arXiv subjects

Shu-Qing Zhong

Publications and source records attributed to Shu-Qing Zhong.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

R-process nucleosynthesis from magnetar giant flares in neutron star--white dwarf mergers: A unified picture for peculiar long gamma-ray bursts

Peculiar long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), exemplified by GRBs 211211A and 230307A, exhibit a long-duration multi-component prompt emission, an X-ray plateau in their afterglow, and a kilonova signature. Their origin remains highly debated. In this work, we present a unified picture for these events based on neutron star--white dwarf (NS--WD) mergers involving a pre-merger magnetar and a massive WD. In this picture, tidal disruption of the WD forms a constant-entropy accretion disk. Hyperaccretion from this disk onto the NS during the early accretion phase amplifies its toroidal magnetic field to strengths sufficient to trigger repeated magnetar giant flares (GFs). The main burst (MB) of the prompt emission consists of a ``forest'' of initial spikes from these GFs, while the subsequent magnetic propeller phase generates the extended emission (EE) and naturally explains the observed MB--EE trough. Crucially, the $e^{\pm}$-$γ$ fireball associated with each GF initial spike shocks the NS crust, leading to crustal ejection that synthesizes r-process heavy elements via the $α$-rich freeze-out mechanism, thereby resolving the r-process deficit in conventional NS--WD hydrodynamic simulations. The ensemble of such fireballs over the MB duration collectively yields $M_{\rm ej}\gtrsim 10^{-5}-10^{-3}\,M_\odot$ of ejecta, sufficient to power the observed kilonova signature when further boosted by the spin-down of the post-merger magnetar. Meanwhile, the spin-down radiation also powers the X-ray plateau. This tidally disrupted NS--WD merger picture provides a self-consistent framework that unifies the prompt emission, afterglow, kilonova, and r-process nucleosynthesis observed in peculiar long GRBs.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

Is gamma-ray burst polarization from photosphere emission?

Context: Despite more than half a century of research, the dominant radiation mechanism of gamma-ray burst (GRB) prompt emission remains unsolved. Some progress has been made through the analyses of the observational spectra of Swift/BAT, Konus/Wind, and Fermi/GBM, as well as the spectra of the photosphere or synchrotron models, but it is still insufficient to pin down the answer. Aims: Combining the spectral and polarization observations, we seek new criteria for model evaluation. Methods: We thoughtfully investigate the polarization samples of POLAR and AstroSAT, combining the light curve, the spectral and the polarization parameters. Results: The power-law shape of the X-ray afterglows, the $T_{90} \propto (L_{\text{iso}})^{-0.5}$ correlation, and the hard low-energy spectral index $α$ are revealed, thus supporting the photosphere origin. Furthermore, we discover the positive correlation of the $α$ and the polarization degree (PD), which can be consistently explained by the photosphere polarization scenario involving the jet asymmetry from a moderate viewing angle of $θ_{v}$=0.015.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

Gravitational lensing of the wormhole in the Eddington-inspired Born-Infeld spacetime with a cosmic string

In this work we study gravitational lensing of the wormhole in the Eddington-inspired Born-Infeld (EiBI) spacetime that incorporates with a cosmic string. It was found that the presence of cosmic string can enhance the light deflection in strong field limit, compared to the case of the Eills-Bronnikov wormhole. The magnification effects of this composite structure could cause some substantial impacts on the angle separation between the first and the rest of the images, and their relative brightness. Furthermore, based on these observables, we model some observable aspects in the strong and the weak field limits. The presence of a cosmic string can affect some distinguishable observables compared to the wormhole without cosmic string. This work could deepen our understanding of the spacetime structure of the wormhole in EiBI spacetime with one-dimensional topological defects.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2025

Hydrogen-poor Superluminous Supernovae with Bumpy Light Curves Powered by Precessing Magnetars

Recent observations and statistical studies have revealed that a significant fraction of hydrogen-poor superluminous supernovae (SLSNe-I) exhibit light curves that deviate from the smooth evolution predicted by the magnetar-powered model, instead showing one or more bumps after the primary peak. However, the formation mechanisms of these post-peak bumps remain a matter of debate. Furthermore, previous studies employing the magnetar-powered model have typically assumed a fixed magnetic inclination angle and neglected the effects of magnetar precession. However, recent research has shown that the precession of newborn magnetars forming during the collapse of massive stars causes the magnetic inclination angle to evolve over time, thereby influencing magnetic dipole radiation. In this paper, therefore, we incorporate the effects of magnetar precession into the magnetar-powered model to develop the precessing magnetar-powered model. Using this model, we successfully reproduce the multi-band light curves of 6 selected representative SLSNe-I with post-peak bumps. Moreover, the derived model parameters fall within the typical parameter range for SLSNe-I. By combining the precessing magnetars in SLSNe-I and long GRBs, we find that the ellipticity of magnetars is related to the dipole magnetic field strength, which may suggest a common origin for the two phenomena. Our work provides a potential explanation for the origin of post-peak bumps in SLSNe-I and offers evidence for the early precession of newborn magnetars formed in supernova explosions.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2024

Observed Steep and Shallow Spectra, Narrow and Broadband Spectra, Multi-frequency Simultaneous Spectra, and Statistical Fringe Spectra in Fast Radio Bursts: Various Faces of Intrinsic Quasi-periodic Spectra?

In this paper, through analysis, modelings, and simulations, we show that if the spectra of fast radio bursts (FRBs) are intrinsically quasi-periodic spectra, likely produced by coherent curvature radiation from quasi-periodic structured bunches, then the observed steep and shallow spectra, narrow and broadband spectra, multi-frequency simultaneous spectra, as well as possible statistical fringe spectra in FRBs, could all be various manifestations of these intrinsically quasi-periodic spectra. If so, the period properties of the structured bunches, as inferred from the observed multi-frequency simultaneous spectra and potential statistical fringe spectra, may provide valuable insights into the mechanisms behind the formation of such structured bunches.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2024

Signature of Triaxially Precessing Magnetars in Gamma-ray Burst X-Ray Afterglows

The X-ray afterglows of some gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) exhibit plateaus, which can be explained by the internal dissipation of a newborn millisecond magnetar wind. In the early phase of these newborn magnetars, the magnetic inclination angle undergoes periodic changes due to precession, leading to periodic modulation of the injection luminosity due to magnetic dipole radiation. This may result in quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) on the plateaus. In this paper, we identify four GRBs with regular flux variations on their X-ray afterglow plateaus from Swift/XRT data before November 2023, three of which exhibit periodicity. Based on the likelihood of supporting a precessing magnetar as the central engine, we classify them into three categories: Gold (GRB 060202 and GRB 180620A), Silver (GRB 050730), and Bronze (GRB 210610A). We invoke a model of magnetic dipole radiation emitted by a triaxially freely precessing magnetar whose spin-down is dominated by electromagnetic radiation, to fit the light curves. Our model successfully reproduces the light curves of these four GRBs, including the regular flux variations on the plateaus and their periodicity (if present). Our work provides further evidence for early precession in newborn millisecond magnetars in GRBs.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2024

Identifying the Origin of FRB-associated X-ray Bursts with X-ray Polarization

The origin of extraordinary X-ray burst (XRB) associated with a fast radio burst (FRB) like FRB 20200428D is still unclear, though several models such as the emission of a trapped fireball modified by resonant cyclotron scattering, the outflow from a polar trapped-expanding fireball, and the synchrotron radiation of a far-away relativistic shock, have been proposed. To determine which model is true, we study possible X-ray polarization signature for each model, inspired by the importance of radio polarization in identifying FRB origin. We first numerically simulate or calculate the XRB spectrum for each model and fit it to the observed data, then compute the corresponding polarization signal based on the fit. We find that these three models predict different polarization patterns in terms of phase/time and energy variations. The differences can be used to test the models with future X-ray polarization observations.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2024

Gravitational waves associated with the r-mode instability from neutron star-white dwarf mergers

Neutron star-white dwarf (NS-WD) binaries evolve into either ultra-compact X-ray binaries undergoing stable mass transfer or direct mergers by unstable mass transfer. While much attention has been on gravitational wave (GW) emissions from NS-WD binaries with the former evolutionary pathway, this work explores GW emissions related to {\em r}-mode instability of the accreting NSs in NS-WD mergers particularly with WD's mass $\gtrsim 1M_{\odot}$. Due to considerably high accretion rates, the GW emissions associated with both {\em r}-modes and magnetic deformation intrinsically induced by {\em r}-modes presented in this work are much stronger than those in NS-WD binaries categorized as intermediate-mass or low-mass X-ray binaries, rendering them interesting sources for the advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory and upcoming Einstein Telescope. Moreover, these strong GW emissions might accompany some intriguing electromagnetic emissions such as peculiar long gamma-ray bursts (LGRBs), fast blue optical transients including kilonova-like emissions associated with peculiar LGRBs, and/or fast radio bursts.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2024

A Comprehensive Analysis of Text-Book-Version Afterglow Light curves of Gamma-Ray Bursts and Implication for Universal Radiation Physics of Baryonic Jets

The standard external shock model in the thin-shell scenario predicts an onset bump in the early optical afterglow light curves of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). We collect such a textbook-version light curve sample of $30$ GRBs, and derive the jet properties from our joint fit to their X-ray and optical afterglow light curves. It is found that the distributions of the isotropic initial Lorentz factors ($Γ_0$), the deceleration radii ($R_{\rm dec}$), and the magnetic field strength ($B_0$) are log-normal, but the distributions of the isotropic kinetic energy ($E_{\rm k, iso}$), medium density ($n_{0}$), and the magnetization parameter ($σ_{B}\equivε_B/ε_e$) are tentatively bimodal. A tight $R_{\rm dec}\mbox{-}B_{0}\mbox{-}σ_{B}$ relation is found. It infers a universal $ε_e E_{\rm k,iso}$ among bursts, plausibly supporting the previous argument of a universal GRB radiation energy among GRBs. A jet break is required for modeling the light curves of $26$ GRBs. The distributions of the jet opening angles and the jet-corrected kinetic energies log-normally center at $\log θ_{\rm j,c}/{\rm rad}=-1.51$ (standard deviation $σ=0.27$) and $\log (E_{\rm k, j,c}/{\rm erg})=51.78$ ($σ=0.54$), respectively. Those GRBs ($19$ GRBs), whose prompt gamma-ray emission is well estimated with broad energy-band observations, satisfy the previously discovered $L_{\rm γ, p, iso}-E_{\rm p,z}-Γ_{0}$ relation, and their gamma-ray radiation efficiencies log-normally distribute in the range from $0.04\%$ to $10\%$ with a central value of $0.42\%$. Such a low efficiency favors the baryonic fireball model, and the distribution of their baryon mass loading in the GRB ejecta log-normally centers at $\log (M_{\rm fb,c}/M_{\rm sun})=-5$ ($σ=0.75$).

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2024

A Unified Geometric Model of Repeating and Non-Repeating Fast Radio Bursts

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are millisecond-duration extragalactic radio transients. They apparently fall into repeaters and non-repeaters. However, such a classification has lacked a motivation on the physical picture. Here we propose a unified geometric model to distinguish between the repeaters and non-repeaters, in which the quasi-tangential (QT) propagation effect within the magnetospheric polar cap of a neutron star is considered. In this model, the non-repeaters arise from the sources whose emitting region has a smaller impact angle with respect to the magnetic axis, while the repeaters come from the sources whose emitting region has a larger impact angle. The observational discriminant polarization properties between the repeaters and non-repeaters are an important clue to verifying this unified geometric model since the polarization is sensitive to the QT propagation effect. Moreover, our model effectively explains all of the other discriminant properties, including bandwidth, duration, peak luminosity, energy, brightness temperature, time-frequency downward drifting, and repetition rate, providing compelling evidence for the magnetospheric origin of FRBs.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2024

Scattering Cross Sections of Magnetized Particles within Intense Electromagnetic Waves: Application to Fast Radio Bursts

Recently, Beloborodov suggested that there exists a resonance phenomenon between an extremely intense electromagnetic wave and internal magnetized particles. The particles exchange energy with the wave at frequent resonance events and then reach the radiation reaction limit immediately. This process greatly enhances the scattering cross section of the particles. Note that these results only involve an extraordinary (X) mode wave. In this paper, we focus on an intense ordinary (O) mode wave propagating through magnetized particles and compare it with the case of the X-mode wave. Our result shows that the scattering cross section of the particles in the O-mode wave is significantly smaller than that in the X-mode wave. This has important implications for the transparency of a fast radio burst (FRB) inside the magnetosphere of a magnetar. We argue that there is a strong scattering region in the stellar magnetosphere, within which an O-mode wave is more transparent than an X-mode wave for an FRB.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2024

Magnetar as the Central Engine of AT2018cow: Optical, Soft X-Ray, and Hard X-Ray Emission

AT2018cow is the most extensively observed and widely studied fast blue optical transient to date; its unique observational properties challenge all existing standard models. In this paper, we model the luminosity evolution of the optical, soft X-ray, and hard X-ray emission, as well as the X-ray spectrum of AT2018cow with a magnetar-centered engine model. We consider a two-zone model with a striped magnetar wind in the interior and an expanding ejecta outside. The soft and hard X-ray emission of AT2018cow can be explained by the leakage of high-energy photons produced by internal gradual magnetic dissipation in the striped magnetar wind, while the luminous thermal UV/optical emission results from the thermalization of the ejecta by the captured photons. The two-component energy spectrum yielded by our model with a quasi-thermal component from the optically thick region of the wind superimposed on an optically thin synchrotron component well reproduces the X-ray spectral shape of AT2018cow. The Markov Chain Monte Carlo fitting results suggest that in order to explain the very short rise time to peak of the thermal optical emission, a low ejecta mass $M_{\rm ej}\approx0.1~M_\odot$ and high ejecta velocity $v_{\rm SN}\approx0.17c$ are required. A millisecond magnetar with $P_0\approx3.7~\rm ms$ and $B_p\approx2.4\times10^{14}~\rm G$ is needed to serve as the central engine of AT2018cow.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2024

The Very Early Soft X-ray Plateau of GRB 230307A: Signature of an Evolving Radiative Efficiency in Magnetar Wind Dissipation?

Very recently, a particularly long gamma-ray burst (GRB) 230307A was reported and proposed to originate from a compact binary merger based on its host galaxy property, kilonova, and heavy elements. More intriguingly, a very early plateau followed by a rapid decline in soft X-ray band was detected in its light curve by the Lobster Eye Imager for Astronomy, indicating strong evidence of the existence of a magnetar as the merger product. This work explores that the Magnetar Wind Internal Gradual MAgnetic Dissipation (MIGMAD) model, in which the radiative efficiency evolves over time, successfully fits it to the observed data. Our results reinforce the notion that the X-ray plateau serves as a powerful indicator of a magnetar and imply that an evolving efficiency is likely to be a common feature in X-ray plateaus of GRB afterglows. In addition, we also discuss the explanations for the prompt emission, GRB afterglows, as well as kilonova, and predict possible kilonova afterglows in a magnetar central engine.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2023

Photospheric velocity evolution of SN 2020bvc: signature of $r$-process nucleosynthesis from a collapsar

Whether binary neutron star mergers are the only astrophysical site of rapid neutron-capture process ($r$-process) nucleosynthesis remains unknown. Collapsars associated with long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and hypernovae are promising candidates. Simulations have shown that outflows from collapsar accretion disks can produce enough $r$-process materials to explain the abundances in the universe. However, there is no observational evidence to confirm this result at present. SN 2020bvc is a broad-lined type Ic (Ic-BL) supernova (SN) possibly associated with a low-luminosity GRB. Based on semi-analytic SN emission models with and without $r$-process materials, we perform a fitting to the multi-band light curves and photospheric velocities of SN 2020bvc. We find that in a $r$-process-enriched model the mixing of $r$-process materials slows down the photospheric recession and therefore matches the velocity evolution better. The fitting results show that $r$-process materials with mass of $\approx0.36~M_\odot$ and opacity of $\approx4~\rm cm^2~g^{-1}$ is needed to mix with about half of the SN ejecta. Our fitting results are weakly dependent on the nebular emission. Future statistical analysis of a sample of type Ic-BL SNe helps us understand the contribution of collapsars to the $r$-process abundance.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2023

GRB 211211A: a Neutron Star$-$White Dwarf Merger?

The gamma-ray burst GRB 211211A and its associated kilonova-like emission were reported recently. A significant difference between this association event and GRB 170817A/AT 2017gfo is that GRB 211211A has a very long duration. In this paper, we show that this association event may arise from a neutron star$-$white dwarf (NS$-$WD) merger if a magnetar leaves finally in the central engine. Within the NS$-$WD merger, the main burst of GRB 211211A could be produced by magnetic bubble eruptions from toroidal magnetic field amplification of the pre-merger NS. This toroidal field amplification can be induced by the runaway accretion from the WD debris disc if the disc is in low initial entropy and efficient wind. While the extended emission of GRB 211211A is likely involved with magnetic propelling. The observed energetics and duration of the prompt emission of GRB 211211A can be fulfilled in comparison with those of accretion in hydrodynamical thermonuclear simulation, as long as the WD has a mass $\gtrsim1M_{\odot}$. Moreover, if the X-ray plateau in GRB afterglows is due to the magnetar spin-down radiation, GRB optical afterglows and kilonova-like emission can be well jointly modeled combining the standard forward shock with the radioactive decay power of $^{56}{\rm Ni}$ adding a rotational power input from the post-merger magnetar.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2022

AT2020hur: A Possible Optical Counterpart of FRB 180916B

The physical origin of fast radio bursts (FRBs) remains unclear. Finding multiwavelength counterparts of FRBs can be a breakthrough in understanding their nature. In this work, we perform a systematic search for astronomical transients (ATs) whose positions are consistent with FRBs. We find an unclassified optical transient AT2020hur ($α=01^{\mathrm{h}} 58^{\mathrm{m}} 00.750^{\mathrm{s}} \pm 1$ arcsec, $δ=65^{\circ} 43^{\prime} 00.30^{\prime \prime} \pm 1$ arcsec) that is spatially coincident with the repeating FRB 180916B ($α=01^{\mathrm{h}} 58^{\mathrm{m}} 00.7502^{\mathrm{s}} \pm 2.3$ mas, $δ=65^{\circ} 43^{\prime} 00.3152^{\prime \prime} \pm 2.3$ mas). The chance possibility for the AT2020hur-FRB 180916B association is about 0.04%, which corresponds to a significance of $3.5σ$. We develop a giant flare afterglow model to fit AT2020hur. Although the giant flare afterglow model can interpret the observations of AT2020hur, the derived kinetic energy of such a GF is at least three orders of magnitude larger than that of the typical GF, and there is a lot of fine tuning and coincidences required for this model. Another possible explanation is that AT2020hur might consist of two or more optical flares originating from the FRB source, e.g. fast optical bursts produced by the inverse Compton scattering of FRB emission. Besides, AT2020hur is located in one of the activity windows of FRB 180916B, which is an independent support for the association. This coincidence may be due to the reason that the optical counterpart is subject to the same periodic modulation as FRB 180916B, as implied by the prompt FRB counterparts. Future simultaneous observations of FRBs and their optical counterparts may help reveal their physical origin.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2022

Can a Single Population Account for the Discriminant Properties in Fast Radio Bursts?

To probe this question, we perform a statistical analysis using the first Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment Fast Radio Burst (CHIME/FRB) catalog and identify a few discriminant properties between repeating and non-repeating FRBs such as the repetition rate, duration, bandwidth, spectral index, peak luminosity, and potential peak frequency. If repeating and non-repeating FRBs belong to one population, their distribution distinctions for the repetition rate and duration can be explained by the selection effect due to the beamed emission as in Connor et al. (2020). However, we obtain that the distribution distinctions for the spectral index and potentially the peak frequency cannot be explained by the beamed emission within the framework of either the coherent curvature radiation or synchrotron maser emission. This indicates that there could be two populations. We further discuss three possible scenarios for the required two populations.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2021

An accreting stellar binary model for active periodic fast radio bursts

In this work, we propose an accreting stellar binary model for understanding the active periodic fast radio bursts (FRBs). The system consists of a stellar compact object (CO) and a donor star (DS) companion in an eccentric orbit, where the DS fills its own Roche lobe near the periastron. The CO accretes the material from the DS and then drive relativistic magnetic blobs. The interaction between the magnetic blobs and the stellar wind of the DS produces a pair of shocks. We find that both of the reverse shock and the forward shock are likely to produce FRBs via synchrotron maser mechanism. We show that this system can in principle sufficiently produce highly active FRBs with a long lifetime, and also can naturally explain the periodicity and the duty cycle of the activity as appeared in FRBs 180916 and 121102. The radio nebula excited by the long-term injection of magnetic blobs into the surrounding environment may account for the associated persistent radio source. In addiction, we discuss the possible multi-wavelength counterparts of FRB 180916 in the context of this model. Finally, we encourage the search for FRBs in the ultraluminous X-ray sources.

astro-ph.HE↗