ABSTRACT Despite decades of investigations, the physical mechanism that powers the bright prompt γ-ray emission from gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) is still not identified. One important observational clue ...that still has not been properly interpreted is the existence of time lags of broad light curve pulses in different energy bands, referred to as "spectral lags." Here, we show that the traditional view invoking the high-latitude emission "curvature effect" of a relativistic jet cannot account for spectral lags. Rather, the observed spectral lags demand the sweep of a spectral peak across the observing energy band in a specific manner. The duration of the broad pulses and inferred typical Lorentz factor of GRBs require that the emission region be in an optically thin emission region far from the GRB central engine. We construct a simple physical model invoking synchrotron radiation from a rapidly expanding outflow. We show that the observed spectral lags appear naturally in our model light curves given that (1) the gamma-ray photon spectrum is curved (as observed), (2) the magnetic field strength in the emitting region decreases with radius as the region expands in space, and (3) the emission region itself undergoes rapid bulk acceleration as the prompt γ-rays are produced. These requirements are consistent with a Poynting-flux-dominated jet abruptly dissipating magnetic energy at a large distance from the engine.
The prompt emission phase of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) exhibits two distinct patterns of the peak energy (Ep) evolution, i.e., time-resolved spectral analyses of F spectra of broad pulses reveal (1) ..."hard-to-soft" and (2) "flux-tracking" patterns of Ep evolution in time, the physical origin of which still remains not well understood. We show here that these two patterns can be successfully reproduced within a simple physical model invoking synchrotron radiation in a bulk-accelerating emission region. We show further that the evolution patterns of the peak energy have, in fact, direct connections to the existence of two different (positive or negative) types of spectral lags, seen in the broad pulses. In particular, we predict that (1) only the positive type of spectral lags is possible for the hard-to-soft evolution of the peak energy, (2) both the positive and negative type of spectral lags can occur in the case of the flux-tracking pattern of the peak energy, (3) for the flux-tracking pattern the peak location of the flux light curve slightly lags behind the peak of the Ep evolution with time if the spectral lags are positive, and (4) in the case of the flux-tracking pattern double-peaked broad pulses can appear in the light curves, the shape of which is energy dependent.
ABSTRACT We consider a relativistic spherical shell and calculate its spectral flux as received by a distant observer. Using two different methods, we derive a simple analytical expression of the ...observed spectral flux and show that the well-known relation (between temporal index and spectral index ) of the high-latitude emission is naturally achieved in our derivation but holds only when the shell moves with a constant Lorentz factor Γ. Presenting numerical models in which the shell is undergoing acceleration or deceleration, we show that the simple relation does indeed deviate as long as Γ is not constant. For the models under acceleration, we find that the light curves produced purely by the high-latitude emission initially exhibit much steeper decay than in the constant Γ case and gradually resume the relation in about one and a half orders of magnitude in observer time. For the models under deceleration, the trend is opposite. The light curves made purely by the high-latitude emission initially exhibit a shallower decay than in the constant Γ case and gradually resume the relation in a similar order of magnitude in observer time. We also show that how fast the Lorentz factor Γ of the shell increases or decreases is the main ingredient determining the initial steepness or shallowness of the light curves.
Abstract A kilonova, the electromagnetic emission produced by compact binary mergers, is formed through a delicate interplay of physical processes, involving r -process nucleosynthesis and ...interactions between heavy elements and photons through radiative transfer. This complexity makes it difficult to achieve a comprehensive understanding of kilonova spectra. In this study, we aim to enhance our understanding and establish connections between physical parameters and observables through radiative-transfer simulations. Specifically, we investigate how ejecta temperature and element mass influence the resulting kilonova spectrum. For each species, the strength of its line features depends on these parameters, leading to the formation of a distinct region in the parameter space, dubbed the resonance island, where the line signature of that species is notably evident in the kilonova spectrum. We explore its origin and applications. Among explored r -process elements (31 ≤ Z ≤ 92), we find that four species—Sr II , Y II , Ba II , and Ce II —exhibit large and strong resonance islands, suggesting their significant contributions to kilonova spectra at specific wavelengths. In addition, we discuss potential challenges and future perspectives in observable heavy elements and their masses in the context of the resonance island.
ABSTRACT Applying our recently developed generalized version of the high-latitude emission theory to the observations of X-ray flares in gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), here we present clear observational ...evidence that the X-ray flare emission region is undergoing rapid bulk acceleration as the photons are emitted. We show that both the observed X-ray flare light curves and the photon index evolution curves can be simultaneously reproduced within a simple physical model invoking synchrotron radiation in an accelerating emission region far from the GRB central engine. Such an acceleration process demands an additional energy dissipation source other than kinetic energy, which points toward a significant Poynting flux in the emission region of X-ray flares. As the X-ray flares are believed to share a similar physical mechanism as the GRB prompt emission, our finding here hints that the GRB prompt emission jets may also carry a significant Poynting flux in their emitting region.
Abstract
A kilonova is a short-lived explosive event in the Universe, resulting from the merger of two compact objects. Despite its importance as a primary source of heavy elements through
r
-process ...nucleosynthesis, its nature is not well understood due to its rarity. In this work, we introduce a model that determines the density of a radially stratified relativistic ejecta. We apply the model to kilonova ejecta and explore several hypothesized velocity profiles as a function of the merger’s ejection time. These velocity profiles result in diverse density profiles of the ejecta, for which we conduct radiative transfer simulations using
tardis
with the solar
r
-process composition. Consequently, we investigate the impact of the ejecta velocity profile on the resulting evolution of the lightcurve and spectra through the line transitions of heavy elements. The change in the rate at which these elements accumulate in the line-forming region leaves its imprint on the kilonova lightcurve at specific wavelengths, causing the lightcurves to decay at different rates. Furthermore, in several profiles, plateau-like behaviors (slow and/or flat decline) are also observed. In conclusion, this work proposes potential scenarios of the evolution of kilonova due to the ejecta velocity profile.
The synchrotron external shock model predicts the evolution of the spectral (β) and temporal ( ) indices during the gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglow for different environmental density profiles, ...electron spectral indices, electron cooling regimes, and regions of the spectrum. We study the relationship between and β, the so-called "closure relations" with GRBs detected by Fermi Large Area Telescope (Fermi-LAT) from 2008 August to 2018 August. The spectral and temporal indices for the >100 MeV emission from the Fermi-LAT as determined in the Second Fermi-LAT Gamma-Ray Burst Catalog (2FLGC) are used in this work. We select GRBs whose spectral and temporal indices are well constrained (58 long-duration GRBs and 1 short-duration GRBs) and classify each GRB into the best-matched relation. As a result, we found that a number of GRBs require a very small fraction of the total energy density contained in the magnetic field (ϵB 10−7). The estimated mean and standard deviation of electron spectral index p are 2.40 and 0.44, respectively. The GRBs satisfying a closure relation of the slow cooling tend to have a softer p value compared to those of the fast cooling. Moreover, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test of the two p distributions from the fast and slow coolings rejects a hypothesis that the two distributions are drawn from the single reference distribution with a significance of 3.2 . Lastly, the uniform density medium is preferred over the medium that decreases like the inverse of distance squared for long-duration GRBs.
ABSTRACT We perform a time-resolved spectral analysis of GRB 130606B within the framework of a fast-cooling synchrotron radiation model with magnetic field strength in the emission region decaying ...with time, as proposed by Uhm & Zhang. The data from all time intervals can be successfully fit by the model. The same data can be equally well fit by the empirical Band function with typical parameter values. Our results, which involve only minimal physical assumptions, offer one natural solution to the origin of the observed GRB spectra and imply that, at least some, if not all, Band-like GRB spectra with typical Band parameter values can indeed be explained by synchrotron radiation.
This paper performs a semi-analytic study of relativistic blast waves in the context of gamma-ray bursts. Although commonly used in a wide range of analytical and numerical studies, the equation of ...state (EOS) with a constant adiabatic index is a poor approximation for relativistic hydrodynamics. Adopting a more realistic EOS with a variable adiabatic index, we present a simple form of jump conditions for relativistic hydrodynamical shocks. Then we describe in detail our technique of modeling a very general class of GRB blast waves with a long-lived reverse shock. Our technique admits an arbitrary radial stratification of the ejecta and ambient medium. We use two different methods to find dynamics of the blast wave: (1) customary pressure balance across the blast wave and (2) the 'mechanical model.' Using a simple example model, we demonstrate that the two methods yield significantly different dynamical evolutions of the blast wave. We show that the pressure balance does not satisfy the energy conservation for an adiabatic blast wave while the mechanical model does. We also compare two sets of afterglow light curves obtained with the two different methods.
ABSTRACT When emission in a conical relativistic jet ceases abruptly (or decays sharply), the observed decay light curve is controlled by the high-latitude "curvature effect." Recently, Uhm & Zhang ...found that the decay slopes of three gamma-ray burst (GRB) X-ray flares are steeper than what the standard model predicts. This requires bulk acceleration of the emission region, which is consistent with a Poynting-flux-dominated outflow. In this paper, we systematically analyze a sample of 85 bright X-ray flares detected in 63 Swift GRBs and investigate the relationship between the temporal decay index and spectral index β during the steep decay phase of these flares. The values depend on the choice of the zero time point t0. We adopt two methods. "Method I" takes as the first rising data point of each flare and is the most conservative approach. We find that at the 99.9% confidence level 56/85 flares have decay slopes steeper than the simplest curvature effect prediction and therefore are in the acceleration regime. "Method II" extrapolates the rising light curve of each flare backward until the flux density is three orders of magnitude lower than the peak flux density, and it defines the corresponding time as the zero time point ( ). We find that 74/85 flares fall into the acceleration regime at the 99.9% confidence level. This suggests that bulk acceleration is common and may even be ubiquitous among X-ray flares, pointing toward a Poynting-flux-dominated jet composition for these events.
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