The diagnostic power of X-ray emission lines in GRBs

Abstract

Absorption and reprocessing of Gamma-ray burst radiation in the environment of cosmological GRBs can be used as a powerful probe of the elusive nature of their progenitors. Although it is widely accepted that long-duration GRBs are associated with the deaths of massive stars, at least two fundamentally different scenarios concerning the final collapse are currently being considered. Delayed reddened excesses in the optical afterglows of several GRBs indicate that a supernova, possibly of Type Ic, takes place within a few days of a GRB. This supports the collapsar model, where the core of a massive star collapses promptly to a black hole. Variable X-ray features observed in the prompt and afterglow spectra of several GRBs, suggest that a highly metal enriched and dense shell of material surrounds the sources of GRBs. In some cases, evidence for expansion of these shells with velocities of a substantial fraction of the speed of light has been claimed. These observations have been interpreted as support for the supranova model, where a massive star collapses first to a supramassive neutron star, which later collapses to a black hole following loss of rotational support. In this review paper, I will present a brief overview of the current status of the observational evidence for X-ray spectral features in GRBs, and discuss their implications for both the collapsar and the supranova model.