X-ray emission lines in the early afterglows of gamma-ray bursts

We computed the thermal time-dependent X-ray spectrum of a hot plasma in the vicinity of a gamma-ray burst (GRB). An allowance for time-dependent processes in a hot rarefied plasma is shown to strongly affect the observed spectrum. These computations can give an alternative explanation for the observed X-ray emission lines in the early afterglows of GRBs (e.g., GRB 011211). Our technique allows the GRB collimation angle and the environment clumpiness parameters to be independently constrained.     

High-energy afterglow emission from gamma-ray bursts

We calculate the very high-energy (sub-GeV to TeV) inverse Compton emission of GRB afterglows. We argue that this emission provides a powerful test of the currently accepted afterglow model. We focus on two processes: synchrotron self-Compton emission within the afterglow blast wave, and external inverse Compton emission which occurs when flare photons (produced by an internal process) pass through the blast wave. We show that if our current interpretations of the Swift X-ray telescope (XRT) data are correct, there should be a canonical high-energy afterglow emission light curve. Our predictions can be tested with high-energy observatories such as GLAST , Whipple, HESS and MAGIC. Under favourable conditions we expect afterglow detections in all these detectors.     

X-ray of gamma-ray bursts observable by HEAO-B

On grounds of Mazetset al. (1980a) conclusion that all gamma-ray bursts recorded were emitted at the distance 1 kpc from the Sun it is shown that bursts from the Galaxy and from another galaxies may be observable byEinstein Observatory (HEAO-B). The HEAO-B observing programs are considered and the numbers of possibly recorded events are estimated. It is concluded that the important information about sources of gamma-bursts may be obtained in this way.     

Short duration solar microwave bursts and associated soft X-ray emission

During the time period of November 1968 to March 1970, 259 15.4 GHz impulsive microwave bursts have been identified of which 147 had associated 2–12 Å soft X-ray bursts. Average durations, rise times, and decay times for the microwave bursts are 2.9 ± 2.4 min, 0.9 ± 0.8 min, and 2.2 ± 2.1 min, respectively.Total durations and decay times for the X-ray events display a wide range of values from a few minutes to several hours. Rise times for 50 % of the events fell in the range of 2 to 7 min. A significant fraction (32 %) of the X-ray events may exhibit a flux enhancement prior to the main outburst.For 85 % of the flare cases, the X-ray event begins simultaneously with or before the microwave event. In 91 % of the cases the X-ray event peaks later than the microwave event. The average delay is 3.0 ± 1.9 min with 50 % of cases in the range of 0 to 4 min.The X-ray flux increases are significantly correlated with the microwave flux, increases, having a correlation coefficient of 0.43 (> 99.9 % confident).This work was supported in part by the Office of Naval Research under contract NOOO14-68-A-0196-0009 and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration through grant NGL-16-001-002.     

The spectra of gamma-ray bursts and emission features

We present a new two-component method of fitting spectra of cosmic gamma-ray bursts, to get some information about the emission regions through this kind of fit. Our results support the existence of structure in the thin emission sheet. The peak appearing at about 780 ke V in the spectrum of GB 781119³ seems not to be a one-photon annihilation line.Project supported by the National Nature Science Foundation of China.     

Time-resolved spectral analysis of prompt emission from long gamma-ray bursts with GeV emission

We performed detailed time-resolved spectroscopy of bright long gammaray bursts(GRBs)which show significant GeV emissions(GRB 080916C,GRB090902B and GRB 090926A).In addition to the standard Band model,we also use a model consisting of a black body and a power law to fit the spectra.We find that for the latter model there are indications of an additional soft component in the spectra.While previous studies have shown that such models are required for GRB 090902B,here we find that a composite spectral model consisting of two blackbodies and a power law adequately fits the data of all the three bright GRBs.We investigate the evolution of the spectral parameters and find several interesting features that appear in all three GRBs,like(a)temperatures of the blackbodies are strongly correlated with each other,(b)fluxes in the black body components are strongly correlated with each other,(c)the temperatures of the black body trace the profile of the individual pulses of the GRBs,and(d)the characteristics of power law components like the spectral index and the delayed onset bear a close similarity to the emission characteristics in the GeV regions.We discuss the implications of these results and the possibility of identifying the radiation mechanisms during the prompt emission of GRBs.     

Extended emission from short gamma-ray bursts detected with SPI-ACS/INTEGRAL

The short duration (T ₉₀ < 2 s) gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) detected in the SPI-ACS experiment onboard the INTEGRAL observatory are investigated. Averaged light curves have been constructed for various groups of events, including short GRBs and unidentified short events. Extended emission has been found in the averaged light curves of both short GRBs and unidentified short events. It is shown that the fraction of the short GRBs in the total number of SPI-ACS GRBs can range from 30 to 45%, which is considerably larger than has been thought previously.     

A systematic search for radio pulses associated with gamma-ray bursts

An automated station for the detection of radio bursts at 151 and 408 MHz has been operating at Medicina (Italy) since 1976. Radio data associated with 32 gamma-ray bursts, detected between July 1976 and April 1979, have been analysed. The results will be discussed in the present paper.Paper presented at the Symposium and Workshop on Gamma-Ray Bursts, Toulouse, France, 26–29 November, 1979.     

Superlong gamma-ray bursts

We searched for anomalously long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) in the archival records of the Burst and Transient Sources Experiment (BATSE). Ten obvious superlong (>500 s) GRBs with almost continuous emission episodes were found. Nine of these events were known from the BATSE catalog, but five had no duration estimates; we found one burst for the first time. We also detected events with emission episodes separated by a long period of quiescence (up to ～1000 s) with a total duration of 1000–2000 s. In the latter case, we cannot reach an unequivocal conclusion about a common origin of the episodes due to the BATSE poor angular resolution. However, for most of these pairs, the probability of independent GRBs coinciding is much lower than unity, and the probability that all of these are coincidences is ～10^?8. All of the events have a hardness ratio (the ratio of the count rates in different energy channels) typical of GRBs, and their unique duration is unlikely to be related to their high redshifts. Superlong bursts do not differ in their properties from typical long (>2 s) GRBs. We estimated the fraction of superlong GRBs (>500 s) among the long (>2 s)GRBs in the BATSE sample with fluxes up to 0.1 ph cm^?2 s^?1 to be between 0.3 and 0.5%, which is higher than the estimate based on the BATSE catalog.     

Prompt optical emission from gamma-ray bursts with multiple timescale variability of central engine activities

Complete high-resolution light curves of GRB 080319B observed by Swift present an opportunity for detailed temporal analysis of prompt optical emission. With a two-component distribution of initial Lorentz factors, we simulate the dynamical process of shells being ejected from the central engine in the framework of the in- ternal shock model. The emitted radiations are decomposed into different frequency ranges for a temporal correlation analysis between the light curves in different energy bands. The resulting prompt optical and gamma-ray emissions show similar tempo- ral profiles, with both showing a superposition of a component with slow variability and a component with fast variability, except that the gamma-ray light curve is much more variable than its optical counterpart. The variability in the simulated light curves and the strong correlation with a time lag between the optical and gamma-ray emis- sions are in good agreement with observations of GRB 080319B. Our simulations suggest that the variations seen in the light curves stem from the temporal structure of the shells injected from the central engine of gamma-ray bursts. Future observations with high temporal resolution of prompt optical emission from GRBs, e.g., by UFFO- Pathfinder and SVOM-GWAC, will provide a useful tool for investigating the central engine activity.     

Kα line emission during solar X-ray bursts

K X-ray line emission from S, Ar, Ca and Fe is calculated for conditions likely to exist in solar flares. We consider both the non-thermal and thermal phases of flares as indicated by X-ray observations. Impulsive non-thermal events seen at the onset of a flare at photon energies > 20 keV generally give rise to small K line fluxes (<250 photons cm^-2 s^-1) on the basis of data presented by Kane and Anderson. The amount of S K radiation in particular depends sensitively on the lower-energy bound of the non-thermal electron distribution giving rise to the impulsive burst, offering a possible means of determining this. Thermal K emission is significant for only Fe ions. For S, Ar and Ca, the temperatures required for a sizeable number of electrons with energies greater than the K-ionization potential will also strip these elements to ionization stages too high for K transitions to be possible. Comparison of thermal K emission from iron during an intense solar flare leads to a very high emission measure on the basis of these calculations, but such a value seems to be compatible with an analysis of the 1–3 Å continuum during the same event.NAS/NRC Resident Research Associate.Visiting Scientist, High Altitude Observatory, NCAR, Boulder, Colo. 80302.     

Herringbone bursts associated with type II solar radio emission

We report detailed observations of the herringbone (HB) fine structure on type II solar radio bursts. Data from the Culgoora radiospectrograph, radiometer and radioheliograph are analyzed. We determine the characteristic spectral profiles, frequency drift rates and exciter velocities, fluxes, source sizes, brightness temperatures, and polarizations of individual HB bursts. Correlations between individual bursts within the characteristic groups of bursts and the properties of the associated type II bursts are examined. Our data are compatible with HB bursts being radiation at multiples of the plasma frequency generated by electron streams accelerated by the type II shock. We conclude that HB bursts are physically distinct phenomena from type II and type III bursts, differing significantly in emission processes and/or source conditions; this conclusion indicates that many of the presently available theoretical ideas for HB bursts are incorrect.Now at: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Iowa, U.S.A.Now at Anglo-Australian Observatory, Sydney, Australia.     

Periodicities in gamma-ray bursts

One of the most recent discoveries on gamma-ray bursts was the fact that one, or possibly two, of them had a pulsed emission with a periodicity of 8 and 4 s. The intensity of successive peaks decreased exponentially with time. We can speculate that the energy range and/or the lack of sensitivity are probably the reasons why periodicities were not discoverded in some other bursts. In fact, many time-histories show a double or multiple peak structure. If they were periodic, the distance between successive peaks would be equal to the period. Based on this extremely simplified assumption, a search on all available gamma-ray burst time-histories shows that most the periodicities above 1 s should be contained within an interval between 1 and 9 s, with a maximum at approximately 3 s.Paper presented at the Symposium on Cosmic Gamma-Ray Bursts held at Toulouse, France, 26–29 November, 1979.