The bright optical/NIR afterglow of the faint GRB 080710 - Evidence for a jet viewed off axis
T. Krühler, J. Greiner, P. Afonso, D. Burlon, C. Clemens, R. Filgas, D. A. Kann, S. Klose, A. Küpcü Yoldas, S. McBreen, F. Olivares, A. Rau, A. Rossi, S. Schulz… 展开作者
T. Krühler, J. Greiner, P. Afonso, D. Burlon, C. Clemens, R. Filgas, D. A. Kann, S. Klose, A. Küpcü Yoldas, S. McBreen, F. Olivares, A. Rau, A. Rossi, S. Schulze, G. P. Szokoly, A. Updike, A. Yoldas
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 of a burst viewed off-axis or a single jet in its pre deceleration phase and in an on-axis geometry. An unified picture of the afterglow light curve and prompt emission properties can be obtained with an off-axis geometry, suggesting that late and shallow rising optical light curves of GRB afterglows might be produced by geometric effects.
We present a densely sampled early light curve of the optical/near-infrared (NIR) afterglow of the X-Ray Flash (XRF) 071031 at z=2.692. Simultaneous and continuous observations in seven photometric bands from g' to K with GROND at the 2.2 m MPI/ESO telescope on LaSilla were performed between 4 minutes and 7 hours after the burst. The light curve consists of 547 individual points which allows us to study the early evolution of the optical transient associated with XRF 071031 in great detail. The optical/NIR light curve is dominated by an early increase in brightness which can be attributed to t…
Context. After the launch of the Swift satellite, the Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) optical light-curve smoothness paradigm has been questioned thanks to the faster and better sampled optical follow-up, which has unveiled a very complex behaviour. This complexity is triggering the interest of the whole GRB community. The GROND multi-channel imager is used to study optical and near-infrared (NIR) afterglows of GRBs with unprecedented optical and near-infrared temporal and spectral resolution. The GRB 081029 has a very prominent optical rebrightening event and is an outstanding example of the applicatio…
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…
Using deep and high-cadence gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglow data from RATIR, we observe a sharp and achromatic light curve break 12.6 days after the GRB, accompanied by an approximately achromatic bump. Fitting of the optical, NIR, and X-ray data suggest a very narrow (2 degree) jet which remains collimated at late-time. We argue that the sharp light curve bump suggests an edge brightened jet, perhaps emitting only during a brief period of lateral jet expansion. The lightcurve also exhibits a gradual spectral evolution lasting $>10$ days. The evolution of the flux can be modeled as $\textrm{Fl…
In the past few years the number of well-sampled optical to NIR light curves of long Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) has greatly increased particularly due to simultaneous multi-band imagers such as GROND. Combining these densely sampled ground-based data sets with the Swift UVOT and XRT space observations unveils a much more complex afterglow evolution than what was predicted by the most commonly invoked theoretical models. GRB 100814A represents a remarkable example of these interesting well-sampled events, showing a prominent late-time rebrightening in the optical to NIR bands and a complex spectra…
Afterglows of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) are simple in the most basic model, but can show many complex features. The ultra-long duration GRB 111209A, one of the longest GRBs ever detected, also has the best-monitored afterglow in this rare class of GRBs. We want to address the question whether GRB 111209A was a special event beyond its extreme duration alone, and whether it is a classical GRB or another kind of high-energy transient. The afterglow may yield significant clues. We present afterglow photometry obtained in seven bands with the GROND imager as well as in further seven bands with the U…
We present our near-infrared (NIR) imaging observations of two neutron star low mass X-ray binaries XMMU J174716.1-281048 and SAX J1806.5-2215 obtained using the PANIC instrument on the 6.5-meter Magellan telescope and the WHIRC instrument on the 3.5-meter WIYN telescope respectively. Both sources are members of the class of faint to very-faint X-ray binaries and undergo very long X-ray outburst, hence classified as `quasi persistent X-ray binaries'. While XMMU J174716.1-281048 was active for almost 12 years between 2003 and 2015, SAX J1806.5-2215 has been active for more than 5 years now sinc…
[abridged] We investigate the afterglow properties and large-scale environments of several short-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) with sub-arcsecond optical afterglow positions but no bright coincident host galaxies. The purpose of this joint study is to robustly assess the possibility of significant offsets, a hallmark of the compact object binary merger model. Five such events exist in the current sample of 20 short bursts with optical afterglows, and we find that their optical, X-ray, and gamma-ray emission are systematically fainter. These differences may be due to lower circumburst densit…
We report on follow-up observations of 20 short-duration gamma-ray bursts performed in g'r'i'z'JHKs with the seven-channel imager GROND between mid-2007 and the end of 2010. This is one of the most comprehensive data sets on GRB afterglow observations of short bursts published so far. In three cases GROND was on target within less than 10 min after the trigger, leading to the discovery of the afterglow of GRB 081226A and its faint underlying host galaxy. In addition, GROND was able to image the optical afterglow and follow the light-curve evolution in further five cases, GRBs 090305, 090426, 0…
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 …
We present a framework to obtain photometric redshifts (photo-zs) for gamma-ray burst afterglows. Using multi-band photometry from GROND and Swift/UVOT, photo-zs are derived for five GRBs for which spectroscopic redshifts are not available. We use UV/optical/NIR data and synthetic photometry based on afterglow observations and theory to derive the photometric redshifts of GRBs and their accuracy. Taking into account the afterglow synchrotron emission properties, we investigate the application of photometry to derive redshifts in a theoretical range between z~1 and z~12. The measurement of phot…
Gamma-ray bursts have been proved to be detectable up to distances much larger than any other astrophysical object, providing the most effective way, complementary to ordinary surveys, to study the high redshift universe. To this end, we present here the results of an observational campaign devoted to the study of the high-z GRB 090205. We carried out optical/NIR spectroscopy and imaging of GRB 090205 with the ESO-VLT starting from hours after the event up to several days later to detect the host galaxy. We compared the results obtained from our optical/NIR observations with the available Swif…
We perform a detailed study of the gamma-ray burst GRB091127/SN2009nz host galaxy at z=0.490 using the VLT/X-shooter spectrograph in slit and integral-field unit (IFU). From the analysis of the optical and X-ray afterglow data obtained from ground-based telescopes and Swift-XRT we confirm the presence of a bump associated with SN2009nz and find evidence of a possible jet break in the afterglow lightcurve. The X-shooter afterglow spectra reveal several emission lines from the underlying host, from which we derive its integrated properties. These are in agreement with those of previously studied…
Gamma-ray burst (GRB) 111215A was bright at X-ray and radio frequencies, but not detected in the optical or near-infrared (nIR) down to deep limits. We have observed the GRB afterglow with the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope and Arcminute Microkelvin Imager at radio frequencies, with the William Herschel Telescope and Nordic Optical Telescope in the nIR/optical, and with the Chandra X-ray Observatory. We have combined our data with the Swift X-Ray Telescope monitoring, and radio and millimeter observations from the literature to perform broadband modeling, and determined the macro- and mi…
We present X-ray and multi-band optical observations of the afterglow and host galaxy of GRB 180418A, discovered by ${\it Swift}$/BAT and ${\it Fermi}$/GBM. We present a reanalysis of the GBM and BAT data deriving durations of the prompt emission of $T_{90}\approx$2.56s and $\approx$1.90s, respectively. Modeling the ${\it Fermi}$/GBM catalog of 1405 bursts (2008-2014) in the Hardness-$T_{90}$ plane, we obtain a probability of $\approx$60% that GRB 180418A is a short-hard burst. From a combination of ${\it Swift}$/XRT and ${\it Chandra}$ observations, the X-ray afterglow is detected to $\approx…
The number of detections as well as significantly deep non-detections of optical/NIR afterglows of Type I (short-duration population) Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) has become large enough that statistically meaningful samples can now be constructed. I present within some recent results on the luminosity distribution of Type I GRB afterglows in comparison to those of Type II GRBs (collapsar population), the issue of the existence of jet breaks in Type I GRB afterglows, and the discovery of dark Type I GRBs.
Context: Thirteen years after the discovery of the first afterglows, the nature of dark gamma-ray bursts (GRB) still eludes explanation: while each ng-duration GRB typically has an X-ray afterglow, optical/NIR emission is only seen for 40-60% of them. Aim: Here we use the afterglow detection statistics of the systematic follow-up observations performed with GROND since mid-2007 in order to derive the fraction of "dark bursts" according to different methods, and to distinguish between various scenarios for "dark bursts". Method: Observations were performed with the 7-channel "Gamma-Ray Optical …
Long gamma-ray bursts give us the chance to study both their extreme physics and the star-forming galaxies in which they form. GRB 100418A, at a z = 0.6239, had a bright optical and radio afterglow, and a luminous star-forming host galaxy. This allowed us to study the radiation of the explosion as well as the interstellar medium of the host both in absorption and emission. We collected photometric data from radio to X-ray wavelengths to study the evolution of the afterglow and the contribution of a possible supernova and three X-shooter spectra obtained during the first 60 hr. The light curve …
We present the discovery of short GRB 080905A, its optical afterglow and host galaxy. Initially discovered by Swift, our deep optical observations enabled the identification of a faint optical afterglow, and subsequently a face-on spiral host galaxy underlying the GRB position, with a chance alignment probability of <1%. There is no supernova component present in the afterglow to deep limits. Spectroscopy of the galaxy provides a redshift of z=0.1218, the lowest redshift yet observed for a short GRB. The GRB lies offset from the host galaxy centre by ~18.5 kpc, in the northern spiral arm which…
In this work we use gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglow spectra observed with the VLT/X-shooter spectrograph to measure rest-frame extinction in GRB lines-of-sight by modeling the broadband near-infrared (NIR) to X-ray afterglow spectral energy distributions (SEDs). Our sample consists of nine Swift GRBs, eight of them belonging to the long-duration and one to the short-duration class. Dust is modeled using the average extinction curves of the Milky Way and the two Magellanic Clouds. We derive the rest-frame extinction of the entire sample, which fall in the range $0 \lesssim {\it A}_{\rm V} \less…
GRB 160821B is a short duration gamma-ray burst (GRB) detected and localized by the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory in the outskirts of a spiral galaxy at z=0.1613, at a projected physical offset of 16 kpc from the galaxy's center. We present X-ray, optical/nIR and radio observations of its counterpart and model them with two distinct components of emission: a standard afterglow, arising from the interaction of the relativistic jet with the surrounding medium, and a kilonova, powered by the radioactive decay of the sub-relativistic ejecta. Broadband modeling of the afterglow data reveals a weak…
Prompt optical emission of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) is known to have important effects on the surrounding environment. In this paper, we study rotational disruption and alignment of dust grains by radiative torques (RATs) induced by GRB afterglows and predict their signatures on the observational properties of GRB afterglows. We first study grain disruption using RAdiative Torque Disruption (RATD) mechanism and find that large grains (size $>0.1 μ\rm m$) within a distance of $d< 40$ pc from the source can be disrupted into smaller grains. We then model the extinction curve of GRB afterglows and…
The Swift era has posed a challenge to the standard blast-wave model of Gamma Ray Burst (GRB) afterglows. The key observational features expected within the model are rarely observed, such as the achromatic steepening (`jet-break') of the light curves. The observed afterglow light curves showcase additional complex features requiring modifications within the standard model. Here we present optical/NIR observations, millimeter upper limits and comprehensive broadband modelling of the afterglow of the bright GRB 0505025A, detected by Swift. This afterglow cannot be explained by the simplistic fo…
Using high-quality, broad-band afterglow data for GRB 091029, we test the validity of the forward-shock model for gamma-ray burst afterglows. We used multi-wavelength (NIR to X-ray) follow-up observations obtained with the GROND, BOOTES-3/YA and Stardome optical ground-based telescopes, and the UVOT and the XRT onboard the Swift satellite. To explain the almost totally decoupled light curves in the X-ray and optical/NIR domains, a two-component outflow is proposed. Several models are tested, including continuous energy injection, components with different electron energy indices and components…
We present the extensive follow-up campaign on the afterglow of GRB 110715A at 17 different wavelengths, from X-ray to radio bands, starting 81 seconds after the burst and extending up to 74 days later. We performed for the first time a GRB afterglow observation with the ALMA observatory. We find that the afterglow of GRB 110715A is very bright at optical and radio wavelengths. We use optical and near infrared spectroscopy to provide further information about the progenitor's environment and its host galaxy. The spectrum shows weak absorption features at a redshift z = 0.8225, which reveal a h…
We present near-infrared (NIR) imaging observations of three transient neutron star X-ray binaries, SAX J1753.5-2349, SAX J1806.5-2215 and AX J1754.2-2754. All three sources are members of the class of `very faint' X-ray transients which exhibit X-ray luminosities $L_X\lesssim10^{36}$ erg s$^{-1}$. The nature of this class of sources is still poorly understood. We detect NIR counterparts for all three systems and perform multi-band photometry for both SAX J1753.5-2349 and SAX J1806.5-2215, including narrow-band Br$_γ$ photometry for SAX J1806.5-2215. We find that SAX J1753.5-2349 is significan…
The Galactic Ridge X-ray Emission (GRXE) is apparently extended X-ray emission along the Galactic Plane. The X-ray spectrum is characterized by hard continuum with a strong Fe K emission feature in the 6-7 keV band. A substantial fraction (~80%) of the GRXE in the Fe band was resolved into point sources by deep Chandra imaging observations, thus GRXE is mostly composed of dim Galactic X-ray point sources at least in this energy band. To investigate the populations of these dim X-ray point sources, we carried out Near-Infrared (NIR) follow-up spectroscopic observations in two deep Chandra field…
GRB 130925A was an unusual GRB, consisting of 3 distinct episodes of high-energy emission spanning $\sim$20 ks, making it a member of the proposed category of `ultra-long' bursts. It was also unusual in that its late-time X-ray emission observed by Swift was very soft, and showed a strong hard-to-soft spectral evolution with time. This evolution, rarely seen in GRB afterglows, can be well modelled as the dust-scattered echo of the prompt emission, with stringent limits on the contribution from the normal afterglow (i.e. external shock) emission. We consider and reject the possibility that GRB …
Context: Multiwavelength observations of gamma-ray burst prompt and afterglow emission are a key tool to disentangle the various possible emission processes and scenarios proposed to interpret the complex gamma-ray burst phenomenology. Aims: We collected a large dataset on GRB060908 in order to carry out a comprehensive analysis of the prompt emission as well as the early and late afterglow. Methods: Data from Swift-BAT, -XRT and -UVOT together with data from a number of different ground-based optical/NIR and millimeter telescopes allowed us to follow the afterglow evolution from about a minut…
We present the discovery of the optical afterglow and early-type host galaxy of the short-duration GRB 100117A. The faint afterglow is detected 8.3 hr after the burst with r_AB = 25.46 +/- 0.20 mag. Follow-up optical and near-IR observations uncover a coincident compact red galaxy, identified as an early-type galaxy at a photometric redshift of z~0.6-0.9 (2-sigma) with a mass of 3x10^10 M_Sun, an age of ~1 Gyr, and a luminosity of L_B~0.5L_star. Spectroscopic observations of the host reveal a notable break corresponding to the Balmer 4000-Angstrom break at z~0.9, and stellar population spectra…
Using the 2.4m MDM and 8.4m Large Binocular Telescope, we observed nine GRB afterglows to systematically probe the late time behaviors of afterglows including jet breaks, flares, and supernova bumps. In particular, the LBT observations have typical flux limits of 25-26 mag in the Sloan r' band, which allows us to extend the temporal baseline for measuring jet breaks by another decade in time scale. We detected four jet breaks (including a "textbook" jet break in GRB070125) and a fifth candidate, all of which are not detectable without deep, late time optical observations. In the other four cas…
The race for the most distant object in the Universe has been played by long-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), star-forming galaxies and quasars. GRBs took a temporary lead with the discovery of GRB 090423 at a redshift z=8.2, but now the record-holder is the galaxy GN-z11 at z=11.0. Despite this record, galaxies and quasars are very faint (GN-z11 has a magnitude H=26), hampering the study of the physical properties of the primordial Universe. On the other hand, GRB afterglows are brighter by a factor of >100, with the drawback of lasting only for 1-2 days. Here we describe a novel approach to…
We report the discovery of the optical afterglow of the gamma-ray burst (GRB) 130702A, identified upon searching 71 square degrees surrounding the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) localization. Discovered and characterized by the intermediate Palomar Transient Factory (iPTF), iPTF13bxl is the first afterglow discovered solely based on a GBM localization. Real-time image subtraction, machine learning, human vetting, and rapid response multi-wavelength follow-up enabled us to quickly narrow a list of 27,004 optical transient candidates to a single afterglow-like source. Detection of a new, fa…
[Abridged] We report the discovery of the near-infrared and optical afterglow of the short-duration gamma-ray burst GRB070724A. The afterglow is detected in i,J,H,K observations starting 2.3 hr after the burst with K=19.59+/-0.16 mag and i=23.79+/-0.07 mag, but is absent in images obtained 1.3 years later. Fading is also detected in the K-band between 2.8 and 3.7 hr at a 4-sigma significance level. The optical/near-IR spectral index, beta_{O,NIR}=-2, is much redder than expected in the standard afterglow model, pointing to either significant dust extinction, A_{V,host}~2 mag, or a non-afterglo…
A comprehensive set of optical and near-infrared (NIR) photometry and spectroscopy is presented for the faint and fast 2008ha-like supernova (SN) 2010ae. Contingent on the adopted value of host extinction, SN 2010ae reached a peak brightness of -13.8 > M_V > -15.3 mag, while modeling of the UVOIR light curve suggests it produced 0.003--0.007 M_sun of (56)Ni, ejected 0.30--0.60 M_sun of material, and had an explosion energy of 0.04--0.30x10^51 erg. The values of these explosion parameters are similar to the peculiar SN 2008ha --for which we also present previously unpublished early phase optica…
Presence of the apparently extended hard (2-10 keV) X-ray emission along the Galactic plane has been known since the early 1980s. With a deep X-ray exposure using the Chandra X-ray Observatory of a slightly off-plane region in the Galactic bulge, most of the extended emission was resolved into faint discrete X-ray sources in the Fe K band (Revnivtsev et al.,2009). The major constituents of these sources have long been considered to be X-ray active stars and magnetic cataclysmic variables (CVs). However, recent works including our NIR imaging and spectroscopic studies (Morihana et al.,2013, 201…
The mechanism that causes the prompt-emission episode of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) is still widely debated despite there being thousands of prompt detections. The favoured internal shock model relates this emission to synchrotron radiation. However, it does not always explain the spectral indices of the shape of the spectrum, often fit with empirical functions. Multi-wavelength observations are therefore required to help investigate the possible underlying mechanisms that causes the prompt emission. We present GRB 121217A, for which we were able to observe its near-infrared (NIR) emission during…
The binary neutron star (BNS) merger GW170817 was the first astrophysical source detected in gravitational waves and multi-wavelength electromagnetic radiation. The almost simultaneous observation of a pulse of gamma-rays proved that BNS mergers are associated with at least some short gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). However, the gamma-ray pulse was faint, casting doubts on the association of BNS mergers with the luminous, highly relativistic outflows of canonical short GRBs. Here we show that structured jets with a relativistic, energetic core surrounded by slower and less energetic wings produce aft…
We use a parent sample of 118 gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglows, with known redshift and host galaxy extinction, to separate afterglows with and without signatures of dominant reverse-shock emission and to determine which physical conditions lead to a prominent reverse-shock emission. We identify 10 GRBs with reverse shock signatures - GRBs 990123, 021004, 021211, 060908, 061126, 080319B, 081007, 090102, 090424 and 130427A. By modeling their optical afterglows with reverse and forward shock analytic light curves and using Monte Carlo simulations, we estimate the parameter space of the physical …
We present the discovery of the first millimeter afterglow of a short-duration $γ$-ray burst (SGRB) and the first confirmed afterglow of an SGRB localized by the GUANO system on Swift. Our Atacama Large Millimeter/Sub-millimeter Array (ALMA) detection of SGRB 211106A establishes an origin in a faint host galaxy detected in Hubble Space Telescope (HST) imaging at $0.7\lesssim z\lesssim1.4$. From the lack of a detectable optical afterglow, coupled with the bright millimeter counterpart, we infer a high extinction, $A_{\rm V}\gtrsim2.6$ mag along the line of sight, making this the one of the most…
We present a comprehensive catalog and analysis of broad-band afterglow observations for 103 short-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), comprised of all short GRBs from November 2004 to March 2015 with prompt follow-up observations in the X-ray, optical, near-infrared and/or radio bands. These afterglow observations have uncovered 71 X-ray detections, 30 optical/NIR detections, and 4 radio detections. Employing the standard afterglow synchrotron model, we perform joint probability analyses for a subset of 38 short GRBs with well-sampled light curves to infer the burst isotropic-equivalent energie…
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 …
We present radio, optical/NIR, and X-ray observations of the afterglow of the short-duration 130603B, and uncover a break in the radio and optical bands at 0.5 d after the burst, best explained as a jet break with an inferred jet opening angle of 4-8 deg. GRB 130603B is only the third short GRB with a radio afterglow detection to date, and the first time that a jet break is evident in the radio band. We model the temporal evolution of the spectral energy distribution to determine the burst explosion properties and find an isotropic-equivalent kinetic energy of (0.6-1.7) x 10^51 erg and a circu…
Multi-messenger astronomy received a great boost following the discovery of kilonova AT2017gfo, the optical counterpart of the gravitational wave source GW170817 associated with the short gamma-ray burst GRB 170817A. AT2017gfo was the first kilonova that could be extensively monitored in time both photometrically and spectroscopically. Previously, only few candidates have been observed against the glare of short GRB afterglows. In this work, we aim to search the fingerprints of AT2017gfo-like kilonova emissions in the optical/NIR light curves of 39 short GRBs with known redshift. For the first…
X-ray flashes (XRFs) are a class of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) with the peak energy of the time-integrated spectrum, Ep, below 30 keV, whereas classical GRBs have Ep of a few hundreds keV. Apart from Ep and the lower luminosity, the properties of XRFs are typical of the classical GRBs. Yet, the nature of XRFs and the differences from that of GRBs are not understood. In addition, there is no consensus on the interpretation of the shallow decay phase observed in most X-ray afterglows of both XRFs and GRBs. We examine in detail the case of XRF 080330 discovered by Swift at the redshift of 1.51. This…
We examine a sample of 48 Swift/UVOT long Gamma-ray Burst light curves and find a correlation between the logarithmic luminosity at 200s and average decay rate determined from 200s onwards, with a Spearman rank coefficient of -0.58 at a significance of 99.998% (4.2 sigma). We discuss the causes of the log L_200s - alpha_>200s correlation, finding it to be an intrinsic property of long GRBs, and not resulting from the selection criteria. We find two ways to produce the correlation. One possibility is that there is some property of the central engine, outflow or external medium that affects the …
We present the observations of Lyman continuum (LyC) emission in the afterglow spectra of GRB 191004B at $z=3.5055$, together with those of the other two previously known LyC-emitting long gamma-ray bursts (LGRB) (GRB 050908 at $z=3.3467$, and GRB 060607A at $z=3.0749$), to determine their LyC escape fraction and compare their properties. From the afterglow spectrum of GRB 191004B we determine a neutral hydrogen column density at the LGRB redshift of $\log(N_{\rm HI}/cm^{-2})= 17.2 \pm 0.15$, and negligible extinction ($A_{\rm V}=0.03 \pm 0.02$ mag). The only metal absorption lines detected ar…
Measuring gamma-ray burst (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. Our analysis is based on a sample of 90 GRBs with good optical follow-up and well measured prompt emission. 76 of them have a measure of redshift and 14 have no redshift. We estimate their optical…
A Shell Collision Scenario for EP251222b/GRB 251222A: Connecting Prompt Emission and Double-Peaked Afterglow
Purple Mountain Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院紫金山天文台）；School of Astronomy and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China（中国科学技术大学天文与空间科学学院）；State Key Laboratory of Radio Astronomy and Technology, Purple Mountain Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院紫金山天文台射电天文与技术重点实验室）；South-Western Institute for Astronomy Research, Yunnan University（云南大学西南天文研究所）；Yunnan Key Laboratory of Survey Science, Yunnan University（云南大学云南省测绘科学重点实验室）
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…
We continue our systematic statistical study on optical afterglow data of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). We present the apparent magnitude distributions of early optical afterglows at different epochs (t= 10^2 s, t = 10^3 s, and 1 hour) for the optical lightcurves of a sample of 93 GRBs (the global sample), and for sub-samples with an afterglow onset bump or a shallow decay segment. For the onset sample and shallow decay sample we also present the brightness distribution at the peak time t_{p} and break time t_{b}, respectively. All the distributions can be fit with Gaussian functions. We further pe…
