arXiv subjects

C. Lundman

Publications and source records attributed to C. Lundman.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2018

Science prospects for SPHiNX - a small satellite GRB polarimetry mission

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are exceptionally bright electromagnetic events occurring daily on the sky. The prompt emission is dominated by X-/$γ$-rays. Since their discovery over 50 years ago, GRBs are primarily studied through spectral and temporal measurements. The properties of the emission jets and underlying processes are not well understood. A promising way forward is the development of missions capable of characterising the linear polarisation of the high-energy emission. For this reason, the SPHiNX mission has been developed for a small-satellite platform. The polarisation properties of incident high-energy radiation (50-600 keV) are determined by reconstructing Compton scattering interactions in a segmented array of plastic and Gd$_3$Al$_2$Ga$_3$O$_{12}$(Ce) (GAGG(Ce)) scintillators. During a two-year mission, $\sim$200 GRBs will be observed, with $\sim$50 yielding measurements where the polarisation fraction is determined with a relative error $\leq$10%. This is a significant improvement compared to contemporary missions. This performance, combined with the ability to reconstruct GRB localisation and spectral properties, will allow discrimination between leading classes of emission models.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2015

Extremely narrow spectrum of GRB110920A: further evidence for localised, subphotospheric dissipation

Much evidence points towards that the photosphere in the relativistic outflow in GRBs plays an important role in shaping the observed MeV spectrum. However, it is unclear whether the spectrum is fully produced by the photosphere or whether a substantial part of the spectrum is added by processes far above the photosphere. Here we make a detailed study of the $γ-$ray emission from single pulse GRB110920A which has a spectrum that becomes extremely narrow towards the end of the burst. We show that the emission can be interpreted as Comptonisation of thermal photons by cold electrons in an unmagnetised outflow at an optical depth of $τ\sim 20$. The electrons receive their energy by a local dissipation occurring close to the saturation radius. The main spectral component of GRB110920A and its evolution is thus, in this interpretation, fully explained by the emission from the photosphere including localised dissipation at high optical depths.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2011

Subphotospheric heating in GRBs: analysis and modeling of GRB090902B as observed by Fermi

We analyze the spectral evolution of GRB 090902B and show that subphotospheric dissipation can explain both the spectra and the spectral evolution. The emission from a GRB photosphere can give rise to a variety of spectral shapes. The spectrum can have a shape close to that of a Planck function (as is observed during the first half of GRB090902B) or be broadened, resembling a typical Band function (as is observed during the second half of GRB090902B). The shape mainly depends on the strength and location of the dissipation in the jet, the ratio of the energy densities of thermal photons and of the electrons at the dissipation site, as well as on the strength of the magnetic field. We further discuss numerical models of the dissipation and relate these to the observed spectra.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2011

Spectral components in the bright, long GRB 061007: properties of the photosphere and the nature of the outflow

We present a time-resolved spectral analysis of the bright, long GRB 061007 (z=1.261) using Swift BAT and Suzaku WAM data. We find that the prompt emission of GRB 061007 can be equally well explained by a photospheric component together with a power law as by a Band function, and we explore the implications of the former model. The photospheric component, which we model with a multicolour blackbody, dominates the emission and has a very stable shape throughout the burst. This component provides a natural explanation for the hardness-intensity correlation seen within the burst and also allows us to estimate the bulk Lorentz factor and the radius of the photosphere. The power-law component dominates the fit at high energies and has a nearly constant slope of -1.5. We discuss the possibility that this component is of the same origin as the high-energy power laws recently observed in some Fermi LAT bursts.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2009

Identification and properties of the photospheric emission in GRB090902B

The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope observed the bright and long GRB090902B, lying at a redshift of z = 1.822. Together the Large Area Telescope (LAT) and the Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) cover the spectral range from 8 keV to >300 GeV is covered. Here we show that the prompt burst spectrum is consistent with emission from the jet photosphere combined with non-thermal emission described by a single power-law with photon index -1.9. The photosphere gives rise to a strong quasi-blackbody spectrum which is somewhat broader than a single Planck function and has a characteristic temperature of ~290keV. We derive the photospheric radius Rph = (1.1 \pm 0.3) x 10^12 Y^{1/4} cm and the bulk Lorentz factor of the flow, which is found to vary by a factor of two and has a maximal value of Gamma = 750 Y^{1/4}. Here Y is the ratio between the total fireball energy and the energy emitted in the gamma-rays. We find that during the first quarter of the prompt phase the photospheric emission dominates, which explains the delayed onset of the observed flux in the LAT compared to the GBM. We model the photospheric emission with a multi-color blackbody and its shape indicates that the photospheric radius increases at higher latitudes. We interpret the broad band emission as synchrotron emission at R ~ 4x10^15 cm. Our analysis emphasize the importance of having high temporal resolution when performing spectral analysis on GRBs, since there is strong spectral evolution.

astro-ph.HE↗