Fast-transient Searches in Real Time with ZTFReST: Identification of Three Optically-discovered Gamma-ray Burst Afterglows and New Constraints on the Kilonova Rate
Igor Andreoni, Michael W. Coughlin, Erik C. Kool, Mansi M. Kasliwal, Harsh Kumar, Varun Bhalerao, Ana Sagués Carracedo, Anna Y. Q. Ho, Peter T. H. Pang, Divita … 展开作者
Igor Andreoni, Michael W. Coughlin, Erik C. Kool, Mansi M. Kasliwal, Harsh Kumar, Varun Bhalerao, Ana Sagués Carracedo, Anna Y. Q. Ho, Peter T. H. Pang, Divita Saraogi, Kritti Sharma, Vedant Shenoy, Eric Burns, Tomás Ahumada, Shreya Anand, Leo P. Singer, Daniel A. Perley, Kishalay De, U. C. Fremling, Eric C. Bellm, Mattia Bulla, Arien Crellin-Quick, Tim Dietrich, Andrew Drake, Dmitry A. Duev, Ariel Goobar, Matthew J. Graham, David L. Kaplan, S. R. Kulkarni, Russ R. Laher, Ashish A. Mahabal, David L. Shupe, Jesper Sollerman, Richard Walters, Yuhan Yao
While optical surveys regularly discover slow transients like supernovae on their own, the most common way to discover extragalactic fast transients, fading away in a few nights, is via follow-up observations of gamma-ray burst and gravitational-wave triggers. However, wide-field surveys have the potential to also identify rapidly fading transients independently of such external triggers. The volumetric survey speed of the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) makes it sensitive to faint and fast-fading objects as kilonovae, the optical counterparts to binary neutron stars and neutron star-black hole mergers, out to almost 200Mpc. We introduce an open-source software infrastructure, the ZTF REaltime Search and Triggering, ZTFReST, designed to identify kilonovae and fast optical transients in ZTF data. Using the ZTF alert stream combined with forced photometry, we have implemented automated candidate ranking based on their photometric evolution and fitting to kilonova models. Automated triggering of follow-up systems, such as Las Cumbres Observatory, has also been implemented. In 13 months of science validation, we found several extragalactic fast transients independent of any external trigger (though some counterparts were identified later), including at least one supernova with post-shock cooling emission, two known afterglows with an associated gamma-ray burst, two known afterglows without any known gamma-ray counterpart, and three new fast-declining sources (ZTF20abtxwfx, ZTF20acozryr, and ZTF21aagwbjr) that are likely associated with GRB200817A, GRB201103B, and GRB210204A. However, we have not found any objects which appear to be kilonovae; therefore, we constrain the rate of GW170817-like kilonovae to $R < 900$Gpc$^{-3}$yr$^{-1}$. A framework such as ZTFReST could become a prime tool for kilonova and fast transient discovery with the Vera C. Rubin Observatory.
In the first work of this series, we adopt a GW170817-like, viewing-angle-dependent kilonova model and the standard afterglow model with the lightcurve distribution based on the properties of cosmological short gamma-ray bursts afterglows to simulate the luminosity functions and color evolution of both kilonovae and optical afterglow emissions from binary neutron star (BNS) mergers. {We find that $\sim10\%$ afterglows are brighter than the associated kilonovae at the peak time, most of which are on-axis or nearly-on-axis. These kilonovae would be significantly polluted by the associated afterg…
Short gamma-ray bursts result from mergers of two neutron stars or from collapsars, but probably at a smaller rate. In the first case, a kilonova occurs while in the second case a Type Ic supernova is expected. } {Even if future observations of kilonovae in association with gravitational wave events provide better data, detecting a kilonova during an afterglow follow-up would remain useful for exploring the diversity of the kilonova phenomenon. As supernovae produce a weaker gravitational signal, afterglow follow-up will be the only possible method to find one. In this work, we identify the co…
In the second work of this series, we explore the optimal search strategy for serendipitous and gravitational-wave-triggered target-of-opportunity (ToO) observations of kilonovae and optical short-duration gamma-ray burst (sGRB) afterglows from binary neutron star (BNS) mergers, assuming that cosmological kilonovae are AT2017gfo-like (but with viewing-angle dependence) and that the properties of afterglows are consistent with those of cosmological sGRB afterglows. A one-day cadence serendipitous search strategy with an exposure time of $\sim30\,$s can always achieve an optimal search strategy …
The neutron star merger, GW170817, was followed by an optical-infrared transient (a kilonova) which indicated that a substantial ejection of mass at trans-relativistic velocities occurred during the merger. Modeling of the kilonova is able to constrain the kinetic energy of the ejecta and its characteristic velocity, but not the high-velocity distribution of the ejecta. Yet, this distribution contains crucial information on the merger dynamics. In this work, we assume a power-law distribution of the form $E(>βΓ)\propto(βΓ)^{-α}$ for the energy of the kilonova ejecta and calculate the non-therm…
We present detailed simulations of black hole-neutron star (BH-NS) mergers kilonova and gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglow and kilonova luminosity function, and discuss the detectability of electromagnetic (EM) counterpart in connection with gravitational wave (GW) detections, GW-triggered target-of-opportunity observations, and time-domain blind searches. The predicted absolute magnitude of the BH-NS kilonovae at $0.5\,{\rm days}$ after the merger falls in $[-10,-15.5]$. The simulated luminosity function contains the potential viewing-angle distribution information of the anisotropic kilonova em…
We study the broadband radiation behavior of a kilonova ejecta-pulsar wind nebula (PWN) system. In this model, we jointly fit the observations of AT 2017gfo in UV-optical-IR bands and the late-time X-ray afterglow of GRB 170817A. Our work shows that a PWN powered by the remnant neutron star (NS) post GW170817 event could affect the optical transient AT 2017gfo and re-brighten the late-time X-ray afterglow of GRB 170817A. The PWN radiation will regulate the trend of future X-ray observations from a flattening to a steep decline until some other sources (e.g., a kilonova afterglow) become domina…
Given an increasing number of gamma-ray bursts accompanied by potential kilonovae there is a growing importance to advance modelling of kilonova afterglows. In this work, we investigate how the presence of two electron populations that follow a Maxwellian (thermal) and a power-law (non-thermal) distributions affect kilonova afterglow light curves. We employ semi-analytic afterglow model, $\texttt{PyBlastAfterglow}$. We consider kilonova ejecta profiles from ab-initio numerical relativity binary neutron star merger simulations, targeted to GW170817. We do not perform model selection. We find th…
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…
The combined detection of a gravitational-wave signal, kilonova, and short gamma-ray burst (sGRB) from GW170817 marked a scientific breakthrough in the field of multi-messenger astronomy. But even before GW170817, there have been a number of sGRBs with possible associated kilonova detections. In this work, we re-examine these "historical" sGRB afterglows with a combination of state-of-the-art afterglow and kilonova models. This allows us to include optical/near-infrared synchrotron emission produced by the sGRB as well as ultraviolet/optical/near-infrared emission powered by the radioactive de…
The temporal behavior of the very dim optical afterglow of GRB 080503 is at odds with the regular forward shock afterglow model and a sole kilonova component responsible for optical emission has been speculated in some literature. Here we analyze the optical afterglow data available in archive and construct time-resolved spectra. The significant detection by Keck-I in {\it G/R} bands at $t\sim 3$ day, which has not been reported before, as well as the simultaneous Gemini-North {\it r} band measurement, are in favor of a power-law spectrum that is well consistent with the optical to X-ray spect…
Very recently, the gravitational-wave (GW) event GW170817 was discovered to be associated with the short gamma-ray burst (GRB) 170817A. Multi-wavelength follow-up observations were carried out, and X-ray, optical, and radio counterparts to GW170817 were detected. The observations undoubtedly indicate that GRB 170817A originates from a binary neutron star merger. However, the GRB falls into the low-luminosity class that could have a higher statistical occurrence rate and detection probability than the normal (high-luminosity) class. This implies the possibility that GRB 170817A is intrinsically…
Efficient Bayesian analysis of kilonovae and gamma ray burst afterglows with fiesta
Universität Potsdam（波茨坦大学）；Utrecht University（乌得勒支大学）；Nikhef（荷兰国家核与粒子物理研究所）；University of Ferrara（费拉拉大学）；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）；DTU Space, National Space Institute, Technical University of Denmark（丹麦技术大学空间研究所）；Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute)（马克斯·普朗克引力物理研究所（阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦研究所））
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…
A non-negligible fraction of binary neutron star mergers are expected to form long-lived neutron star remnants, dramatically altering the multi-messenger signatures of a merger. Here, we extend existing models for magnetar-driven kilonovae and explore the diversity of kilonovae and kilonova afterglows. Focusing on the role of the (uncertain) magnetic field strength, we study the resulting electromagnetic signatures as a function of the external dipolar and internal toroidal fields. These two parameters govern, respectively, the competition between magnetic-dipole spindown and gravitational-wav…
For on-axis typical short gamma-ray bursts (sGRBs), the forward shock emission is usually so bright that renders the identification of kilonovae (also known as macronovae) in the early afterglow ($t<0.5$ d) phase rather challenging. This is why previously no thermal-like kilonova component has been identified at such early time except in the off-axis dim GRB 170817A associated with GW170817. Here we report the identification of an unusual optical radiation component in GRB 070809 at $t\sim 0.47$ d, thanks plausibly to the very-weak/subdominant forward shock emission. The optical emission with …
We report the results of an extensive radio-continuum observing campaign of host galaxies of short gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). The goal of this survey was to search for optically obscured star formation, possibly indicative of a population of young short-GRB progenitors. Our sample comprises the hosts and host-galaxy candidates of 16 short-GRBs from 2005 to 2015, corresponding to roughly 1/3 of the presently known ensemble of well-localized short bursts. Eight GRB fields were observed with ATCA (at 5.5 and 9.0 GHz), and eight fields with the VLA (mostly at 5.5 GHz). The observations typically ach…
The binary neutron star merger gravitational-wave signal GW170817 was followed by three electromagnetic counterparts, including a kilonova arising from the radioactivity of freshly synthesized $r$-process elements in ejecta from the merger. Finding kilonovae after gravitational-wave triggers is crucial for (i) the search for further counterparts, such as the afterglow, (ii) probing the diversity of kilonovae and their dependence on the system's inclination angle, and (iii) building a sample for multi-messenger cosmology. During the third observing run of the gravitational-wave interferometer n…
The first binary neutron star merger, GW170817, was accompanied by a radioactivity-powered optical/infrared transient called a kilonova. To date, no compelling kilonova has been found during optical surveys of the sky, independent of gravitational-wave triggers. In this work, we searched the first 23 months of the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) data stream for candidate kilonovae in the form of rapidly evolving transients. We combined ZTF alert queries with forced point-spread-function photometry and nightly flux stacking to increase our sensitivity to faint and fast transients. Automatic que…
We report our identification of the optical afterglow and host galaxy of the short-duration gamma-ray burst GRB 160821B. The spectroscopic redshift of the host is $z=0.162$, making it one of the lowest redshift sGRBs identified by Swift. Our intensive follow-up campaign using a range of ground-based facilities as well as HST, XMM and Swift, shows evidence for a late-time excess of optical and near-infrared emission in addition to a complex afterglow. The afterglow light-curve at X-ray frequencies reveals a narrow jet, $θ_j\sim1.9^{+0.10}_{-0.03}$ deg, that is refreshed at $>1$ day post-burst b…
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 …
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 present the discovery of the X-ray and optical afterglows of the short-duration GRB 150101B, pinpointing the event to an early-type host galaxy at z=0.1343 +/- 0.0030. This makes GRB 150101B the most nearby short GRB with an early-type host galaxy discovered to date. Fitting the spectral energy distribution of the host galaxy results in an inferred stellar mass of ~7x10^10 M_sol, stellar population age of ~2-2.5 Gyr, and star formation rate of <0.4 M_sol yr^-1. The host of GRB 150101B is one of the largest and most luminous short GRB host galaxies, with a B-band luminosity of ~4.3L* and hal…
We present the discovery of the radio afterglow and near-infrared (NIR) counterpart of the Swift short GRB 200522A, located at a small projected offset of $\approx 1$ kpc from the center of a young, star-forming host galaxy at $z=0.5536$. The radio and X-ray luminosities of the afterglow are consistent with those of on-axis cosmological short GRBs. The NIR counterpart, revealed by our HST observations at a rest-frame time of $\approx2.3$ days, has a luminosity of $\approx (1.3-1.7) \times 10^{42}$ erg s$^{-1}$. This is substantially lower than on-axis short GRB afterglow detections, but is a f…
No Sign of a Magnetar Remnant Following the Kilonova-Producing Long GRB 211211A $\sim 1.7~$Years Later
Cornell University（康奈尔大学）；University of Minnesota（明尼苏达大学）；Columbia University（哥伦比亚大学）；Flatiron Institute（平顿研究所）；Northwestern University（西北大学）；University of Birmingham（伯明翰大学）；University of Arizona（亚利桑那大学）；Center for Astrophysics — Harvard & Smithsonian（哈佛-史密森天体物理中心）；University of Utah（犹他大学）
We present Chandra and VLA observations of GW170817 at ~521-743 days post merger, and a homogeneous analysis of the entire Chandra data set. We find that the late-time non-thermal emission follows the expected evolution from an off-axis relativistic jet, with a steep temporal decay $F_ν\propto t^{-1.95\pm0.15}$ and a simple power-law spectrum $F_ν\propto ν^{-0.575\pm0.007}$. We present a new method to constrain the merger environment density based on diffuse X-ray emission from hot plasma in the host galaxy and we find $n\le 9.6 \times 10^{-3}\,\rm{cm^{-3}}$. This measurement is independent fr…
We present optical follow-up observations with the DDOTI telescope of gravitational-wave events detected during the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo O3 observing run. DDOTI is capable of responding to an alert in a few minutes, has an instantaneous field of about 69 deg$^{2}$, and obtains $10σ$ upper limits of $w_{\rm lim}=18.5$ to 20.5 AB mag in 1000~s of exposure, depending on the conditions. We observed 54\% (26 out of 48) of the unretracted gravitational-wave alerts and did not find any electromagnetic counterparts. We compare our upper limits to various possible counterparts: the kilonova…
Short-hard gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are widely believed to be produced by the merger of two binary compact objects, specifically by two neutron stars or by a neutron star orbiting a black hole. According to the Li-Paczynski kilonova model, the merger would launch sub-relativistic ejecta and a near-infrared/optical transient would then occur, lasting up to days, which is powered by the radioactive decay of heavy elements synthesized in the ejecta. The detection of a late bump using the {\em Hubble Space Telescope} ({\em HST}) in the near-infrared afterglow light curve of the short-hard GRB 13060…
After the jet break at $t\sim 1.4$ days, the optical afterglow emission of the long-short burst GRB 060614 can be divided into two components. One is the power-law decaying forward shock afterglow emission. The other is an excess of flux in several multi-band photometric observations, which emerges at $\sim$4 days after the burst, significantly earlier than that observed for a supernova associated with a long-duration GRB. At $t>13.6$ days, the F814W-band flux drops faster than $t^{-3.2}$. Moreover, the spectrum of the excess component is very soft and the luminosity is extremely low. These ob…
GRB 060505 was the first well-known nearby (at redshift 0.089) "hybrid" gamma-ray burst that has a duration longer than 2 seconds but without the association of a supernova down to very stringent limits. The prompt $γ-$ray flash lasting $\sim 4$ sec could consist of an intrinsic short burst and its tail emission, but the sizable temporal lag ($\sim 0.35$ sec) as well as the environment properties led to the widely-accepted classification of a long duration gamma-ray burst originated from the collapse of a massive star. Here for the $ first$ time we report the convincing evidence for a thermal-…
Kilonova and progenitor properties of merger-driven gamma-ray bursts
Goethe Universität Frankfurt（法兰克福歌德大学）；INAF – Osservatorio di Astrofisica e Scienza dello Spazio（意大利国家天体物理研究所天体物理学与空间科学天文台）；INFN – Sezione di Bologna（意大利国家核物理研究所博洛尼部分部）；Nikhef（荷兰国家粒子物理研究所）；Institute for Gravitational and Subatomic Physics (GRASP), Utrecht University（乌得勒支大学引力与亚原子物理研究所）；University of Ferrara（费拉拉大学）；INFN, Sezione di Ferrara（意大利国家核物理研究所费拉拉分部）；INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico d’Abruzzo（意大利国家天体物理研究所阿布鲁佐天文台）；Universita‘ di Napoli Federico II（那不勒斯费德里科二世大学）；INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte（意大利国家天体物理研究所卡波迪蒙特天文台）
We present constraints on Ks-band emission from one of the nearest short hard gamma-ray bursts, GRB 160821B, at z=0.16, at three epochs. We detect a reddened relativistic afterglow from the jetted emission in the first epoch but do not detect any excess kilonova emission in the second two epochs. We compare upper limits obtained with Keck I/MOSFIRE to multi-dimensional radiative transfer models of kilonovae, that employ composition-dependent nuclear heating and LTE opacities of heavy elements. We discuss eight models that combine toroidal dynamical ejecta and two types of wind and one model wi…
Multi-band observations of the fast radio burst (FRB) 131104 show that this burst may be associated with a gamma-ray transient entitled Swift J0644.5-5111. Follow-up observations for potential X-ray and radio counterparts of FRB 131104/Swift J0644.5-5111 got null results and provided the upper limits of the emission flux at 5.5 GHz, 7.5 GHz, $U$-band, and X-ray band. By assuming this association and using these upper limits, environmental properties (the fraction of energyin a magnetic field $\varepsilon_{\rm B}$ and the number density $n$) of the progenitor system of FRB 131104/Swift J0644.5-…
Mergers of double neutron stars (DNSs) could lead to the formation of a long-lived massive remnant NS, which has been previously suggested to explain the AT 2017gfo kilonova emission in the famous GW170817 event. For an NS-affected kilonova, it is expected that a non-thermal emission component can be contributed by a pulsar wind nebula (PWN), which results from the interaction of the wind from the remnant NS with the preceding merger ejecta. Then, the discovery of such a non-thermal PWN emission can provide an evidence for the existence of the remnant NS. Similar to GRB 170817A, GRB 160821B is…
Prospect for Detection of Strongly Lensed Multi-messenger Signals of Binary Neutron Star Mergers
National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院国家天文台）；School of Astronomy and Space Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院大学天文学与空间科学学院）
We review current understanding of kilonova/macronova emission from compact binary mergers (mergers of two neutron stars or a neutron star and a black hole). Kilonova/macronova is optical and near-infrared emission powered by radioactive decays of r-process nuclei. Emission from the dynamical ejecta with ~0.01 Msun is likely to have a luminosity of ~10^{40}-10^{41} erg s^{-1} with a characteristic timescale of about 1 week. The spectral peak is located in red optical or near-infrared wavelengths. A subsequent accretion disk wind may provide an additional luminosity, or an earlier/bluer emissio…
For the first $\sim3$ years after the binary neutron star merger event GW 170817 the radio and X-ray radiation has been dominated by emission from a structured relativistic off-axis jet propagating into a low-density medium with n $< 0.01\,\rm{cm^{-3}}$. We report on observational evidence for an excess of X-ray emission at $δt>900$ days after the merger. With $L_x\approx5\times 10^{38}\,\rm{erg\,s^{-1}}$ at 1234 days, the recently detected X-ray emission represents a $\ge 3.2\,σ$ (Gaussian equivalent) deviation from the universal post jet-break model that best fits the multi-wavelength afterg…
Recently Jin et al. (2016) reanalyzed the optical observation data of GRB 050709 and reported a line-like spectral energy distribution (SED) component observed by the Very Large Telescope at $t\sim 2.5$ days after the trigger of the burst, which had been interpreted as a broadened line signal arising from a macronova dominated by iron group. In this work we show that an optical flare origin of such a peculiar optical SED is still possible. Interestingly, even in such a model, an "unusual" origin of the late-time long-lasting Hubble Space Telescope F814W-band emission is still needed and a macr…
On 2019 April 25.346 and 26.640 UT the LIGO and Virgo gravitational wave (GW) observatories announced the detection of the first candidate events in Observing Run 3 that contain at least one neutron star. S190425z is a likely binary neutron star (BNS) merger at $d_L = 156 \pm 41$ Mpc, while S190426c is possibly the first NS-BH merger ever detected, at $d_L = 377 \pm 100$ Mpc, although with marginal statistical significance. Here we report our optical follow-up observations for both events using the MMT 6.5-m telescope, as well as our spectroscopic follow-up of candidate counterparts (which tur…
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。
The binary neutron star merger GW170817 was the first multi-messenger event observed in both gravitational and electromagnetic waves. The electromagnetic signal began approximately 2 seconds post-merger with a weak, short burst of gamma-rays, which was followed over the next hours and days by the ultraviolet, optical and near-infrared emission from a radioactively- powered kilonova. Later, non-thermal rising X-ray and radio emission was observed. The low luminosity of the gamma-rays and the rising non-thermal flux from the source at late times could indicate that we are outside the opening ang…
GRB200522A is a short duration gamma-ray burst (GRB) at redshift $z$=0.554 characterized by a bright infrared counterpart. A possible, although not unambiguous, interpretation of the observed emission is the onset of a luminous kilonova powered by a rapidly rotating and highly-magnetized neutron star, known as magnetar. A bright radio flare, arising from the interaction of the kilonova ejecta with the surrounding medium, is a prediction of this model. Whereas the available dataset remains open to multiple interpretations (e.g. afterglow, r-process kilonova, magnetar-powered kilonova), long-ter…
We present ground-based optical and Hubble Space Telescope optical and near-IR observations of the short-hard GRB130603B at z=0.356, which demonstrate the presence of excess near-IR emission matching the expected brightness and color of an r-process powered transient (a "kilonova"). The early afterglow fades rapidly with alpha<-2.6 at t~8-32 hr post-burst and has a spectral index of beta=-1.5 (F_nu t^alpha*nu^beta), leading to an expected near-IR brightness at the time of the first HST observation of m(F160W)>29.3 AB mag. Instead, the detected source has m(F160W)=25.8+/-0.2 AB mag, correspondi…
We present a comprehensive comparison of the properties of the radio through X-ray counterpart of GW170817 and the properties of short-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). For this effort, we utilize a sample of 36 short GRBs spanning a redshift range of $z \approx 0.12-2.6$ discovered over 2004-2017. We find that the counterpart to GW170817 has an isotropic-equivalent luminosity that is $\approx 3000$ times less than the median value of on-axis short GRB X-ray afterglows, and $\gtrsim10^{4}$ times less than that for detected short GRB radio afterglows. Moreover, the allowed jet energies and part…
Here we collect three unique bursts, GRBs\,060614, 211211A and 211227A, all characterized by a long-duration main emission (ME) phase and a rebrightening extended emission (EE) phase, to study their observed properties and the potential origin as neutron star-black hole (NSBH) mergers. NS-first-born (BH-first-born) NSBH mergers tend to contain fast-spinning (non-spinning) BHs that more easily (hardly) allow tidal disruption to happen with (without) forming electromagnetic signals. We find that NS-first-born NSBH mergers can well interpret the origins of these three GRBs, supported by that: (1)…
