GRB 150101B was a faint short duration GRB characterized by a bright optical counterpa…
A $γ$-ray source must have a limited optical depth to pair production. This simple condition, called compactness, implies that gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) must involve a highly relativistic motion ($Γ\gtrsim 100$) giving the first and most important clue on their nature. So far, this condition has been discussed under the assumption that the $γ$-ray sources are viewed on-axis, that is, by an observer within the beaming cone of the relativistic source. Recently, following the detection of the weak short GRB 170817A, an extensive interest arose in the possibility that some $γ$-ray sources are viewed…
Short-duration GRB 250221A Afterglow Driven by Two-Component Jets from the merger of a compact star
Guangxi University（广西大学）；Nanjing University（南京大学）；Purple Mountain Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院紫金山天文台）；University of Science and Technology of China（中国科学技术大学）
GRB 250221A的后glow由双组分喷流模型解释，揭示了短持续时间GRB的双喷流机制及周际介质密度特征。
Phenomenologically, two classes of GRBs (long/soft vs. short/hard) are identified based on their gamma-ray properties. The boundary between the two classes is vague. Multi-wavelength observations lead to identification of two types of GRB progenitor: one related to massive stars (Type II), and another related to compact stars (Type I). Evidence suggests that the majority of long GRBs belong to Type II, while at least the majority of nearby short GRBs belong to Type I. Nonetheless, counter examples do exist. Both long-duration Type I and short-duration Type II GRBs have been observed. In this t…
The most popular progenitor model for short duration Gamma-Ray bursts (sGRBs) is the merger of two compact objects. However, the short GRB population exhibit a certain diversity: some bursts display an extended emission (EE), continuing in soft $γ$-rays for a few hundreds of seconds post the initial short pulse. It is currently unclear whether the origin of such bursts is linked to compact object mergers. Within the merger hypothesis, the redshift ($z$) distribution of short GRBs is influenced by the merger delay time, i.e., time elapsed between the merger and the formation of the binary star …
We introduce the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) rapid-response mode by presenting the first successful trigger on the short-duration gamma-ray burst (GRB) 181123B. Early-time radio observations of short GRBs may provide vital insights into the radio afterglow properties of Advanced LIGO- and Virgo-detected gravitational wave events, which will in turn inform follow-up strategies to search for counterparts within their large positional uncertainties. The ATCA was on target within 12.6 hr post-burst, when the source had risen above the horizon. While no radio afterglow was detected dur…
On August 17, 2017 at 12:41:06 UTC the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) detected and triggered on the short gamma-ray burst GRB 170817A. Approximately 1.7 s prior to this GRB, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) triggered on a binary compact merger candidate associated with the GRB. This is the first unambiguous coincident observation of gravitational waves and electromagnetic radiation from a single astrophysical source and marks the start of gravitational-wave multi-messenger astronomy. We report the GBM observations and analysis of this ordinary short GRB, whic…
Timing analysis is a powerful tool with which to shed light on the still obscure emission physics and geometry of the prompt emission of GRBs. Fourier power density spectra (PDS) characterise time series as stochastic processes and can be used to search for coherent pulsations and to investigate the dominant variability timescales. Because of the limited duration and of the statistical properties, modelling the PDS of individual GRBs is challenging, and only average PDS of large samples have been discussed in the literature. We characterise the individual PDS of GRBs in terms of a stochastic p…
The hidden population of long gamma-ray bursts from compact object mergers
University of Ferrara（费拉拉大学）；INAF –- Osservatorio di Astrofisica e Scienza dello Spazio di Bologna（意大利国家天体物理研究所博洛尼亚天文与空间科学观测站）；INFN –- Sezione di Ferrara（意大利国家核物理学院费拉拉分部）；INAF –- Osservatorio Astronomico d’Abruzzo（意大利国家天体物理研究所阿布鲁佐天文台）
A merger within a merger: Chandra pinpoints the short GRB 230906A in a peculiar environment
The Pennsylvania State University（宾夕法尼亚州立大学）；University of Rome - Tor Vergata（罗马第二大学）；INAF（意大利国家天体物理研究所）；Carnegie Mellon University（卡内基梅隆大学）；The Open University of Israel（以色列开放大学）；Astrophysics Research Center of the Open university (ARCO)（以色列开放大学天体物理研究中心）；The George Washington University（乔治华盛顿大学）；Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México（墨西哥国立自治大学）
The Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) presents an exciting new capability for exploring the modulation properties of X-ray emitting neutron stars, including large area, low background, extremely precise absolute event time stamps, superb low-energy response and flexible scheduling. The Pulsation Searches and Multiwavelength Coordination working group has designed a 2.5 Ms observing program to search for emission and characterize the modulation properties of about 30 known or suspected neutron star sources across a number of source categories. A key early goal will be to search…
We explore full/partial tidal disruption events (TDEs) of stars/planets by stellar compact objects (Black holes; BHs; or neutron stars; NSs), which we term micro-TDEs. Disruption of a star/planet with mass $M_{\star}$ may lead to the formation of a debris disk around the BH/NS. Efficient accretion of a fraction $(f_{acc}=0.1$ of the debris may then give rise to bright energetic long ($10^{3}-10^{4}\,s$), X-ray/Gamma-ray flares, with total energies of up to $(f_{acc}/0.1)\times10^{52}\,(M_{\star}/{0.6\,M_{\odot}})\,$ergs, possibly resembling ultra-long GRBs/XRFs. The energy of such flares depen…
It is generally believed that long-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are associated with massive star core-collapse, whereas short-duration GRBs are associated with mergers of compact star binaries. However, growing observations have suggested that oddball GRBs do exist, and multiple criteria (prompt emission properties, supernova/kilonova associations, and host galaxy properties) rather than burst duration only are needed to classify GRBs physically. A previously reported long-duration burst, GRB 060614, could be viewed as a short GRB with extended emission if it were observed at a larger dist…
The peculiar long gamma-ray burst (GRB) event, GRB 211211A, is known for it is association with a kilonova feature. Whereas most long GRBs are thought to originate in the core collapse of massive stars, the presence of kilonova suggests GRB 211211A was instead produced by a merger of a compact object binary. Building on the interpretation put forward by \citet{Yang2022Natur.612..232Y}--who argue that GRB 211211A was powered by a massive white-dwarf + neutron-star (WD-NS) merger--we adopt this WD-NS scenario as our observationally supported starting point. If the burst truly originates from tha…
Evidence for 1.01 s Pulsations of the Central Compact Object in the Supernova Remnant RCW 103 with ASCA, XMM-Newton, and NuSTAR
The University of Tokyo（东京大学）；Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (WPI), The University of Tokyo（东京大学宇宙物质量子前沿研究センター（WPI））；Institute of Space and Astronautical Science（宇宙科学研究所）；Department of Physics, Kyoto University（京都大学理学部物理学科）；RIKEN（理化学研究所）
I derive a system of pulsation equations for compact stars made up of an arbitrary number of perfect fluids that can be used to study radial oscillations and stability with respect to small perturbations. I assume spherical symmetry and that the only inter-fluid interactions are gravitational. My derivation is in line with Chandrasekhar's original derivation for the pulsation equation of a single-fluid compact star and keeps the contributions from the individual fluids manifest. I illustrate solutions to the system of pulsations equations with one-, two-, and three-fluid examples.
We carried out a systematic search of precursors on the sample of short GRBs observed by Swift. We found that ~8-10% of short GRBs display such early episode of emission. One burst (GRB 090510) shows two precursor events, the former ~13 s and the latter ~0.5 s before the GRB. We did not find any substantial difference between the precursor and the main GRB emission, and between short GRBs with and without precursors. We discuss possible mechanisms to reproduce the observed precursor emission within the scenario of compact object mergers. The implications of our results on quantum gravity const…
Searching for gravitational waves from compact binary mergers powering long gamma-ray bursts during LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA's O3 run
Monash University（莫纳什大学）；OzGrav: The ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery（引力波发现ARC卓越中心）；Princeton University（普林斯顿大学）；University of Cambridge（剑桥大学）
GW170817/GRB170817A probably marks a double neutron star coalescence. Extended Emission $t_s\simeq (0.67\pm0.03)$\,s post-merger shows an estimated energy output ${\cal E}\simeq (3.5\pm1)\%M_\odot c^2$ determined by response curves to power-law signal injections, where $c$ is the velocity of light. It provides calorimetric evidence for a rotating black hole of $\sim 3M_\odot$, inheriting the angular momentum $J$ of the merged hyper-massive neutron star in the immediate aftermath of GW170817 following core-collapse about or prior to $t_s$. Core collapse greatly increases the central energy rese…
Gamma-ray bursts are the most luminous explosions that we can witness in the Universe. Studying the most extreme cases of these phenomena allows us to constrain the limits for the progenitor models. In this Letter, we study the prompt emission, afterglow, and host galaxy of GRB 120624B, one of the brightest GRBs detected by Fermi, to derive the energetics of the event and characterise the host galaxy in which it was produced. Following the high-energy detection we conducted a multi-wavelength follow-up campaign, including near-infrared imaging from HAWKI/VLT, optical from OSIRIS/GTC, X-ray obs…
Compact binary mergers, with neutron stars or neutron star and black-hole components, are thought to produce various electromagnetic counterparts: short gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) from ultra-relativistic jets followed by broadband afterglow; semi-isotropic kilonova from radioactive decay of r-process elements; and late time radio flares; etc. If the jets from such mergers follow a similar power-law distribution of Lorentz factors as other astrophysical jets then the population of merger jets will be dominated by low-Γ values. The prompt gamma-rays associated with short GRBs would be suppressed fo…
We present a detailed investigation of Hubble Space Telescope (HST) rest-frame UV/optical observations of 22 short gamma-ray burst (GRB) host galaxies and sub-galactic environments. Utilizing the high angular resolution and depth of HST, we characterize the host galaxy morphologies, measure precise projected physical and host-normalized offsets between the bursts and host centers, and calculate the locations of the bursts with respect to their host light distributions (rest-frame UV and optical). We calculate a median short GRB projected physical offset of 4.5 kpc, about 3.5 times larger than …
In the Thesis, I study the X-ray properties of the two major stages of the life cycle of the stars: one is the normal life of a lighter mass star (Sun) and another is the collapsed state (black hole) of a star (black hole candidates GRO J1655-40, GX 339-4 and GRBs). I am lucky to be a team member for developing X-ray solar space instruments RT-2 (S, G and CZT) which observed both the Sun and Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) from space. A part of my Thesis contains development of RT-2 instruments, characterization of CZT & CMOS imaging detectors (used in RT-2/CZT instrument), some observational results …
We report the detection of coherent pulsations from the ultraluminous X-ray source NGC 7793 P13. The ~0.42s nearly sinusoidal pulsations were initially discovered in broadband X-ray observations using XMM-Newton and NuSTAR taken in 2016. We subsequently also found pulsations in archival XMM-Newton data taken in 2013 and 2014. The significant (>>5 sigma) detection of coherent pulsations demonstrates that the compact object in P13 is a neutron star with an observed peak luminosity of ~1e40 erg/s (assuming isotropy), well above the Eddington limit for a 1.4 M_sun accretor. This makes P13 the seco…
We study the high-energy properties of GRB 181123B, a short gamma-ray burst (sGRB) at redshift $z\approx$1.75. We show that, despite its nominal short duration with $T_{90}<$2 s, this burst displays evidence of a temporally extended emission (EE) at high energies and that the same trend is observed in the majority of sGRBs at $z\gtrsim$1. We discuss the impact of instrumental selection effects on the GRB classification, stressing that the measured $T_{90}$ is not an unambiguous indicator of the burst physical origin. By examining their environment (e.g. stellar mass, star formation, offset dis…
Orphan afterglows from short $γ$-ray bursts (GRB) are potential candidates for electromagnetic (EM) counterpart searches to gravitational wave (GW) detected neutron star or neutron star black hole mergers. Various jet dynamical and structure models have been proposed that can be tested by the detection of a large sample of GW-EM counterparts. We make predictions for the expected rate of optical transients from these jet models for future survey telescopes, without a GW or GRB trigger. A sample of merger jets is generated in the redshift limits $0\leq z\leq 3.0$, and the expected peak $r$-band …
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) display a bimodal duration distribution, with a separation between the short- and long-duration bursts at about 2 sec. The progenitors of long GRBs have been identified as massive stars based on their association with Type Ic core-collapse supernovae, their exclusive location in star-forming galaxies, and their strong correlation with bright ultraviolet regions within their host galaxies. Short GRBs have long been suspected on theoretical grounds to arise from compact object binary mergers (NS-NS or NS-BH). The discovery of short GRB afterglows in 2005, provided the fir…
Future missions for long gammma-ray burst (GRB) observations at high redshift such as HiZ-GUNDAM and THESEUS will provide clue to the star formation history in our universe. In this paper focusing on high redshift (z>8) GRBs, we calculate the detection rate of long GRBs by future observations, considering both Population (Pop) I&II stars and Pop III stars as GRB progenitors. For the Pop I&II star formation rate (SFR), we adopt an up-to-date model of high-redshift SFR based on the halo mass function and dark matter accretion rate obtained from cosmological simulations. We show that the Pop I&II…
Near infrared (NIR) flare/rebrightening in the afterglow of the short hard gamma ray burst (SHB) 130603B measured with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and an alleged late-time X-ray excess were interpreted as possible evidence of a neutron-star merger origin of this SHB. However, the X-ray afterglow that was measured with the Swift-XRT and Newton XMM have the canonical behaviour of a synchrotron afterglow produced by a highly relativistic jet. The H-band flux observed with HST 9.41 days after burst is that expected from the measured late-time X-ray afterglow. A late-time flare/re-brightening …
(Abridged) Long Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) offer a promising tool to trace the cosmic history of star formation, especially at high redshift where conventional methods are known to suffer from intrinsic biases. Previous studies of GRB host galaxies at low redshift showed that high surface densities of stellar mass and star formation rate (SFR) can potentially enhance the GRB production. We assess how the size, the stellar mass and SFR surface densities of distant galaxies affect their probability to host a long GRB, using a sample of GRB hosts at $z > 1$ and a control sample of star-forming sourc…
Compact object mergers are promising candidates for the progenitor system of short gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). Using gravitational wave (GW) triggers to identify a merger, any electromagnetic (EM) counterparts from the jet can be used to constrain the dynamics and structure of short GRB jets. GW triggered searches could reveal a hidden population of optical transients associated with the short-lived jets from the merger object. If the population of merger-jets is dominated by low-Lorentz-factors, then a GW triggered search will reveal the on-axis orphan afterglows from these failed GRBs. By consi…
A Tale of Two Jets: Double Relativistic Outflows from Close Binary GRB Progenitors
Institute for Frontier in Astronomy and Astrophysics, Beijing Normal University（北京师范大学前沿天文与天体物理研究院）；School of Physics and Astronomy, Beijing Normal University（北京师范大学物理与天文学院）
We present comprehensive multiwavelength observations of three gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) with durations of several thousand seconds. We demonstrate that these events are extragalactic transients; in particular we resolve the long-standing conundrum of the distance of GRB 101225A (the "Christmas-day burst"), finding it to have a redshift z=0.847, and showing that two apparently similar events (GRB 111209A and GRB 121027A) lie at z=0.677 and z=1.773 respectively. The systems show extremely unusual X-ray and optical lightcurves, very different from classical GRBs, with long lasting highly variable …
The probability of observing "supernova - gamma-ray burst" (GRB) pair events and recurrent GRBs from one galaxy in a time interval of several years has been estimated. Supernova explosions in binary systems accompanied by the formation of a short-lived pair of compact objects can be the sources of such events. If a short GRB is generated during the collision of a pair, then approximately each of ~300 short GRBs with redshift z must have an optical precursor - a supernova in the observer's time interval <2(1+z)yr. If the supernova explosion has the pattern of a hypernova, then a successive obse…
Gamma-ray bursts (GRB) are extremely energetic events and produce highly diverse light curves. Light curves are believed to be resulting from internal shocks reflecting the activities of the GRB central engine. Hence their temporal studies can potentially lead to an understanding of the GRB central engine and its evolution. The light curve variability time scale is an interesting parameter which most models attribute to a physical origin e.g., central engine activity, clumpy circum-burst medium, or relativistic turbulence. We develop a statistical method to estimate the GRB minimum variability…
We report the discovery of X-ray pulsations at 105.2 Hz (9.5 ms) from the transient X-ray binary IGR J16597-3704 using NuSTAR and Swift. The source was discovered by INTEGRAL in the globular cluster NGC 6256 at a distance of 9.1 kpc. The X-ray pulsations show a clear Doppler modulation implying an orbital period of ~46 minutes and a projected semi-major axis of ~5 lt-ms, which makes IGR J16597-3704 an ultra-compact X-ray binary system. We estimated a minimum companion mass of 0.0065 solar masses, assuming a neutron star mass of 1.4 solar masses, and an inclination angle of <75 degrees (suggest…
Context. LS I +61 303 is a member of the select group of gamma-ray binaries: galactic binary systems that contain a massive star and a compact object, show a changing milliarcsecond morphology and a similar broad spectral energy distribution (SED) that peaks at MeV-TeV energies and is modulated by the orbital motion. The nature of the compact object is unclear in LS I +61 303, LS 5039 and HESS J0632+057, whereas PSR B1259-63 harbours a 47.74 ms radio pulsar. Aims. A scenario in which a young pulsar wind interacts with the stellar wind has been proposed to explain the very high energy (VHE, E >…
