Li-Tao Zhao | Searcharxiv

arXiv2021

Searching for gravitationally lensed gamma-ray bursts with their afterglows

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) at high redshifts are expected to be gravitationally lensed by objects of different mass scales. Besides a single recent claim, no lensed GRB has been detected so far by using the gamma-ray data only. In this paper, we suggest that the multi-band afterglow data might be an efficient way to search for lensed GRB events. Using the standard afterglow model we calculate the characteristics of the lensed afterglow lightcurves under the assumption of two popular analytic lens models: point mass and Singular Isothermal Sphere (SIS) model. In particular, when different lensed images cannot be resolved, their signals would be superimposed together with a given time delay. In this case, the X-ray afterglows are likely to contain several X-ray flares of similar width in linear scale and similar spectrum, and the optical afterglow lightcurve will show rebrightening signatures. Since the lightcurves from the image arriving later would be compressed and deformed in the logarithmic time scale, the larger time delay (i.e. the larger mass of the lens), the easier is to identify the lensing effect. We analyzed the archival data of optical afterglows and found one potential candidate of the lensed GRB (130831A) with time delay $\sim$500 s, however, observations of this event in gamma-ray and X-ray band seem not to support the lensing hypothesis. In the future, with the cooperation of the all-sky monitoring gamma-ray detectors and multi-band sky survey projects, our method proposed in this paper would be more efficient in searching for strongly lensed GRBs.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2020

Special supernova signature from BH-NS/BH progenitor systems

The gravitational-wave detection by the LIGO-Virgo scientific collaboration shows that the black hole and neutron star (BH-NS) or BH-BH systems with a BH mass of tens of solar masses widely exist in the universe. Two main types of scenarios have been invoked for the formation of BH-NS/BH systems, including isolated binary evolution in galactic fields and dynamical interactions in dense environments. Here we propose that if the BH-NS/BH systems are formed from isolated binary evolution, the supernova (SN) signal associated with the second core collapse would show some identifiable features, due to the accretion feedback from the companion BH. Depending on the binary properties, we show that the SN lightcurve could present a sharp peak around $\sim10$ days, with luminosity even at the level of the super luminous SNe ( e.g. $\sim10^{44}~\rm erg~s^{-1}$) or present a plateau feature lasting for several tens of days with regular luminosity of core collapse SNe. Comparing the event rate density of these special SN signals with the event rate density of LIGO-Virgo detected BH-NS/BH systems could help to distinguish the BH-NS/BH formation channel.

astro-ph.HE↗