arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Davide Lazzati.
This contribution summarizes, as of early 2008, the observational and theoretical understanding of the origin, physics, and emission properties of short gamma-ray bursts in both electromagnetic and gravitational waves.
The degree and the temporal evolution of linear polarization in the prompt and afterglow emission of gamma-ray bursts is a very robust diagnostic of some key features of gamma-ray bursts jets and their micro and macro physics. In this contribution, I review the current status of the theory of polarized emission from GRB jets during the prompt, optical flash, and afterglow emission. I compare the theoretical predictions to the available observations and discuss the future prospect from both the theoretical and observational standpoints.
We numerically analyze the evolution of a long-duration gamma-ray burst jet as it leaves the progenitor star and propagates to the photospheric radius, where radiation can be released. We find that the interaction of the relativistic material with the progenitor star has influences well beyond the stellar surface. Tangential collimation shocks are observed throughout the jet evolution, out to about 100 stellar radii, which is the whole range of our simulation. We find that the jet is internally hot at the photospheric radius and we compute the photospheric emission. The photosphere is a very efficient radiator, capable of converting more than half of the total energy of the jet into radiation. We show that bright photospheres are a common feature of jets born inside massive progenitor stars and that this effect can explain the high radiative efficiency observed in long-duration bursts.
We study the polarization properties of the prompt emission of gamma-ray bursts produced by fragmented fireballs. Such fireballs, known in the literature under various names, are made by the superposition of many individual blobs, each of which produces a spike in the light curve. The differences between pulses are due both to the intrinsic diversity in the blobs' properties and to their orientation with respect to the line of sight. We show that the peak flux and the polarization of each pulse are connected through the orientation of the blob that produces the pulse, while the position angle fluctuates randomly from one pulse to the next and is constant within an individual pulse. The most polarized pulses are those with approximately one tenth the peak flux of the brightest pulse. These conclusions do not depend on the assumed radiation mechanism nor on the energy and Lorentz factor of the blobs. We compare the prediction of this model to a simulated set of observations, showing that a limited sample of GRBs with time-resolved polarization measurements would provide a crucial test for this model. We finally show that a hint of the predicted correlation may have been already observed.
We consider radiation emitted by the jitter mechanism in a Blandford-McKee self-similar blastwave. We assume the magnetic field configuration throughout the whole blastwave meets the condition for the emission of jitter radiation and we compute the ensuing images, light curves and spectra. The calculations are performed for both a uniform and a wind environment. We compare our jitter results to synchrotron results. We show that jitter radiation produces slightly different spectra than synchrotron, in particular between the self-absorption and the peak frequency, where the jitter spectrum is flat, while the synchrotron spectrum grows as ν^{1/3}. The spectral difference is reflected in the early decay slope of the light curves. We conclude that jitter and synchrotron afterglows can be distinguished from each other with good quality observations. However, it is unlikely that the difference can explain the peculiar behavior of several recent observations, such as flat X-ray slopes and uncorrelated optical and X-ray behavior.
We compute the average luminosity of X-ray flares as a function of time, for a sample of 10 long-duration gamma-ray burst afterglows. The mean luminosity, averaged over a timescale longer than the duration of the individual flares, declines as a power-law in time with index ~-1.5. We elaborate on the properties of the central engine that can produce such a decline. Assuming that the engine is an accreting compact object, and for a standard conversion factor between accretion rate and jet luminosity, the switch between a neutrino-cooled thin disk and a non-cooled thick disk takes place at the transition from the prompt to the flaring phase. We discuss the implications of this coincidence under different scenarios for the powering of the GRB outflow. We also show that the interaction of the outflow with the envelope of the progenitor star cannot produce flares out of a continuous relativistic flow, and conclude that it is the dynamics of the disk or the jet-launching mechanism that generates an intrinsically unsteady outflow on timescales much longer than the dynamical timescale of the system. This is consistent with the fact that X-ray flares are observed in short-duration GRBs as well as in long-duration ones.
Flares overlaid on the smooth power-law decay of Swift X-ray afterglows are rather common, appearing in roughly half the observed light curves. They are a manifestation of the late time activity of the inner engine, since their temporal evolution is too fast to be linked to activity taking place in the external shock blastwave. In this paper we show that the energy emitted in the form of flares decreases with time as a power-law. We discuss several possibilities in which the flares can be powered and the source of the observed variability. We show that late time accretion from a disk can provide the necessary energy input in both classes of short duration and long duration gamma-ray bursts.
We present a proof-of-concept study that dust extinction curves can be extracted from the infrared (IR), optical, ultraviolet (UV) and X-ray afterglow observations of GRBs without assuming known extinction laws. We focus on GRB 050525A (z = 0.606), for which we also present IR observations from the Spitzer Space Telescope at about 2.3 days post-burst. We construct the spectral energy distribution (SED) of the afterglow and use it to derive the dust extinction curve of the host galaxy in 7 optical/UV wavebands. By comparing our derived extinction curve to known templates, we see that the Galactic or Milky Way extinction laws are disfavored versus the Small and Large Magellanic Cloud (SMC and LMC) ones, but that we cannot rule out the presence of a LMC-like 2175 angstrom bump in our extinction curve. The dust-to-gas ratio present within the host galaxy of GRB 050525A is similar to that found in the LMC, while about 10 to 40% more dust is required if the SMC template is assumed. Our method is useful to observatories that are capable of simultaneously observing GRB afterglows in multiple wavebands from the IR to the X-ray.
Relativistic electrons moving into a highly tangled magnetic field emit jitter radiation. We present a detailed computation of the jitter radiation spectrum, including self-absorption, for electrons inside Weibel-like shock generated magnetic fields. We apply our results to the case of the prompt and afterglow emission of gamma-ray bursts. We show that jitter emission can reproduce most of the observed features with some important differences with respect to standard synchrotron, especially in the frequency range between the self-absorption and the peak frequency. We discuss the similarities and differences between jitter and synchrotron and discuss experiments that can disentangle the two mechanisms.
We use the kinetic theory of nucleation to explore the properties of dust nucleation in sub-saturated vapors. Due to radiation losses, the sub-critical clusters have a smaller temperature compared to their vapor. This alters the dynamical balance between attachment and detachment of monomers, allowing for stable nucleation of grains in vapors that are sub-saturated for their temperature. We find this effect particularly important at low densities and in the absence of a strong background radiation field. We find new conditions for stable nucleation in the n-T phase diagram. The nucleation in the non-LTE regions is likely to be at much slower rate than in the super-saturated vapors. We evaluate the nucleation rate, warning the reader that it does depend on poorly substantiated properties of the macro-molecules assumed in the computation. On the other hand, the conditions for nucleation depend only on the properties of the large stable grains and are more robust. We finally point out that this mechanism may be relevant in the early universe as an initial dust pollution mechanism, since once the interstellar medium is polluted with dust, mantle growth is likely to be dominant over non-LTE nucleation in the diffuse medium.
We study the long-term evolution of relativistic jets in collapsars and examine the effects of viewing angle on the subsequent gamma ray bursts. We carry out a series of high-resolution simulations of a jet propagating through a stellar envelope in 2D cylindrical coordinates using the FLASH relativistic hydrodynamics module. For the first time, simulations are carried out using an adaptive mesh that allows for a large dynamic range inside the star while still being efficient enough to follow the evolution of the jet long after it breaks out from the star. Our simulations allow us to single out three phases in the jet evolution: a precursor phase in which relativistic material turbulently shed from the head of the jet first emerges from the star, a shocked jet phase where a fully shocked jet of material is emerging, and an unshocked jet phase where the jet consists of a free-streaming, unshocked core surrounded by a thin boundary layer of shocked jet material. The appearance of these phases will be different to observers at different angles. The precursor has a wide opening angle and would be visible far off axis. The shocked phase has a relatively narrow opening angle that is constant in time. During the unshocked jet phase the opening angle increases logarithmically with time. As a consequence, some observers see prolonged dead times of emission even for constant properties of the jet injected in the stellar core. We also present an analytic model that is able to reproduce the overall properties of the jet and its evolution. We finally discuss the observational implications of our results, emphasizing the possible ways to test progenitor models through the effects of jet propagation in the star. In an appendix, we present 1D and 2D tests of the FLASH relativistic hydrodynamics module.
The standard model of GRB afterglows assumes that the radiation observed as a delayed emission is of synchrotron origin, which requires the shock magnetic field to be relatively homogeneous on small scales. An alternative mechanism -- jitter radiation, which traditionally has been applied to the prompt emission -- substitutes synchrotron when the magnetic field is tangled on a microscopic scale. Such fields are produced at relativistic shocks by the Weibel instability. Here we explore the possibility that small-scale fields populate afterglow shocks. We derive the spectrum of jitter radiation under the afterglow conditions. We also derive the afterglow lightcurves for the ISM and Wind profiles of the ambient density. Jitter self-absorption is calculated here for the first time. We find that jitter radiation can produce afterglows similar to synchrotron-generated ones, but with some important differences. We compare the predictions of the two emission mechanisms. By fitting observational data to the synchrotron and jitter afterglow lightcurves, it can be possible to discriminate between the small-scale vs large-scale magnetic field models in afterglow shocks.
Long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are likely associated with the collapse of massive stars, which produce dust and are born in dusty environments. Absorption and scattering of ultraviolet/X-ray photons from the prompt, optical flash and afterglow emission of the GRB produce dust echoes. We perform time-dependent calculations of these echoes, accounting for the evolution of the dust grain distribution due to selective grain destruction by the GRB radiation, and for off-axis beaming. We explore cloud configurations of differing density and size -- the echo light curve and spectrum depend on the cloud radius, with larger clouds peaking at longer wavelengths. For a region ~ 3 pc in size with hydrogen density ~ 1000 per cubic centimeter, the echo spectrum peaks at ~ 3.6 microns and ~ 8.8 eV for thermal and scattered components, respectively. Dust echoes should be detectable with the Very Large Telescope up to z ~ 0.1, IRAC onboard the Spitzer Space Telescope up to z ~ 0.2, and NICMOS onboard the Hubble Space Telescope up to z ~ 0.3. Furthermore, the shape of the echo light curve allows one to infer: the jet opening angle; the inclination of the jet axis with respect to the line of sight; the size of the dust-emitting region. For sources with symmetric, bipolar jets, dust echoes exhibit two bumps in the light curve, making them easily distinguishable from the rebrightening due to an underlying supernova.
It is now generally accepted that long gamma-ray bursts are associated with the final evolutionary stages of massive stars. As a consequence, their jets must propagate through the stellar progenitor and break out on their surface, before they can reach the photospheric radius and produce the gamma-ray photons. We investigate the role of the progenitor star in shaping the jet properties. We show that even a jet powered by a steady engine can develop a rich phenomenology at the stellar surface. We present special-relativistic simulations and compare the results to analytic considerations. We show that the jet is complex in the time as well as in the angular domain, so that observers located along different lines of sight detect significantly different bursts.
The detection of bright X-ray flares superimposed on the regular afterglow decay in Swift gamma-ray bursts has triggered theoretical speculations on their origin. We study the temporal properties of flares due to internal dissipation and external shock mechanisms. We first show that at least a sizable fraction of the flares cannot be related to external shock mechanisms, since external shock flares evolve on much longer time scales than observed. We then study flares from internal dissipation, showing that the temporal properties allow us to distinguish the emission of slow early shells from that of late faster shells. We show that, due to the rapid evolution of the detected flares, it is most likely that the flares are produced by relatively fast shells ejected by the central engine shortly before they are observed. This implies that the central engine must be active for, in some cases, as long as one day. We finally discuss the constraints and implications that this observation has on the properties and physics of the inner engine, and we elaborate on possible future observational tests on the flare sample to further understand their origin and physics.
The detection of supernova features in the late spectra of several gamma-ray burst afterglows has shown that at least a fraction of long-duration gamma-ray bursts are associated to the final evolutionary stages of massive stars. Such direct observations are impossible for bursts located at redshift beyond z~0.5 and different methods must be used to understand the nature and properties of their progenitors. We review the observational evidence for two particular bursts, for which high quality data are available: GRB 021004 (at z=2.323) and the record redshift GRB 050904 (at z=6.29). We show that both GRBs are likely to be associated to very massive stars, and that in both cases the progenitor stars were able to modify their immediate environments with their radiative and mechanic (wind) luminosity.
The association of at least some long gamma-ray bursts with type Ic supernova explosions has been established beyond reasonable doubt. Theoretically, the challenge is to explain the presence of a light hyper-relativistic flow propagating through a massive stellar core without losing those properties. We discuss the role of the jet-star interaction in shaping the properties of the outflow emerging on the surface of the star. We show that the nature of the inner engine is hidden from the observer for most of the evolution, well beyond the time of the jet breakout on the stellar surface. The discussion is based on analytical considerations as well as high resolution numerical simulations. Finally, the observational consequences of the scenario are addressed in light of the present capabilities.
Synchrotron is considered the dominant emission mechanism in the production of gamma-ray burst photons in the prompt as well as in the afterglow phase. Polarization is a characteristic feature of synchrotron and its study can reveal a wealth of information on the properties of the magnetic field and of the energy distribution in gamma-ray burst jets. In this paper I will review the theory and observations of gamma-ray bursts polarization. While the theory is well established, observations have prove difficult to perform, due to the weakness of the signal. The discriminating power of polarization observations, however, cannot be overestimated.