arXiv subjects

A. Panaitescu

Publications and source records attributed to A. Panaitescu.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2005

The Energetics and Environment of the Short-GRB Afterglows 050709 and 050724

We use the available radio, optical and X-ray measurements for the afterglows of the short bursts 050709 and 050724 to constrain the blast-wave energy, its collimation and the density of the circumburst medium. For GRB 050709 (whose duration was 0.07 s), we identify two models: i) a high-density solution, where the ejecta are collimated in a jet of half-angle theta_{jet} > 6 deg and interact with a medium of particle density 10^{-4}/cc < n < 0.1/cc, and ii) a low-density solution with theta_{jet} > 2 deg and n < 10^{-5}/cc. These density ranges are compatible with those expected in the vicinity of the host galaxy and in the intergalactic medium, lending support to the hypothesis that the progenitor of GRB 050907 is a NS-NS or NS-BH merger. For GRB 050724 (which last 3 s), we obtain 0.1/cc < n < 1000/cc and theta_{jet} > 8 deg. The range of allowed densities shows that this burst occurred in the intragalactic environment. The dynamical parameters of the high-density model for the GRB afterglow 050709 are similar to those for 050724. If these parameters are representative for short-GRB outflows, then these jets are less collimated and have a lower kinetic energy than those of long bursts, which suggests that GRB jets are not magnetically collimated and are powered by the gravitational energy of the torus. Evidently, the analysis of more short-GRB afterglows is required for a more robust conclusion.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2005

Jets, Structured Outflows, and Energy Injection in GRB Afterglows: Numerical Modelling

We investigate numerically the ability of three models (jet, structured outflow, energy injection) to accommodate the optical light-curve breaks observed in 10 GRB afterglows (980519, 990123, 990510, 991216, 000301c, 000926, 010222, 011211, 020813, and 030226), and the relative intensities of the radio, optical, and X-ray emissions of these afterglows. We find that the jet and structured outflow models fare much better than the energy injection model in accommodating the multiwavelength data of the above 10 afterglows. For the first two models, a uniform circumburst medium provides a better fit to the optical light-curve break than a wind-like medium with a r^{-2} stratification. However, in the only two cases where the energy injection model may be at work, a wind medium is favoured (an energy injection is also possible in a third case, the afterglow 970508, whose optical emission exhibited a sharp rise but not a steepening decay). The best fit parameters obtained with the jet model indicate an outflow energy of 2-6 E50 ergs and a jet opening of 2-3 degrees. Structured outflows with a quasi-uniform core have a core angular size of 0.7-1.0 degrees and an energy per solid angle of 0.5-3 E53 erg/sr, surrounded by an envelope where this energy falls-off roughly as theta^{-2} with angle from the outflow axis, requiring thus the same energy budget as jets. Circumburst densities are found to be typically in the range 0.1-1 per cc, for either model. We also find that the reverse shock emission resulting from the injection of ejecta into the decelerating blast wave at about 1 day after the burst can explain the slowly decaying radio light-curves observed for the afterglows 990123, 991216, and 010222.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2005

Models for Achromatic Light-Curve Breaks in GRB Afterglows: Jets, Structured Outflows, and Energy Injection

The steepening (break) of the power-law fall-off observed in the optical emission of some GRB afterglows at epoch ~1 day is often attributed to a collimated outflow (jet), undergoing lateral spreading. Wider opening GRB ejecta with a non-uniform energy angular distribution (structured outflows) or the cessation of energy injection in the afterglow can also yield light-curve breaks. We determine the optical and X-ray light-curve decay indices and spectral energy distribution slopes for 10 GRB afterglows with optical light-curve breaks (980519, 990123, 990510, 991216, 000301, 000926, 010222, 011211, 020813, 030226), and use these properties to test the above models for light-curve steepening. It is found that the optical breaks of six of these afterglows can be accommodated by either energy injection or by structured outflows. In the refreshed shock model, a wind-like stratification of the circumburst medium (as expected for massive stars as GRB progenitors) is slightly favoured. A spreading jet interacting with a homogeneous circumburst medium is required by the afterglows 990510, 000301, 011211, and 030226. The optical pre- and post-break decays of these four afterglows are incompatible with a wind-like medium. The current sample of 10 afterglows with breaks suggests that the distribution of the break magnitude (defined as the increase of the afterglow decay exponent) is bimodal, with a gap at 1. If true, this bimodality favours the structured outflow model, while the gap location indicates a homogeneous circumburst environment.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2004

Prompt Gamma-ray and Early Afterglow Emission in the External Shock Model

We describe our attempt to determine if gamma-ray burst (GRB) and afterglow emissions could both arise in external shocks for simple GRBs--bursts consisting of just a few peaks in their lightcurves. We calculate peak flux and peak frequency during the gamma-ray burst for ten well observed bursts using the same set of parameters that are determined from modeling afterglow emissions. We find the gamma-ray emission properties for 970508 (which had a single peak lightcurve) fit nicely with the extrapolation of its afterglow data, and therefore this burst was likely produced in the external shock. One can explain two other bursts in this sample as forward shock synchrotron emission provided that the magnetic field parameter during the burst is close to equipartition, and larger by a factor of 100 than the afterglow value at ~1 day. The remaining seven bursts cannot be explained in the external shock model even if we allow the energy fraction in electrons and magnetic field and the density of the surrounding medium to take on any physically permitted value; the peak of the spectrum is above the cooling frequency, therefore the peak flux is independent of the latter of these two parameters, and is too small by about an order of magnitude than the observed values. We have also considered inverse-Compton scattering in forward and reverse shock regions and find that it can explain the gamma-ray emission for a few bursts, but requires the density to be 1--2 orders of magnitude larger than a typical Wolf-Rayet star wind and much larger than permitted by late afterglow observations. [Abridged]

astro-ph↗

arXiv2004

Analysis of Two Scenarios for the Early Optical Emission of the GRB Afterglows 990123 and 021211

The optical light-curves of GRB afterglows 990123 and 021211 exhibit a steep decay at 100--600 seconds after the burst, the decay becoming slower after about 10 minutes. We investigate two scenarios for the fast decaying early optical emission of these GRB afterglows. In the reverse-forward shock scenario, this emission arises in the reverse shock crossing the GRB ejecta, the mitigation of the light-curve decay occurring when the forward shock emission overtakes that from the reverse shock. Both a homogeneous and wind-like circumburst medium are considered. In the wind-bubble scenario, the steeply decaying, early optical emission arises from the forward shock interacting with a 1/r^2 bubble, with a negligible contribution from the reverse shock, the slower decay starting when the blast wave reaches the bubble termination shock and enters a homogeneous region of the circumburst medium. We determine the shock microphysical parameters, ejecta kinetic energy, and circumburst density which accommodate the radio and optical measurements of the GRB afterglows 990123 and 021211. We find that, for a homogeneous medium, the radio and optical emissions of the afterglow 990123 can be accommodated by the reverse-forward shock scenario if the microphysical parameters behind the two shocks differ substantially. A wind-like circumburst medium also allows the reverse-forward shocks scenario to account for the radio and optical properties of the afterglows 990123 and 021211, but the required wind densities are at least 10 times smaller than those of Galactic Wolf-Rayet stars. The wind-bubble scenario requires a variation of the microphysical parameters when the afterglow fireball reaches the wind termination shock, which seems a contrived feature.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2004

On the Shallow Decay of Some GRB Afterglows

Half of the radio afterglows for which there is a good temporal coverage exhibit after 10 days from the burst a decay which is shallower than at optical frequencies, contrary to what is expected within the simplest form of the standard model of relativistic fireballs or jets. We investigate possible ways to decouple the radio and optical decays. First, the radio and optical emissions are assumed to arise from the same electron population and we allow for either a time-varying slope of the power-law distribution of electron energy or for time-varying microphysical parameters. Then we consider two scenarios where the radio and optical emissions arise in distinct parts of the GRB outflow, either because the outflow has an angular structure or because there is a long-lived reverse shock. We find that the only the last scenario is compatible with the observations.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2004

The Slow Decay of Some Radio Afterglows, a Puzzle for the Simplest GRB Fireball Model

Abridged: The decay of half of the GRB radio afterglows with long temporal monitoring is significantly slower than at optical frequencies, contrary to what is expected in the simplest fireball model. We investigate four ways to decouple the radio and optical decays: an evolving index of the power-law distribution of the shock-accelerated electrons, the presence of a spectral break between the two domains, a structured outflow, and a long-lived reverse shock contribution to the afterglow emission. [...] In the fourth scenario, it is assumed that the radio afterglow emission arises in the reverse shock propagating in a steady stream of ejecta, which catch up with the decelerating GRB remnant. This scenario can accommodate the properties of the afterglows with slow radio decays and requires that the injected energy is less than or comparable to the initial fireball energy, while other afterglow parameters have reasonable values. For a jet, the transition to a semi-relativistic motion mitigates the radio decay, however this scenario would work only when the slower radio decay is observed well after the steeper optical fall-off. A structured outflow with a relativistic core, yielding a fast decaying optical emission, and a non-relativistic envelope, producing a slowly falling-off radio afterglow, is not a viable solution, as it fails to decouple the radio and optical decays.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2003

Creation of Electron--Positron Wind in Gamma-Ray Bursts and Its Effect on the Early Afterglow Emission

We calculate the creation of electron--positron pairs in Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) resulting from the collision between scattered and outward moving gamma-ray photons. The number of pairs exceeds the number of ambient medium electrons encountered by the GRB ejecta up to ~ 10^{16} cm from the center of explosion. The shock resulting from the interaction of the ejecta with the pair-wind may brighten the afterglow synchrotron emission during the first few minutes. Even without this effect, the peak intensity of the optical afterglow increases with the density of the surrounding medium. Therefore, observations of the optical flux at early times constrain the density of the circumburst medium. If the electron and magnetic field energies behind the forward shock sweeping-up the pair-wind and the circumburst medium are as inferred from fits to the broadband afterglow emission at 0.5-100 days, then the current upper limits on the optical counterpart emission, set by the ROTSE and LOTIS experiments, indicate that the circumburst medium within 0.01 pc is less dense than 100 cm^{-3} or, if a wind, corresponds to a progenitor mass-loss to wind speed ratio below 10^{-6} M_sun/yr/(1000 km/s).

astro-ph↗

arXiv2003

The Effect of Angular Structure of Gamma-Ray Burst Outflows on the Afterglow Emission

We investigate analytically the effect of an anisotropic distribution of the kinetic energy within a relativistic fireball on the decay of the afterglow emission, focusing on axially symmetric fireballs with a uniform core and a power-law decrease with angle outside the core. The afterglow fall-off steepens after the core becomes fully visible. For observer directions within the core, simple formulae are derived for the afterglow decay after the break, while for off-core observers results are shown graphically. Some criteria for assessing from observations the necessity of an angular structure and/or collimation are given. Applying them to several afterglows with light-curve breaks, we find that jets endowed with structure are required only if the circumburst medium has a wind-like (r^{-2}) stratification. Numerical fits to the multiwavelength emission of the afterglows 990510 and 000301c show that, for the former, the angular distribution of the ejecta kinetic energy is not far from uniformity, and that, with a standard power-law electron distribution, the sharp steepening of the R-band light-curve of the latter is better accommodated by a structured jet than an uniform outflow. Structured outflows may accommodate the shallower light-curve breaks observed in other afterglows.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2003

GRB 021004: a Massive Progenitor Star Surrounded by Shells

We present spectra of the optical transient of GRB021004 obtained with the Hobby-Eberly telescope starting 15.48, 20.31 hours, and 4.84 days after the burst and a spectrum obtained with the H. J. Smith 2.7 m Telescope starting 14.31 hours after the burst. GRB021004 is the first afterglow whose spectrum is dominated by absorption lines from high ionization species with multiple velocity components separated by up to 3000 km/s. We argue that these lines are likely to come from shells around a massive progenitor star. The high velocities and high ionizations arise from a combination of acceleration and flash-ionization by the burst photons and the wind velocity and steady ionization by the progenitor. We also analyze the broad-band spectrum and the light curve. We distinguish six components along the line of sight: (1) The z~2.293 absorption lines arise from the wind of a massive star. For a mass loss rate of ~6 x 10^{-5} solar masses per year, this component also provides the external medium to create the afterglow light. (2) A second shell produces absorption lines with a relative velocity of 560 km/s, and this is associated with the shell created by the fast massive star wind blowing a bubble in the preceding slow wind at a radial distance of order 10 pc. (3) More distant clouds within the host galaxy lie between 30-2500 pc, where they have been ionized by the burst. (4-6) The massive star wind has clumps with radii and over-densities of 0.022, 0.063, and 0.12 parsecs and 50%, 10%, and 10% respectively. The immediate progenitor of the burster could either be a WC-type Wolf-Rayet star or a highly evolved star whose original mass was just too small for it to become a WN-type Wolf-Rayet star.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2002

Off-Axis Afterglow Emission from Jetted Gamma-Ray Bursts

We calculate Gamma-Ray Burst afterglow light-curves from a relativistic jet of initial opening angle theta_0, as seen by observers at a wide range of viewing angles, theta_obs, from the jet axis. We describe three increasingly more realistic models and compare the resulting light-curves. An observer at theta_obs < theta_0 should see a light curve very similar to that for an on-axis observer. An observer at theta_obs > theta_0 should see a rising light curve at early times, the flux peaking when the jet Lorentz factor sim 1/theta_obs. After this time the flux is not very different from that seen by an on-axis observer. A strong linear polarization (<40%) may occur near the peak in the light curve, and slowly decay with time. We show that if GRB jets have a universal energy, then orphan afterglows associated with off-axis jets should be seen up to a constant theta_obs, therefore the detection rate of orphan afterglows would be proportional to the true GRB rate. We also discuss the proposed connection between supernova 1998bw and GRB 980425.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2002

Properties of Relativistic Jets in Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglows

We extend our calculation of physical parameters of GRB jets by modeling the broadband emission of the afterglows 970508, 980519, 991208, 000926, 000418, and 010222. Together with 990123, 990510, 991216, and 000301c, there are ten well-observed afterglows for which the initial opening angle of the GRB jet can be constrained. The jet energies (after the GRB phase) obtained for this set of afterglows are within one decade around 5E50erg. With the exception of 000418, which requires a jet wider than 1/2 radians, the jet initial half-angle in the other cases ranges from 2 deg to 20 deg. We find that, in half of the cases, a homogeneous ambient medium accommodates the afterglow emission better than the wind-like 1/r^2 profile medium expected around massive stars. The two types of media give fits of comparable quality in four cases, a wind medium providing a better description only for 970508. The circumburst densities we obtain are in the 0.1-100 per cc range, with the exception of 990123, for which it is below 0.01 per cc. If in all ten cases the observed GRB durations are a good measure of the ejecta deceleration timescale, then the parameters obtained here lead to jet initial bulk Lorentz factors between 70 and 300, anticorrelated with the jet initial aperture, and jet masses around 1E-6 M_sun. Our results on the jet energy, opening Lorentz factor, and evacuation of material until break-out provide constraints on theoretical models of GRB jets.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2001

Fundamental Physical Parameters of Collimated Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglows

We determine the basic physical characteristics of eight Gamma-Ray Bursts -- 980519, 990123, 990510, 991028, 991216, 000301c, 000926 and 010222 -- by modelling the broadband emission of their afterglows. We find that the burst kinetic energies after the GRB phase are well clustered around a mean value of 3E50 ergs. In contrast, the energy release in gamma-rays, after correcting for collimated explosion, varies among bursts by more than an order of magnitude. The jet initial apertures are the 2-14 degree range, mildly correlated with the energy, half of the jets being narrower than ~3 deg. This implies that, within 100 Mpc, there are about 10 GRB remnants (expanding at ~0.1c) which can be resolved with VLBA. For all eight afterglows the total energy in the shock-accelerated electrons is close to equipartition with protons. However the slope of the power-law electron distribution is not universal, varying between 1.4 and 2.8. In at least half of the cases, the density structure of the medium is inconsistent with an r^{-2} profile. A homogeneous medium with density in the 0.1-50 per cc range can accommodate the broadband emission of all afterglows, with the exception of 990123, for which we find the density to be less than 0.01 per cc. If GRBs arise from the core collapse of massive stars, then such low densities indicate the existence of superbubbles created by the supernovae and winds within a cluster of massive stars.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2001

A Jet Model With a Hard Electron Distribution for the Afterglow of GRB 000301c

The parameters of the GRB 000301c afterglow are determined within the usual framework of synchrotron emission from relativistic ejecta, through fits to the available radio-to-optical data. It is found that 1) the jet energy after the GRB phase is ~3x10^{50} erg, 2) the initial opening angle of the jet is ~13 deg, 3) the medium that decelerates the afterglow has a density ~25/cm^3, 4) the power-law distribution of the shock-energized electrons is hard, with an index around 1.5, and 5) the cooling frequency was located below the optical domain. Furthermore we find that the collimation of ejecta alone cannot explain the sharp, large magnitude break observed in the R-band emission of this afterglow at few days, and that a high energy break in the electron distribution, corresponding to an electron energy close to equipartition, together with the lateral spreading of the jet accommodate better this break. Microlensing by a star in an intervening galaxy produces only a flattening of the afterglow emission and cannot explain the mild brightening exhibited by the optical emission of 000301c at ~4 days.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2001

Physical Parameters for the Afterglows of GRB 980703, 990123, 990510, and 991216 Determined from Modeling of Multi-Frequency Data

We model the radio, optical, and X-ray emission for the afterglows of GRB 980703, 990123, 990510, and 991216, within the framework of relativistic jets, to determine their physical parameters. The models that yield acceptable fits to the data have jet energies mostly between 10^{50} to 10^{51} erg and initial opening angles between 1 deg and 4 deg. The external medium density is uncertain by at least one order of magnitude in each case, being around 10^{-3}/cm^3 for GRB 980703 and 990123, ~0.1/cm^3 for GRB 990510, and ~3/cm^3 for GRB 991216. If the jets are uniform (i.e. there are no angular gradients of the energy per solid angle) then the 20 keV -- 1 MeV radiative efficiency during the GRB phase must have been at least 2-3% for GRB 990510, 20% for GRB 990123, and 30% for GRB 991216.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2000

Gamma-Ray Bursts from Up-Scattered Self-Absorbed Synchrotron Emission

We calculate the synchrotron self-Compton emission from internal shocks occurring in relativistic winds as a source of gamma-ray bursts, with allowance for self-absorption. For plausible model parameters most pulses within a Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) are optically thick to synchrotron self-absorption at the frequency at which most electrons radiate. Up-scattering of photon number spectra harder than $ν^0$ (such as the self-absorbed emission) yields inverse Compton photon number spectra that are flat, therefore our model has the potential of explaining the low-energy indices harder than $ν^{-2/3}$ (the optically thin synchrotron limit) that have been observed in some bursts. The optical counterparts of the model bursts are sufficiently bright to be detected by such experiments as LOTIS, unless the magnetic field is well below equipartition.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2000

Analytic Light-Curves of Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglows: Homogeneous versus Wind External Media

Assuming an adiabatic evolution of a Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) remnant interacting with an external medium, we calculate the injection, cooling, and absorption break frequencies, and the afterglow flux for plausible orderings of the break and observing frequencies. The analytical calculations are restricted to a relativistic remnant and, in the case of collimated ejecta, to the phase where there is an insignificant lateral expansion. Results are given for both a homogeneous external medium and for a wind ejected by the GRB progenitor. We compare the afterglow emission at different observing frequencies, for each type of external medium. It is found that observations at sub-millimeter frequencies during the first day provide the best way of discriminating between the two models. By taking into account the effect of inverse Compton scatterings on the electron cooling, a new possible time-dependence of the cooling break is identified. The signature of the up-scattering losses could be seen in the optical synchrotron emission from a GRB remnant interacting with a pre-ejected wind, as a temporary mild flattening of the afterglow decay. The up-scattered radiation itself should be detected in the soft X-ray emission from GRB remnants running into denser external media, starting few hours after the main event.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2000

Analysis of Temporal Features of Gamma Ray Bursts in the Internal Shock Model

In a recent paper we have calculated the power density spectrum of Gamma-Ray Bursts arising from multiple shocks in a relativistic wind. The wind optical thickness is one of the factors to which the power spectrum is most sensitive, therefore we have further developed our model by taking into account the photon down-scattering on the cold electrons in the wind. For an almost optically thick wind we identify a combination of ejection features and wind parameters that yield bursts with an average power spectrum in agreement with the observations, and with an efficiency of converting the wind kinetic energy in 50-300 keV emission of order 1%. For the same set of model features the interval time between peaks and pulse fluences have distributions consistent with the log-normal distribution observed in real bursts.

astro-ph↗