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A. Gomboc

Publications and source records attributed to A. Gomboc.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

GRB 161219B / SN 2016jca: A low-redshift gamma-ray burst supernova powered by radioactive heating

Since the first discovery of a broad-lined type Ic supernova (SN) with a long-duration gamma-ray burst (GRB) in 1998, fewer than fifty gamma-ray burst supernovae (GRB-SNe) have been discovered. The intermediate-luminosity Swift GRB 161219B and its associated supernova SN 2016jca, which occurred at a redshift of z=0.1475, represents only the seventh GRB-SN to have been discovered within 1 Gpc, and hence provides an excellent opportunity to investigate the observational and physical properties of these very elusive and rare type of SN. As such, we present optical to near-infrared photometry and optical spectroscopy of GRB 161219B and SN 2016jca, spanning the first three months since its discovery. GRB 161219B exploded in the disk of an edge-on spiral galaxy at a projected distance of 3.4 kpc from the galactic centre. GRB 161219B itself is an outlier of the Amati relation, while SN 2016jca had a rest-frame, peak absolute V-band magnitude of M_V = -19.0, which it reached after 12.5 rest-frame days. We find that the bolometric properties of SN 2016jca are inconsistent with being powered solely by a magnetar central engine, as proposed by other authors, and demonstrate that it was likely powered exclusively by energy deposited by the radioactive decay of nickel and cobalt into their daughter products, which were nucleosynthesized when its progenitor underwent core collapse. We find that 0.22 solar masses of nickel is required to reproduce the peak luminosity of SN 2016jca, and we constrain an ejecta mass of 5.8 solar masses and a kinetic energy of ~5 x 10^52 erg. Finally, we report on a chromatic, pre-maximum bump in the g-band light curve, and discuss its possible origin. [Abridged]

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Liverpool Telescope follow-up of candidate electromagnetic counterparts during the first run of Advanced LIGO

The first direct detection of gravitational waves was made in late 2015 with the Advanced LIGO detectors. By prior arrangement, a worldwide collaboration of electromagnetic follow-up observers were notified of candidate gravitational wave events during the first science run, and many facilities were engaged in the search for counterparts. No counterparts were identified, which is in line with expectations given that the events were classified as black hole - black hole mergers. However these searches laid the foundation for similar follow-up campaigns in future gravitational wave detector science runs, in which the detection of neutron star merger events with observable electromagnetic counterparts is much more likely. Three alerts were issued to the electromagnetic collaboration over the course of the first science run, which lasted from September 2015 to January 2016. Two of these alerts were associated with the gravitational wave events since named GW150914 and GW151226. In this paper we provide an overview of the Liverpool Telescope contribution to the follow-up campaign over this period. Given the hundreds of square degree uncertainty in the sky position of any gravitational wave event, efficient searching for candidate counterparts required survey telescopes with large (~degrees) fields-of-view. The role of the Liverpool Telescope was to provide follow-up classification spectroscopy of any candidates. We followed candidates associated with all three alerts, observing 1, 9 and 17 candidates respectively. We classify the majority of the transients we observed as supernovae.

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Are LGRBs biased tracers of star formation? Clues from the host galaxies of the Swift/BAT6 complete sample of bright LGRBs. II: star formation rates and metallicities at z < 1

Long gamma-ray bursts (LGRBs) are associated with the deaths of massive stars and could thus be a potentially powerful tool to trace cosmic star formation. However, especially at low redshifts (z < 1.5) LGRBs seem to prefer particular types of environment. Our aim is to study the host galaxies of a complete sample of bright LGRBs to investigate the impact of the environment on GRB formation. We study host galaxy spectra of the Swift/BAT6 complete sample of 14 z < 1 bright LGRBs. We use the detected nebular emission lines to measure the dust extinction, star formation rate (SFR) and nebular metallicity (Z) of the hosts and supplement the data set with previously measured stellar masses M$_{\star}$. The distributions of the obtained properties and their interrelations (e.g. mass-metallicity and SFR-M$_{\star}$ relations) are compared to samples of field star-forming galaxies.We find that LGRB hosts at z < 1 have on average lower SFRs than if they were direct star-formation tracers. By directly comparing metallicity distributions of LGRB hosts and star-forming galaxies, we find a good match between the two populations up to Z $\sim 8.4-8.5$, after which the paucity of metal-rich LGRB hosts becomes apparent. The LGRB host galaxies of our complete sample are not inconsistent with the mass-metallicity relation at similar mean redshift and stellar masses. The cutoff against high metallicities (and high masses) can explain the low SFR values of LGRB hosts. We find a hint of increased incidence of starburst galaxies in the Swift/BAT6 z < 1 sample with respect to that of a field star-forming population. Given that the SFRs are low on average, the latter is ascribed to low stellar masses. Nevertheless the limits on the completeness and metallicity availability of current surveys, coupled with the limited number of LGRB host galaxies, prevent us from reaching more quantitative conclusions.

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GRB hosts through cosmic time - VLT/X-Shooter emission-line spectroscopy of 96 GRB-selected galaxies at 0.1 < z < 3.6

[Abridged] We present data and initial results from VLT/X-Shooter emission-line spectroscopy of 96 GRB-selected galaxies at 0.1<z<3.6, the largest sample of GRB host spectroscopy available to date. Most of our GRBs were detected by Swift and 76% are at 0.5<z<2.5 with a median z~1.6. Based on Balmer and/or forbidden lines of oxygen, nitrogen, and neon, we measure systemic redshifts, star formation rates (SFRs), visual attenuations, oxygen abundances (12+log(O/H)), and emission-line widths. We find a strong change of the typical physical properties of GRB hosts with redshift. The median SFR, for example, increases from ~0.6 M_sun/yr at z~0.6 up to ~15 M_sun/yr at z~2. A higher ratio of [OIII]/[OII] at higher redshifts leads to an increasing distance of GRB-selected galaxies to the locus of local galaxies in the BPT diagram. Oxygen abundances of the galaxies are distributed between 12+log(O/H)=7.9 and 12+log(O/H)=9.0 with a median of 12+log(O/H)~8.5. The fraction of GRB-selected galaxies with super-solar metallicities is around 20% at z<1 in the adopted metallicity scale. This is significantly less than the fraction of star formation in similar galaxies, illustrating that GRBs are scarce in high-metallicity environments. At z~3, sensitivity limits us to probing only the most luminous GRB hosts for which we derive metallicities of Z ~< 0.5 Z_sun. Together with a high incidence of galaxies with similar metallicity in our sample at z~1.5, this indicates that the metallicity dependence observed at low redshift will not be dominant at z~3.

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Limits on optical polarization during the prompt phase of GRB 140430A

Gamma-ray burst GRB 140430A was detected by the Swift satellite and observed promptly with the imaging polarimeter RINGO3 mounted on the Liverpool Telescope, with observations beginning while the prompt $γ$-ray emission was still ongoing. In this paper, we present densely sampled (10-second temporal resolution) early optical light curves in 3 optical bands and limits to the degree of optical polarization. We compare optical, X-ray and gamma-ray properties and present an analysis of the optical emission during a period of high-energy flaring. The complex optical light curve cannot be explained merely with a combination of forward and reverse shock emission from a standard external shock, implying additional contribution of emission from internal shock dissipation. We estimate an upper limit for time averaged optical polarization during the prompt phase to be as low as P < 12% (1$σ$). This suggests that the optical flares and early afterglow emission in this GRB are not highly polarized. Alternatively, time averaging could mask the presence of otherwise polarized components of distinct origin at different polarization position angles.

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Are LGRBs biased tracers of star formation? Clues from the host galaxies of the Swift/BAT6 complete sample of LGRBs. I: Stellar mass at z<1

LGRBs are associated with massive stars and are therefore linked to star formation. The conditions necessary to produce LGRBs can affect the relation between the LGRB rate and star formation. By using the power of a complete LGRB sample, our aim is to understand whether such a bias exists and, if it does, what is its origin. In this first paper, we build the SED of the z<1 host galaxies of the BAT6 LGRB sample, and determine their stellar masses from SED fitting. We compare the resulting stellar mass distribution (i) with star-forming galaxies observed in deep surveys (UltraVISTA); (ii) with semi-analitical models of the z<1 star forming galaxy population and (iii) with numerical simulations of LGRB hosts having different metallicity thresholds for the progenitor star environment. We find that at z<1 LGRBs tend to avoid massive galaxies and are powerful in selecting faint low-mass star-forming galaxies. The stellar mass distribution of the hosts is not consistent with that of the UltraVISTA star-forming galaxies weighted for their SFR. This implies that, at least at z<1, LGRBs are not unbiased tracers of star formation. To make the two distributions consistent, a much steeper faint-end of the mass function would be required, or a very shallow SFR-Mass relation for the low mass galaxy population. GRB host galaxy simulations indicates that, to reproduce the stellar mass distribution, a metallicity threshold of the order of Z_th=0.3-0.5Z_sun is necessary. Models without a metallicity threshold or with an extreme threshold of Z_th = 0.1Z_sun are excluded at z<1. The use of the BAT6 complete sample makes this result not affected by possible biases which could have influenced past results based on incomplete samples. The preference for low metallicities (Z<~0.5Z_sun) can be a consequence of the particular conditions needed for the progenitor star to produce a GRB. (Abridged)

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Total eclipse of the heart: The AM CVn Gaia14aae / ASSASN-14cn

We report the discovery and characterisation of a deeply eclipsing AM CVn-system, Gaia14aae (= ASSASN-14cn). Gaia14aae was identified independently by the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASAS-SN; Shappee et al. 2014) and by the Gaia Science Alerts project, during two separate outbursts. A third outburst is seen in archival Pan-STARRS-1 (PS1; Schlafly et al. 2012; Tonry et al. 2012; Magnier et al. 2013) and ASAS-SN data. Spectroscopy reveals a hot, hydrogen-deficient spectrum with clear double-peaked emission lines, consistent with an accreting double degenerate classification. We use follow-up photometry to constrain the orbital parameters of the system. We find an orbital period of 49.71 min, which places Gaia14aae at the long period extremum of the outbursting AM CVn period distribution. Gaia14aae is dominated by the light from its accreting white dwarf. Assuming an orbital inclination of 90 degrees for the binary system, the contact phases of the white dwarf lead to lower limits of 0.78 M solar and 0.015 M solar on the masses of the accretor and donor respectively and a lower limit on the mass ratio of 0.019. Gaia14aae is only the third eclipsing AM CVn star known, and the first in which the WD is totally eclipsed. Using a helium WD model, we estimate the accretor's effective temperature to be 12900+-200 K. The three out-burst events occurred within 4 months of each other, while no other outburst activity is seen in the previous 8 years of Catalina Real-time Transient Survey (CRTS; Drake et al. 2009), Pan-STARRS-1 and ASAS-SN data. This suggests that these events might be rebrightenings of the first outburst rather than individual events.

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GRB host galaxies with VLT/X-Shooter: properties at 0.8 < z < 1.3

Long gamma-ray bursts (LGRBs) are associated with the death of massive stars. Their host galaxies therefore represent a unique class of objects tracing star formation across the observable Universe. Indeed, recently accumulated evidence shows that GRB hosts do not differ substantially from general population of galaxies at high (z > 2) redshifts. However, it has been long recognised that the properties of z < 1.5 hosts, compared to general star-forming population, are unusual. To better understand the reasons for the supposed difference in LGRB hosts properties at z < 1.5, we obtained VLT/X- Shooter spectra of six hosts lying in the redshift range of 0.8 < z < 1.3. Some of these hosts have been observed before, yet we still lack well constrained information on their characteristics such as metallicity, dust extinction and star formation rate. We search for emission lines in the VLT/X-Shooter spectra of the hosts and measure their fluxes. We perform a detailed analysis, estimating host average extinction, star-formation rates, metallicities and electron densities where possible. Measured quantities of our hosts are compared to a larger sample of previously observed GRB hosts at z < 2. Star-formation rates and metallicities are measured for all the hosts analyzed in this paper and metallicities are well determined for 4 hosts. The mass-metallicity relation, the fundamental metallicity relation and SFRs derived from our hosts occupy similar parameter space as other host galaxies investigated so-far at the same redshift. We therefore conclude that GRB hosts in our sample support the found discrepancy between the properties of low-redshift GRB hosts and the general population of star- forming galaxies.

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Unveiling the population of orphan Gamma Ray Bursts

Gamma Ray Bursts are detectable in the gamma-ray band if their jets are oriented towards the observer. However, for each GRB with a typical theta_jet, there should be ~2/theta_jet^2 bursts whose emission cone is oriented elsewhere in space. These off-axis bursts can be eventually detected when, due to the deceleration of their relativistic jets, the beaming angle becomes comparable to the viewing angle. Orphan Afterglows (OA) should outnumber the current population of bursts detected in the gamma-ray band even if they have not been conclusively observed so far at any frequency. We compute the expected flux of the population of orphan afterglows in the mm, optical and X-ray bands through a population synthesis code of GRBs and the standard afterglow emission model. We estimate the detection rate of OA by on-going and forthcoming surveys. The average duration of OA as transients above a given limiting flux is derived and described with analytical expressions: in general OA should appear as daily transients in optical surveys and as monthly/yearly transients in the mm/radio band. We find that ~ 2 OA yr^-1 could already be detected by Gaia and up to 20 OA yr^-1 could be observed by the ZTF survey. A larger number of 50 OA yr^-1 should be detected by LSST in the optical band. For the X-ray band, ~ 26 OA yr^-1 could be detected by the eROSITA. For the large population of OA detectable by LSST, the X-ray and optical follow up of the light curve (for the brightest cases) and/or the extensive follow up of their emission in the mm and radio band could be the key to disentangle their GRB nature from other extragalactic transients of comparable flux density.

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Radio flares from gamma-ray bursts

We present predictions of centimeter and millimeter radio emission from reverse shocks in the early afterglows of gamma-ray bursts with the goal of determining their detectability with current and future radio facilities. Using a range of GRB properties, such as peak optical brightness and time, isotropic equivalent gamma-ray energy and redshift, we simulate radio light curves in a framework generalized for any circumburst medium structure and including a parametrization of the shell thickness regime that is more realistic than the simple assumption of thick- or thin-shell approximations. Building on earlier work by Mundell et al. (2007) and Melandri et al. (2010) in which the typical frequency of the reverse shock was suggested to lie at radio, rather than optical wavelengths at early times, we show that the brightest and most distinct reverse-shock radio signatures are detectable up to 0.1 -- 1 day after the burst, emphasizing the need for rapid radio follow-up. Detection is easier for bursts with later optical peaks, high isotropic energies, lower circumburst medium densities, and at observing frequencies that are less prone to synchrotron self-absorption effects - typically above a few GHz. Given recent detections of polarized prompt gamma-ray and optical reverse-shock emission, we suggest that detection of polarized radio/mm emission will unambiguously confirm the presence of low-frequency reverse shocks at early time.

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Spectrophotometric analysis of GRB afterglow extinction curves with X-shooter

In this work we use gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglow spectra observed with the VLT/X-shooter spectrograph to measure rest-frame extinction in GRB lines-of-sight by modeling the broadband near-infrared (NIR) to X-ray afterglow spectral energy distributions (SEDs). Our sample consists of nine Swift GRBs, eight of them belonging to the long-duration and one to the short-duration class. Dust is modeled using the average extinction curves of the Milky Way and the two Magellanic Clouds. We derive the rest-frame extinction of the entire sample, which fall in the range $0 \lesssim {\it A}_{\rm V} \lesssim 1.2$. Moreover, the SMC extinction curve is the preferred extinction curve template for the majority of our sample, a result which is in agreement with those commonly observed in GRB lines-of-sights. In one analysed case (GRB 120119A), the common extinction curve templates fail to reproduce the observed extinction. To illustrate the advantage of using the high-quality X-shooter afterglow SEDs over the photometric SEDs, we repeat the modeling using the broadband SEDs with the NIR-to-UV photometric measurements instead of the spectra. The main result is that the spectroscopic data, thanks to a combination of excellent resolution and coverage of the blue part of the SED, are more successful in constraining the extinction curves and therefore the dust properties in GRB hosts with respect to photometric measurements. In all cases but one the extinction curve of one template is preferred over the others. We show that the modeled values of the extinction and the spectral slope, obtained through spectroscopic and photometric SED analysis, can differ significantly for individual events. Finally we stress that, regardless of the resolution of the optical-to-NIR data, the SED modeling gives reliable results only when the fit is performed on a SED covering a broader spectral region.

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The optical rebrightening of GRB100814A: an interplay of forward and reverse shocks?

We present a wide dataset of gamma-ray, X-ray, UVOIR, and radio observations of the Swift GRB100814A. At the end of the slow decline phase of the X-ray and optical afterglow, this burst shows a sudden and prominent rebrightening in the optical band only, followed by a fast decay in both bands. The optical rebrightening also shows chromatic evolution. Such a puzzling behaviour cannot be explained by a single component model. We discuss other possible interpretations, and we find that a model that incorporates a long-lived reverse shock and forward shock fits the temporal and spectral properties of GRB100814A the best.

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Circular polarization in the optical afterglow of GRB 121024A

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are most probably powered by collimated relativistic outflows (jets) from accreting black holes at cosmological distances. Bright afterglows are produced when the outflow collides with the ambient medium. Afterglow polarization directly probes the magnetic properties of the jet, when measured minutes after the burst, and the geometric properties of the jet and the ambient medium when measured hours to days after the burst. High values of optical polarization detected minutes after burst in GRB 120308A indicate the presence of large-scale ordered magnetic fields originating from the central engine (the power source of the GRB). Theoretical models predict low degrees of linear polarization and negligable circular polarization at late times, when the energy in the original ejecta is quickly transferred to the ambient medium and propagates farther into the medium as a blastwave. Here we report the detection of circularly polarized optical light in the afterglow of GRB 121024A, measured 0.15 days after the burst. We show that the circular polarization is intrinsic to the afterglow and unlikely to be produced by dust scattering or plasma propagation effects. A possible explanation is to invoke anisotropic (rather than the commonly assumed isotropic) electron pitch angle distributions, and we suggest that new models are required to produce the complex microphysics of realistic shocks in relativistic jets.

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The nature of the late achromatic bump in GRB 120326A

The long ${\it Swift}$ gamma-ray burst GRB 120326A at redshift $z=1.798$ exhibited a multi-band light curve with a striking feature: a late-time, long-lasting achromatic rebrightening, rarely seen in such events. Peaking in optical and X-ray bands $\sim 35$ ks ($\sim 12.5$ ks in the GRB rest frame) after the 70-s GRB prompt burst, the feature brightens nearly two orders of magnitude above the underlying optical power-law decay. Modelling the multiwavelength light curves, we investigate possible causes of the rebrightening in the context of the standard fireball model. We exclude a range of scenarios for the origin of this feature: reverse-shock flash, late-time forward shock peak due to the passage of the maximal synchrotron frequency through the optical band, late central engine optical/X-ray flares, interaction between the expanding blast wave and a density enhancement in the circumburst medium and gravitational microlensing. Instead we conclude that the achromatic rebrightening may be caused by a refreshed forward shock or a geometrical effect. In addition, we identify an additional component after the end of the prompt emission, that shapes the observed X-ray and optical light curves differently, ruling out a single overall emission component to explain the observed early time emission.

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GAME: Grb and All-sky Monitor Experiment

We describe the GRB and All-sky Monitor Experiment (GAME) mission submitted by a large international collaboration (Italy, Germany, Czech Repubblic, Slovenia, Brazil) in response to the 2012 ESA call for a small mission opportunity for a launch in 2017 and presently under further investigation for subsequent opportunities. The general scientific objective is to perform measurements of key importance for GRB science and to provide the wide astrophysical community of an advanced X-ray all-sky monitoring system. The proposed payload was based on silicon drift detectors (~1-50 keV), CdZnTe (CZT) detectors (~15-200 keV) and crystal scintillators in phoswich (NaI/CsI) configuration (~20 keV-20 MeV), three well established technologies, for a total weight of ~250 kg and a required power of ~240 W. Such instrumentation allows a unique, unprecedented and very powerful combination of large field of view (3-4 sr), a broad energy energy band extending from ~1 keV up to ~20 MeV, an energy resolution as good as ~300 eV in the 1-30 keV energy range, a source location accuracy of ~1 arcmin. The mission profile included a launch (e.g., by Vega) into a low Earth orbit, a baseline sky scanning mode plus pointed observations of regions of particular interest, data transmission to ground via X-band (4.8 Gb/orbit, Alcantara and Malindi ground stations), and prompt transmission of GRB / transient triggers.

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A Trio of GRB-SNe: GRB 120729A, GRB 130215A / SN 2013ez and GRB 130831A / SN 2013fu

We present optical and near-infrared (NIR) photometry for three gamma-ray burst supernovae (GRB-SNe): GRB 120729A, GRB 130215A / SN 2013ez and GRB 130831A / SN 2013fu. In the case of GRB 130215A / SN 2013ez, we also present optical spectroscopy at t-t0=16.1 d, which covers rest-frame 3000-6250 Angstroms. Based on Fe II (5169) and Si (II) (6355), our spectrum indicates an unusually low expansion velocity of 4000-6350 km/s, the lowest ever measured for a GRB-SN. Additionally, we determined the brightness and shape of each accompanying SN relative to a template supernova (SN 1998bw), which were used to estimate the amount of nickel produced via nucleosynthesis during each explosion. We find that our derived nickel masses are typical of other GRB-SNe, and greater than those of SNe Ibc that are not associated with GRBs. For GRB 130831A / SN 2013fu, we use our well-sampled R-band light curve (LC) to estimate the amount of ejecta mass and the kinetic energy of the SN, finding that these too are similar to other GRB-SNe. For GRB 130215A, we take advantage of contemporaneous optical/NIR observations to construct an optical/NIR bolometric LC of the afterglow. We fit the bolometric LC with the millisecond magnetar model of Zhang & Meszaros (2001), which considers dipole radiation as a source of energy injection to the forward shock powering the optical/NIR afterglow. Using this model we derive an initial spin period of P=12 ms and a magnetic field of B=1.1 x 10^15 G, which are commensurate with those found for proposed magnetar central engines of other long-duration GRBs.

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Emission line variability in the spectrum of V417 Centauri

We report high resolution spectral observations of the yellow symbiotic star V417 Cen obtained in 2004. We find that the equivalent widths of the emission lines decreased, while the brightness increased. The FWHMs and wavelengths of the emission lines do not change. We estimated the interstellar extinction towards V417 Cen as $E_{B-V}$ = 0.95 $\pm$0.10, using the KI interstellar line. Using the [O III] lines, we obtain a rough estimation of the density and the temperature in the forbidden lines region $\log N_e \approx 4.5 \pm$ 0.5 and $T_e=100000 \pm 25000$~K. Tidal interaction in this binary is also discussed.

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Phenomenology of Reverse-Shock Emission in the Optical Afterglows of Gamma Ray Bursts

We use a parent sample of 118 gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglows, with known redshift and host galaxy extinction, to separate afterglows with and without signatures of dominant reverse-shock emission and to determine which physical conditions lead to a prominent reverse-shock emission. We identify 10 GRBs with reverse shock signatures - GRBs 990123, 021004, 021211, 060908, 061126, 080319B, 081007, 090102, 090424 and 130427A. By modeling their optical afterglows with reverse and forward shock analytic light curves and using Monte Carlo simulations, we estimate the parameter space of the physical quantities describing the ejecta and circumburst medium. We find that physical properties cover a wide parameter space and do not seem to cluster around any preferential values. Comparing the rest-frame optical, X-ray and high-energy properties of the larger sample of non-RS-dominated GRBs, we show that the early-time ($<$ 1ks) optical spectral luminosity, X-ray afterglow luminosity and $γ$-ray energy output of our reverse-shock dominated sample do not differ significantly from the general population at early times. However, the GRBs with dominant reverse shock emission have fainter than average optical forward-shock emission at late time ($>$ 10 ks). We find that GRBs with an identifiable reverse shock component show high magnetization parameter $R_{\mathrm{B}} = \varepsilon_{\rm B,r}/\varepsilon_{\rm B,f} \sim 2 - 10^4$. Our results are in agreement with the mildly magnetized baryonic jet model of GRBs.

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