Abstract The gamma-ray burst (GRB) GRB 211211A is believed to have occurred due to the merger of two neutron stars or a neutron star and a black hole, despite its duration of more than a minute. ...Subsequent analysis has revealed numerous interesting properties including the possible presence of a ∼22 Hz quasiperiodic oscillation (QPO) during precursor emission. Here we perform timing analysis of Fermi and Swift gamma-ray data on GRB 211211A and, although we do not find a strong QPO during the precursor, we do find an extremely significant 19.5 Hz flux oscillation, which has higher fractional amplitude at higher energies, in a ∼0.2 s segment beginning ∼1.6 s after the start of the burst. After presenting our analysis we discuss possible mechanisms for the oscillation.
Abstract
We present a systematic search for optical counterparts to 13 gravitational wave (GW) triggers involving at least one neutron star during LIGO/Virgo’s third observing run (O3). We searched ...binary neutron star (BNS) and neutron star black hole (NSBH) merger localizations with the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) and undertook follow-up with the Global Relay of Observatories Watching Transients Happen (GROWTH) collaboration. The GW triggers had a median localization area of 4480 deg
2
, a median distance of 267 Mpc, and false-alarm rates ranging from 1.5 to 10
−25
yr
−1
. The ZTF coverage in the
g
and
r
bands had a median enclosed probability of 39%, median depth of 20.8 mag, and median time lag between merger and the start of observations of 1.5 hr. The O3 follow-up by the GROWTH team comprised 340 UltraViolet/Optical/InfraRed (UVOIR) photometric points, 64 OIR spectra, and three radio images using 17 different telescopes. We find no promising kilonovae (radioactivity-powered counterparts), and we show how to convert the upper limits to constrain the underlying kilonova luminosity function. Initially, we assume that all GW triggers are bona fide astrophysical events regardless of false-alarm rate and that kilonovae accompanying BNS and NSBH mergers are drawn from a common population; later, we relax these assumptions. Assuming that all kilonovae are at least as luminous as the discovery magnitude of GW170817 (−16.1 mag), we calculate that our joint probability of detecting zero kilonovae is only 4.2%. If we assume that all kilonovae are brighter than −16.6 mag (the extrapolated peak magnitude of GW170817) and fade at a rate of 1 mag day
−1
(similar to GW170817), the joint probability of zero detections is 7%. If we separate the NSBH and BNS populations based on the online classifications, the joint probability of zero detections, assuming all kilonovae are brighter than −16.6 mag, is 9.7% for NSBH and 7.9% for BNS mergers. Moreover, no more than <57% (<89%) of putative kilonovae could be brighter than −16.6 mag assuming flat evolution (fading by 1 mag day
−1
) at the 90% confidence level. If we further take into account the online terrestrial probability for each GW trigger, we find that no more than <68% of putative kilonovae could be brighter than −16.6 mag. Comparing to model grids, we find that some kilonovae must have
M
ej
< 0.03
M
⊙
,
X
lan
> 10
−4
, or
ϕ
> 30° to be consistent with our limits. We look forward to searches in the fourth GW observing run; even 17 neutron star mergers with only 50% coverage to a depth of −16 mag would constrain the maximum fraction of bright kilonovae to <25%.
We report observations of the optical counterpart of the long gamma-ray burst GRB 221009A. Due to the extreme rarity of being both nearby (z = 0.151) and highly energetic (Eϒ,iso≥ 1054erg), GRB ...221009A offers a unique opportunity to probe the connection between massive star core collapse and relativistic jet formation across a very broad range of γ-ray properties. Adopting a phenomenological power-law model for the afterglow and host galaxy estimates from high-resolution Hubble Space Telescope imaging, we use Bayesian model comparison techniques to determine the likelihood of an associated supernova (SN) contributing excess flux to the optical light curve. Though not conclusive, we find moderate evidence (KBayes=101.2for the presence of an additional component arising from an associated SN, SN 2022xiw, and find that it must be substantially fainter (<67% as bright at the 99% confidence interval) than SN 1998bw. Given the large and uncertain line-of-sight extinction, we attempt to constrain the SN parameters (MNi, Mejand EKE) under several different assumptions with respect to the host galaxy's extinction. We find properties that are broadly consistent with previous GRB-associated SNe: MNi = 0.05–0.25 M⊙, Mej = 3.5–11.1 M⊙, and EKE = (1.6–5.2) × 1052 erg. We note that these properties are weakly constrained due to the faintness of the SN with respect to the afterglow and host emission, but we do find a robust upper limit on MNi of MNi < 0.36 M⊙. Given the tremendous range in isotropic gamma-ray energy release exhibited by GRBs (seven orders of magnitude), the SN emission appears to be decoupled from the central engine in these systems.
Long-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are powerful cosmic explosions, signaling the death of massive stars. Among them, GRB 221009A is by far the brightest burst ever observed. Because of its ...enormous energy (
≈ 10
erg) and proximity (
≈ 0.15), GRB 221009A is an exceptionally rare event that pushes the limits of our theories. We present multiwavelength observations covering the first 3 months of its afterglow evolution. The x-ray brightness decays as a power law with slope ≈
, which is not consistent with standard predictions for jetted emission. We attribute this behavior to a shallow energy profile of the relativistic jet. A similar trend is observed in other energetic GRBs, suggesting that the most extreme explosions may be powered by structured jets launched by a common central engine.
INVESTIGATING THE Ep, i –Eiso CORRELATION Amati, Lorenzo; Dichiara, Simone
Acta polytechnica (Prague, Czech Republic : 1992),
12/2013, Volume:
53, Issue:
A
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
The correlation between the spectral peak photon energy, Ep, and the radiated energy or luminosity (i.e., the “Amati relation” and other correlations derived from it) is one of the central and most ...debated topics in GRB astrophysics, with implications for physics and the geometry of prompt emission, the identification and understanding of various classes of GRBs (short/long, XRFs,sub-energetic), and GRB cosmology. Fermi is exceptionally suited to provide, also in conjunction with Swift observations, a significant step forward in this field of research. Indeed, one of the main goals of Fermi/GBM is to make accurate measurements of Ep, by exploiting its unprecedented broad energy band from ~8 keV to ~30MeV; in addition, for a small fraction of GRBs, the LAT can extend the spectral measurements up to the GeV energy range, thus allowing a reliable estimate of the bolometric radiated energy/luminosity. We provide a review, an update and a discussion of the impact of Fermi observations in the investigation, understanding and testing of the Ep,i –Eiso (“Amati”) relation.
Short gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are associated with binary neutron star mergers, which are multimessenger astronomical events that have been observed both in gravitational waves and in the multiband ...electromagnetic spectrum
. Depending on the masses of the stars in the binary and on details of their largely unknown equation of state, a dynamically evolving and short-lived neutron star may be formed after the merger, existing for approximately 10-300 ms before collapsing to a black hole
. Numerical relativity simulations across different groups consistently show broad power spectral features in the 1-5-kHz range in the post-merger gravitational-wave signal
, which is inaccessible by current gravitational-wave detectors but could be seen by future third-generation ground-based detectors in the next decade
. This implies the possibility of quasiperiodic modulation of the emitted gamma rays in a subset of events in which a neutron star is formed shortly before the final collapse to a black hole
. Here we present two such signals identified in the short bursts GRB 910711 and GRB 931101B from archival Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) data, which are compatible with the predictions from numerical relativity.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK, ZAGLJ
Previous detections of individual astrophysical sources of neutrinos are limited to the Sun and the supernova 1987A, whereas the origins of the diffuse flux of high-energy cosmic neutrinos remain ...unidentified. On 22 September 2017, we detected a high-energy neutrino, IceCube-170922A, with an energy of ~290 tera-electron volts. Its arrival direction was consistent with the location of a known γ-ray blazar, TXS 0506+056, observed to be in a flaring state. An extensive multiwavelength campaign followed, ranging from radio frequencies to γ-rays. These observations characterize the variability and energetics of the blazar and include the detection of TXS 0506+056 in very-high-energy γ-rays. This observation of a neutrino in spatial coincidence with a γ-ray-emitting blazar during an active phase suggests that blazars may be a source of high-energy neutrinos.
Full text
Available for:
BFBNIB, NMLJ, NUK, ODKLJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Abstract
We use a sample of 27 gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) at redshift
z
= 2–6 to probe the outflows in their respective host galaxies (log(
M
*
/
M
⊙
) ∼ 9–11) and search for possible relations between ...the outflow properties and those of the host galaxies, such as
M
*
, the star formation rate (SFR), and the specific SFR (sSFR). First, we consider three outflow properties: outflow column density (
N
out
), maximum outflow velocity (
V
max
), and normalized maximum velocity (
V
norm
=
V
max
/
V
circ,halo
, where
V
circ,halo
is the halo circular velocity). We observe clear trends of
N
out
and
V
max
with increasing SFR in high-ion-traced outflows, with a stronger (>3
σ
)
V
max
–SFR correlation. We find that the estimated mass outflow rate and momentum flux of the high-ion outflows scale with SFR and can be supported by the momentum imparted by star formation (supernovae and stellar winds). The kinematic correlations of high-ion-traced outflows with SFR are similar to those observed for star-forming galaxies at low redshifts. The correlations with SFR are weaker in low-ion outflows. This, along with the lower detection fraction in low-ion outflows, indicates that the outflow is primarily high-ion dominated. We also observe a strong (>3
σ
) trend of normalized velocity (
V
norm
) decreasing with halo mass and increasing with sSFR, suggesting that outflows from low-mass halos and high-sSFR galaxies are most likely to escape and enrich the outer circumgalactic medium (CGM) and intergalactic medium with metals. By comparing the CGM–GRB stacks with those of starbursts at
z
∼ 2 and
z
∼ 0.1, we find that over a broad redshift range, the outflow strength strongly depends on the main-sequence offset at the respective redshifts, rather than simply the SFR.
Abstract
As we further our studies on gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), via both theoretical models and observational tools, more and more options begin to open for exploration of its physical properties. As ...GRBs are transient events primarily dominated by synchrotron radiation, it is expected that the synchrotron photons emitted by GRBs should present some degree of polarization throughout the evolution of the burst. Whereas observing this polarization can still be challenging due to the constraints on observational tools, especially for short GRBs, it is paramount that the groundwork is laid for the day we have abundant data. In this work, we present a polarization model linked with an off-axis spreading top-hat jet synchrotron scenario in a stratified environment with a density profile
n
(
r
) ∝
r
−
k
. We present this model's expected temporal polarization evolution for a realistic set of afterglow parameters constrained within the values observed in the GRB literature for four degrees of stratification
k
= 0, 1, 1.5, and 2 and two magnetic field configurations with high extreme anisotropy. We apply this model and predict polarization from a set of GRBs exhibiting off-axis afterglow emission. In particular, for GRB 170817A, we use the available polarimetric upper limits to rule out the possibility of an extremely anisotropic configuration for the magnetic field.
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