Hydrodynamic Evolution of GRB Afterglow

1 INTRODUCTIONMom the detection at X-rap optical and radio wavelengths of ganuna-ray bursts (GRBs)since 1997 (Costa et al. 1997; van Paradijs et al. 1997; Sahu et al. 1997; Djorgovsld et al. 1997;Metzger et al. 1997; Frail et al. 1997; Taylor et al. 1997; Kulforni et al. 1998; Halpern et al.1998; Castro-Tirado et al. 1999; Kulkalni et al. 1999; Galama et al. 1999), we have come toknow that the GRBs can release 1051 ~ 1054 ergs in a few seconds and that the fireball modelcan describ…     

On the use of COBE results

The aim of this brief report is to find a lower limit of the Hubble parameter using the COBE's detected fluctuations in the temperature of the CMBR.     

PSR J0737–3039A: baseband timing and polarimetry

In the present paper, we investigate the distribution of the hardness ratio (HR) for short and long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) in different time-scales for the first two seconds. After including and subtracting the background count, we performed a Kolmogorov–Smirnov (K–S) test on the HR distributions of the two classes of GRBs in each time interval. Our analysis shows that the probabilities of the K–S test to the distributions are very small, suggesting that the two classes of bursts are unlikely to arise from the same HR distributions. The result indicates that the two kinds of bursts probably originate from different mechanisms or have different central engines. In addition, we found that the HR of short bursts within the time interval 0–0.96 s changes from hard to soft; the HR of long bursts does not. The two kinds of bursts have different characteristics in the first two seconds, which might be associated with different physical mechanisms.     

Observations of the optical afterglow from GRB 060526 with the RTT-150 telescope

Multicolor photometric observations of the optical afterglow from GRB 060526 with the Russian-Turkish 1.5-m RTT-150 telescope (Mount Bakyrlytepe, Turkey) are presented. The afterglow light curve was measured in detail starting from about 5 h after the GRB and over five ensuing nights. In addition, upper limits were obtained on the rapid variability of the afterglow on the first night of observations and the history of afterglow color variations was measured in detail. In the time interval from 6 to 16 h after the burst, the flux gradually decreased approximately as a power law with a slope of ?1.14 ± 0.02. Subsequently, variability was observed on a time scale δt < t and the afterglow began to decay much faster. The afterglow color was approximately constant (V?R ≈ 0.5) throughout the observations, despite the flux variability. Variability time scales up to δt/t ≈ 0.0055 were observed at ΔF _ν/F _ν ≈ 0.3, which violates many constraints on the variability of the observed emission from an ultrarelativistic jet obtained by Ioka et al. (2005). We suggest explaining this variability by the fact that the shell motion is no longer ultrarelativistic at this time.     

闪电电磁辐射中的爆发式窄脉冲序列分析

分析了发生于闪电放电过程中一类特殊放电现象\_\_爆发式窄脉冲序列。结果表明, 在30 min内测得的69例闪电放电过程中, 全部存在此类爆发式窄脉冲序列。针对6例典型闪电中包含的190例爆发式窄脉冲序列进行了详细分析, 发现窄脉冲典型宽度约为1 μs, 典型脉冲间隔4~8 μs。根据脉冲时间间隔变化和极性转换将其划分为正常型、 反向型、 对称型和反转型。负地闪和云闪产生的爆发式窄脉冲序列特征无明显差别, 而正地闪中的爆发式窄脉冲序列极性反转较为频繁。分析认为, 不同类型的RBPs可能对应流光等击穿过程在不同极性小电荷区间行进的过程。     

An external-shock origin of the relation for gamma-ray bursts

We investigate the possibility that the     relation between the peak energy E _p of the  ν F _ν  spectrum and energy output     for long-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) arises from the external shock produced by the interaction of a relativistic outflow with the ambient medium. To that aim, we take into account the dependence of all parameters which determine E _p and     on the radial distribution of the ambient medium density and find that the     relation can be explained if the medium around GRBs has a universal radial stratification. For various combinations of GRB radiative process (synchrotron or inverse-Compton) and dissipation mechanism (reverse or forward shock), we find that the circumburst medium must have a particle density with a radial distribution different than the   R ⁻²  expected for the stellar wind corresponding to a constant mass-loss rate and terminal speed.     

Possible effects of pair echoes on gamma-ray burst afterglow emission

High-energy emission from gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) is widely expected but had been sparsely observed until recently when the Fermi satellite was launched. If >TeV gamma-rays are produced in GRBs and can escape from the emission region, they are attenuated by the cosmic infrared background photons, leading to regeneration of ∼GeV–TeV secondary photons via inverse-Compton scattering. This secondary emission can last for a longer time than the duration of GRBs, and it is called a pair echo. We investigate how this pair echo emission affects spectra and light curves of high-energy afterglows, considering not only prompt emission but also afterglow as the primary emission. Detection of pair echoes is possible as long as the intergalactic magnetic field (IGMF) in voids is weak. We find (1) that the pair echo from the primary afterglow emission can affect the observed high-energy emission in the afterglow phase after the jet break and (2) that the pair echo from the primary prompt emission can also be relevant, but only when significant energy is emitted in the TeV range, typically     . Even non-detections of the pair echoes could place interesting constraints on the strength of IGMF. The more favourable targets to detect pair echoes may be the 'naked' GRBs without conventional afterglow emission, although energetic naked GRBs would be rare. If the IGMF is weak enough, it is predicted that the GeV emission extends to >30–300 s.     

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.     

Where are Swiftγ-ray bursts beyond the 'synchrotron deathline'?

We study time-resolved spectra of the prompt emission of Swift γ-ray bursts (GRB). Our goal is to see if previous BATSE claims of the existence of a large amount of spectra with the low-energy photon indices harder than 2/3 are consistent with Swift data. We perform a systematic search of the episodes of the spectral hardening down to the photon indices  ≤2/3  in the prompt emission spectra of Swift GRBs. We show that the data of the Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) instrument on board of Swift are consistent with BATSE data, if one takes into account differences between the two instruments. Much lower statistics of the very hard spectra in Swift GRBs are explained by the smaller field of view and narrower energy band of the BAT telescope.     

Interpretation and implications of the non-detection of GeV spectrum excess by the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope in most gamma-ray bursts

Since the launch of the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope on 2008 June 11, significant detections of high-energy emission have been reported only in six gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) until now. In this work we show that the lack of detection of a GeV spectrum excess in almost all GRBs, though somewhat surprising, can be well understood within the standard internal shock model and several alternatives like the photosphere internal shock (gradual magnetic dissipation) model and the magnetized internal shock model. The delay of the arrival of the >100 MeV photons from some Fermi bursts can be interpreted too. We then show that with the polarimetry of prompt emission these models may be distinguishable. In the magnetized internal shock model, a high linear polarization level should be typical. In the standard internal shock model, a high linear polarization level is still possible but much less frequent. In the photosphere internal shock model, the linear polarization degree is expected to be roughly anticorrelated with the weight of the photosphere/thermal component, which may be a unique signature of this kind of model. We also briefly discuss the implications of the current Fermi GRB data on the detection prospects of the prompt PeV neutrinos. The influences of the intrinsic proton spectrum and the enhancement of the neutrino number at some specific energies, due to the cooling of pions (muons), are outlined.