Is GRB 100418A a Cosmic Twin of GRB 060614?

GRB 100418A is a long burst at z?=?0.624 without detection of associated supernova (SN). We present a detailed analysis on this event and discuss possible origins of its multi-wavelength emission. The temporal features of this event is similar to GRB 060614, a well-known nearby long GRB without SN association (possibly a Type I GRB), indicating that the two events may be cosmic twins. However, both the circum-burst medium density and the GRB classification based on the gamma-ray energy and spectrum suggest that GRB 100418A would be a Type II GRB. These results make a great puzzle on the progenitors of this kind of events, if they belong to the same population.     

COBE observations of the microwave counterpart of GRBs

We have used the data from the COBE satellite to search for delayed microwave emission (31 - 90 GHz) from Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs). The large 7° beam of COBE is well matched to the large positional uncertainties in the GRB locations, although it also means that fluxes from (point source) GRB objects will be diluted. In view of this we are doing a statistical search of the GRBs which occurred during the currently released COBE DMR data (years 1990 and 1991), which overlap 200 GRBs recorded by GRO. Here we concentrate on just the top 10 GRBs (in peak counts/second). We obtain the limits on the emission by comparing the COBE fluxes before and after the GRB at the GRB location. Since it is thought that the microwave emission should lag the GRB event, we have searched the GRB position for emission in the few months following the GRB occurrence.     

Coherent Synchrotron Radiation of Gamma-Ray Bursts

By now there is no doubt that the gamma-ray bursts (GRB) have a cosmological origin. This allows to regard GRB as the most powerful known energy sources, ε∼ 10⁵⁴ erg (with a total number of gamma quanta N_γ∼ 10⁶⁰). A plausible mechanism of coherent synchrotron radiation (CSR) of relativistic electrons driven by a local magnetic field is studied in this paper. We consider relativistic electrons arising in the Compton scattering of a GRB in directions close to that of the ray from the source to a ground-based observer. The synchrotron pulses from Compton electrons located at different points on the line between the GRB source and the observer arrive at the observation point simultaneously. This simultaneity ensures the coherence of the detected radiation. Both molecular clouds in the host galaxy of the GRB and our own Galaxy, as well as the Earth atmosphere are assumed to be scatterers of the GRB radiation. Signals of each scatterer reach the Earth surface, and can be detected at radio wavelengths. We estimate the characteristics of this radiation. The comparison of GRB data with the corresponding information on CSR pulses offers a way to determine some global characteristics of the medium between the Earth and the GRB source.     

A GRB Follow-up System at the Xinglong Observatory and Detection of the High-Redshift GRB 060927

A gamma-ray burst (GRB) optical photometric follow-up system at the Xinglong Observatory of National Astronomical Observatories of China (NAOC) has been constructed. It uses the 0.8-m Tsinghua-NAOC Telescope (TNT) and the 1-m EST telescope, and can au-tomatically respond to GRB Coordinates Network (GCN) alerts. Both telescopes slew rela-tively fast, being able to point to a new target field within ～ 1 min upon a request. Whenever available, the 2.16-m NAOC telescope is also used. In 2006 the system responded to 15 GRBs and detected seven early afterglows. In 2007 six GRBs have been detected among 18 follow-up observations. TNT observations of the second most distant GRB 060927 (z = 5.5) are shown, which started as early as 91 s after the GRB trigger. The afterglow was detected in the combined image of the first 19 × 20 s unfiltered exposures. This GRB follow-up system has joined the East-Asia GRB Follow-up Observation Network (EAFON).     

A mini-supernova model for optical afterglows of gamma-ray bursts

An energy deposition of ∼10⁵⁰ erg into the exterior 10⁻³ M⊙ layers of a red giant is calculated to produce an optical phenomenon similar to afterglows of gamma-ray bursts (GRB) recently observed. This mechanism can be realized if a GRB is generated by some mechanism in a close binary system. In contrast to a 'hypernova' scenario for GRB recently proposed by Paczyński, this model does not require huge kinetic energy in the expanding shell to explain optical afterglows of GRB.     

Open issues with the gamma-ray burst redshift distribution

Cosmological gamma ray bursts (GRBs) are the brightest explosions in the Universe. Satellite detectors, such as Beppo-SAX, HETE2 and more recently Swift, have provided a wealth of data, including the localization and redshifts of subsets of GRBs. The redshift distribution has been utilized in several studies in attempts to constrain the evolving star formation rate and to probe GRB rate evolution in the high-redshift Universe. These studies find that the GRB luminosity function and/or the rate density evolve with redshift. We present a short review of the problems of constraining GRB rate evolution in the context of the complex mix of biases inherent in the redshift measurements. To disentangle GRB rate evolution from the biases prevalent in the redshift distribution will require accounting for the incompleteness of the observed redshift sample. We highlight the importance of formulating a ‘complete GRB selection function’ to account for the main sources of bias.     

GRB 170817A的洛伦兹因子和观测角

伴随着引力波事件GW170817的短暴GRB (Gamma-Ray Burst) 170817A首次提供了双中子星并合与短暴相联系的直接证据.但是短暴GRB 170817A具有非常弱的光度,意味着观测的视线方向可能偏离喷流轴方向.根据短暴静止系的峰值能量E_(p,i)和各向同性光度L_(iso)。之间的关系以及洛伦兹因子Γ和L_(iso)。之间的关系估算了短暴GRB 170817A以及长短暴GRB 060614观测角与喷流边缘的夹角θ'_(obs)和洛伦兹因子Γ,结果表明GRB 170817A的Γ=45±27,θ'_(obs)=2.2±0.5°,而GRB 060614的Γ=214±93,θ'_(obs)=0.5±0.1°.这个结果相当于GRB 170817A的正轴各向同性光度L_(iso,on)=(2.1±0.7)×10~(49) erg·s~(-1),比典型的短暴少2-3个数量级.GRB 060614的L_(iso,on)=(5.12±1.91)×10~(51) erg·s~(-1)与典型短暴相当.这意味着GRB 060614可能属于短暴类型,而GRB 170817A可能本质上就是一个弱暴.     

Optical observations of GRB 050401 afterglow : a case for double-jet model

The afterglow of GRB 050401 presents several novel and interesting features. (i) An initially faster decay in optical band than in X-rays. (ii) A break in the X-ray light curve after ∼0.06 d with an unusual slope after the break. (iii)The X-ray afterglow does not show any spectral evolution across the break while the R -band light curve does not show any break. We have modelled the observed multiband evolution of the afterglow of GRB 050401 as originating in a two-component jet, and interpreting the break in X-ray light curve as due to lateral expansion of a narrow collimated outflow which dominates the X-ray emission. The optical emission is attributed to a wider jet component. Our model reproduces all the observed features of multiband afterglow of GRB 050401. We present optical observations of GRB 050401 using the 104-cm Sampurnanand Telescope at the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), Nainital. Results of the analysis of multiband data are presented and compared with GRB 030329, the first reported case of double jet.     

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.     

Hard electron energy distribution in the relativistic shocks of gamma-ray burst afterglows

Particle acceleration in relativistic shocks is not a very well understood subject. Owing to that difficulty, radiation spectra from relativistic shocks, such as those in gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglows, have been often modelled by making assumptions about the underlying electron distribution. One such assumption is a relatively soft distribution of the particle energy, which need not be true always, as is obvious from observations of several GRB afterglows. In this paper, we describe modifications to the afterglow standard model to accommodate energy spectra which are 'hard'. We calculate the overall evolution of the synchrotron and Compton flux arising from such a distribution. We also model two afterglows, GRB010222 and GRB020813, under this assumption and estimate the physical parameters.     

Probing the neutral fraction of the IGM with GRBs during the epoch of reionization

We show that near-infrared observations of the red side of the Lyα line from a single gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglow cannot be used to constrain the global neutral fraction of the intergalactic medium (IGM),     , at the GRB's redshift to better than     . Some GRB sightlines will encounter more neutral hydrogen than others at fixed     owing to the patchiness of reionization. GRBs during the epoch of reionization will often bear no discernible signature of a neutral IGM in their afterglow spectra. We discuss the constraints on     from the   z = 6.3  burst, GRB050904, and quantify the probability of detecting a neutral IGM using future spectroscopic observations of high-redshift, near-infrared GRB afterglows. Assuming an observation with signal-to-noise ratio similar to the Subaru FOCAS spectrum of GRB050904 and that the column density distribution of damped Lyα absorbers is the same as measured at lower redshifts, a GRB from an epoch when     can be used to detect a partly neutral IGM at 97 per cent confidence level ≈10 per cent of the time (and, for an observation with three times the sensitivity, ≈30 per cent of the time).     

Discovery of an optical afterglow from the cosmic GRB 920925C

A systematic study of the archival images for the error boxes of cosmic gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) obtained at the Palomar (USA) and Siding Spring (Australia) Observatories during the DSS allsky survey has revealed an optical transient with a magnitude of 17.8 within the error circle of the bright event GRB 920925C on the plate taken 6 h after the burst. The position of the object falls within the IPN error box for the burst. Analysis of the event properties suggests that the detected transient is most likely the optical afterglow from GRB 920925C. This event occurred 4.5 yr before GRB 970228, which has been considered to be the first optically identified GRB up until now.     

Classifying GRB 170817A/GW170817 in a Fermi duration–hardness plane

GRB 170817A, associated with the LIGO-Virgo GW170817 neutron-star merger event, lacks the short duration and hard spectrum of a Short gamma-ray burst (GRB) expected from long-standing classification models. Correctly identifying the class to which this burst belongs requires comparison with other GRBs detected by the Fermi GBM. The aim of our analysis is to classify Fermi GRBs and to test whether or not GRB 170817A belongs—as suggested—to the Short GRB class. The Fermi GBM catalog provides a large database with many measured variables that can be used to explore gamma-ray burst classification. We use statistical techniques to look for clustering in a sample of 1298 gamma-ray bursts described by duration and spectral hardness. Classification of the detected bursts shows that GRB 170817A most likely belongs to the Intermediate, rather than the Short GRB class. We discuss this result in light of theoretical neutron-star merger models and existing GRB classification schemes. It appears that GRB classification schemes may not yet be linked to appropriate theoretical models, and that theoretical models may not yet adequately account for known GRB class properties. We conclude that GRB 170817A may not fit into a simple phenomenological classification scheme.     

Can all breaks in gamma-ray burst afterglows be explained by jet effects?

Whether gamma-ray bursts are highly beamed or not is a very important question, as it has been pointed out that the beaming will lead to a sharp break in the afterglow light curves during the ultrarelativistic phase, with the breaking point determined by  Γ∼1/ θ ₀  , where Γ is the bulk Lorentz factor and θ ₀ is the initial half opening angle of the ejecta, and such a break is claimed to be present in the light curves of some GRBs. In this paper we will examine whether all the observed breaks in GRB afterglow light curves can be explained by jet effects. Here we present a detailed calculation of the jet evolution and emission, and have obtained a simple formula of bulk Lorentz factor evolution. We show that the light curves are very smoothly steepened by jet effect, and the shape of the light curve is determined by only one parameter –     , where E and n are the fireball energy and surrounding medium density, respectively. We find that for GRB 990123 and GRB 991216, the jet model can approximately fit their light curves, and the values of     are about 0.17 and 0.22, respectively. On the other hand, the light curves of GRB 990510, GRB 000301c, GRB 000926 and GRB 010222 cannot be fitted by the jet model, which suggests that the breaks may be caused by some other reasons, and the jet effect should be not the unique reason.     

Millimetric properties of gamma-ray burst host galaxies

We present millimetre (mm) and submillimetre (submm) photometry of a sample of five host galaxies of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), obtained using the Max Planck Millimetre Bolometer (MAMBO2) array and Submillimetre Common-User Bolometer Array (SCUBA). These observations were obtained as part of an ongoing project to investigate the status of GRBs as indicators of star formation. Our targets include two of the most unusual GRB host galaxies, selected as likely candidate submm galaxies: the extremely red  ( R − K ≈ 5)  host of GRB 030115, and the extremely faint  ( R > 29.5)  host of GRB 020124. Neither of these galaxies is detected, but the deep upper limits for GRB 030115 impose constraints on its spectral energy distribution, requiring a warmer dust temperature than is commonly adopted for submillimetre galaxies (SMGs).
As a framework for interpreting these data, and for predicting the results of forthcoming submm surveys of Swift -derived host samples, we model the expected flux and redshift distributions based on luminosity functions of both submm galaxies and GRBs, assuming a direct proportionality between the GRB rate density and the global star formation rate density. We derive the effects of possible sources of uncertainty in these assumptions, including (1) introducing an anticorrelation between GRB rate and the global average metallicity, and (2) varying the dust temperature.     

On the probability of microlensing in gamma-ray burst afterglows

The declining light curve of the optical afterglow of gamma-ray burst (GRB) GRB000301C showed rapid variability with one particularly bright feature at about t − t ₀=3.8 d. This event was interpreted as gravitational microlensing by Garnavich, Loeb & Stanek and subsequently used to derive constraints on the structure of the GRB optical afterglow. In this paper, we use these structural parameters to calculate the probability of such a microlensing event in a realistic scenario, where all compact objects in the universe are associated with observable galaxies. For GRB000301C at a redshift of z =2.04, the a posteriori probability for a microlensing event with an amplitude of Δ m 0.95 mag (as observed) is 0.7 per cent (2.7 per cent) for the most plausible scenario of a flat Λ-dominated Friedmann–Robertson–Walker (FRW) universe with Ω_m=0.3 and a fraction f ∗=0.2 (1.0) of dark matter in the form of compact objects. If we lower the magnification threshold to Δ m 0.10 mag, the probabilities for microlensing events of GRB afterglows increase to 17 per cent (57 per cent). We emphasize that this low probability for a microlensing signature of almost 1 mag does not exclude that the observed event in the afterglow light curve of GRB000301C was caused by microlensing, especially in light of the fact that a galaxy was found within 2 arcsec from the GRB. In that case, however, a more robust upper limit on the a posteriori probability of ≈5 per cent is found. It does show, however, that it will not be easy to create a large sample of strong GRB afterglow microlensing events for statistical studies of their physical conditions on microarcsec scales.     

Ly+ and ultraviolet emission from high-redshift gamma-ray burst hosts: to what extent do gamma-ray bursts trace star formation?

We report the result of a search for Lyα emission from the host galaxies of the gamma-ray bursts  (GRBs) 030226 ( z = 1.986), 021004 ( z = 2.335)  and  020124 ( z = 3.198)  . We find that the host galaxy of GRB 021004 is an extended (around 8 kpc) strong Lyα emitter with a rest-frame equivalent width (EW) of 68⁺¹²₋₁₁Å, and a star formation rate of  10.6 ± 2.0 M_⊙ yr⁻¹  . We do not detect the hosts of GRB 030226 and GRB 020124, but the upper limits on their Lyα fluxes do not rule out large rest-frame EWs. In the fields of GRB 021004 and GRB 030226 we find seven and five other galaxies, respectively, with excess emission in the narrow-band filter. These galaxies are candidate Lyα-emitting galaxies in the environment of the host galaxies. We have also compiled a list of all   z ≳ 2  GRB hosts, and demonstrate that a scenario where they trace star formation in an unbiased way is compatible with current observational constraints. Fitting the   z = 3  luminosity function (LF) under this assumption results in a characteristic luminosity of   R *= 24.6  and a faint-end slope of  α=−1.55  , consistent with the LF measured for Lyman-break galaxies.     

An exact solution of the gamma ray burst arrival time analysis problem

An analytical solution of the GRB arrival time analysis is presented. The errors in the position of the GRB resulting from timing and position errors of different satellites are calculated. A simple method of cross-correlating gamma ray burst time-histories is discussed.     

Detection of 33.8 Millisecond X-Ray Pulsations in SAX J0635+0533

Recently, detection of discrete features in the X-ray afterglow spectra of GRB 970508 and GRB 970828 was reported. The most natural interpretation of these features is that they are redshifted Fe K emission complexes. The identification of the line emission mechanism has drastic implications for the inferred mass of radiating material and hence the nature of the burst site. X-ray spectroscopy provides a direct observational constraint on these properties of gamma-ray bursters. We briefly discuss how these constraints arise in the context of an application to the spectrum of GRB 970508.     

Status of the ROTSE‐III telescope network

ROTSE‐III is a homogeneous worldwide array of 4 robotic telescopes. They were designed to provide optical observations of γ ‐ray burst (GRB) afterglows as close as possible to the start of γ ‐ray emission. ROTSE‐III is fulfilling its potential for GRB science, and provides optical observations for a variety of astrophysical sources in the interim between GRB events. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)