An unexpectedly rapid decline in the X-ray afterglow emission of long gamma-ray bursts

G. Tagliaferri; M. Goad; G. Chincarini; A. Moretti; S. Campana; D. N. Burrows; M. Perri; S. D. Barthelmy; N. Gehrels; H. Krimm; T. Sakamoto; P. Kumar; P. I. Meszaros; S. Kobayashi; B. Zhang; L. Angelini; P. Banat; A. P. Beardmore; M. Capalbi; S. Covino; G. Cusumano; P. Giommi; O. Godet; J. E. Hill; J. A. Kennea; V. Mangano; D. C. Morris; J. A. Nousek; P. T. O'Brien; J. P. Osborne; C. Pagani; K. L. Page; P. Romano; L. Stella; A. Wells

doi:10.1038/nature03934

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An unexpectedly rapid decline in the X-ray afterglow emission of long gamma-ray bursts

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Abstract

Long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are commonly accepted to originate in the explosion of particularly massive stars, which gives rise to a highly relativistic jet. Internal inhomogeneities in the expanding flow give rise to internal shock waves that are believed to produce the gamma-rays we see. As the jet travels further outward into the surrounding circumstellar medium `external' shocks give rise to the afterglow emission seen in the X-ray, optical and radio bands. Here we report on the early phases of the X-ray emission of five GRBs. Their X-ray light curves are characterised by a rapid fall-off for the first few hundred seconds, followed by a less rapid decline lasting several hours. This steep decline, together with detailed spectral properties of two particular bursts, shows that violent shock interactions take place in the early jet outflows.

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G. Tagliaferri, M. Goad, G. Chincarini, A. Moretti, S. Campana, D. N. Burrows, M. Perri, S. D. Barthelmy, N. Gehrels, H. Krimm, T. Sakamoto, P. Kumar, P. I. Meszaros, S. Kobayashi, B. Zhang, L. Angelini, P. Banat, A. P. Beardmore, M. Capalbi, S. Covino, G. Cusumano, P. Giommi, O. Godet, J. E. Hill, J. A. Kennea, V. Mangano, D. C. Morris, J. A. Nousek, P. T. O'Brien, J. P. Osborne, C. Pagani, K. L. Page, P. Romano, L. Stella, A. Wells. 2005-06-16. An unexpectedly rapid decline in the X-ray afterglow emission of long gamma-ray bursts. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03934

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