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Xiao-Xuan Liu

Publications and source records attributed to Xiao-Xuan Liu.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

Short-duration GRB 250221A Afterglow Driven by Two-Component Jets from the merger of a compact star

GRB 250221A is a short gamma-ray burst (GRB) at redshift $z=0.768$, with a duration of 1.8 s and no extended emission in either Swift/Burst Alert Telescope or Konus-Wind bands. A remarkable rebrightening feature in both optical and X-ray bands was observed at $\sim$0.6 days after the burst trigger, but no supernova or kilonova signature was detected. The burst properties and empirical correlations or distributions (e.g., duration, spectral hardness, location in the Amati correlation, $\varepsilon-$value, $f_{\rm eff}$ parameter, and physical offset) favor a compact binary merger origin. However, a dense circumburst medium with $n\sim 80\rm~cm^{-3}$, obtained by adopting the energy injection into a jet to interpret the late-time rebrightening is inconsistent with the compact binary merger origin. In this paper, we propose a two-component jet model to explain the multiwavelength afterglow observations of GRB 250221A, in which the relativistic narrow jet ($\rm θ_{c} \sim 3.8^\circ$) produces the prompt and the early decay afterglow emission, while the mildly relativistic wide jet ($\rm θ_{w} \sim 4.4^\circ$) dominates at later times, resulting in the observed rebrightening feature. If this is the case, one can obtain a lower medium density with $n\sim 0.72\rm~cm^{-3}$ which is a little bit higher than that of short GRBs in merger environments, but falls into the reasonable and acceptable range. Finally, a possible kilonova emission is also discussed within the scenario of compact star merger origin of GRB 250221A.

astro-ph.HE

The color evolution of magnetar-powered kilonova emission in merging neutron star-neutron star systems

The first direct detection of the gravitational wave (GW) event GW170817 and its electromagnetic (EM) counterpart open a new window for studying of multi-messenger astronomy. However, how to identify the remnant of binary neutron star (NS) merger via EM radiation remain an open question. In this paper, we propose a method of color evolution of kilonova emission to identify its progenitors. We assume that the energy of the kilonova is contributed from radioactive decay, magnetar spin-down, and pulsar wind nebula (PWN). The color evolution of kilonova emission associated with short GRB is significant when the spectrum is thermal emission, while it tends towards a constant when the spectrum is non-thermal radiation. On the other hand, if the central engine is a black hole (BH) which is promptly generated by the NS-NS merger or NS-BH merger, then the kilonova is powered only by the radioactive decay. There is no color evolution at the beginning before the peak of kilonova emission, but is significantly and rapidly increasing after the peak. On the contrary, if the central engine is a magnetar or stable NS, the kilonova emission is contributed from radioactive decay, magnetar, and PWN. The color evolution after the peak of kilonova emission is complex behavior which depends on the rotational energy and spin-down time-scale of magnetar, and finally tend to a constant in the late state.

astro-ph.HE

Neutron Star-White Dwarf Merger as One Possible Optional Source of Kilonova-like Emission: Implications for GRB 211211A

Long-duration GRB 211211A, which lacked an associated supernova at such a low redshift $z=0.076$, but was associated with a possible kilonova emission, has attracted great attention. The neutron star-white dwarf (NS-WD) merger is proposed as a possible progenitor of GRB 211211A, and it could naturally explain the long duration of the prompt emission. However, the NS-WD merger is not an ideal site for producing heavy elements via r-process nucleosynthesis. In this Letter, we investigate the heavy elements produced in NS-WD mergers based on numerical simulations of nucleosynthesis via SkyNet, and then calculate the resulting kilonova-like emission to compare with the solidly observed case of possible kilonova emission associated with GRB 211211A. By adopting three models (i.e., Model-A, Model-B, and Model-C) from \cite{2023ApJ...956...71K} at different temperatures ($T=4$ GK, 5 GK, and 6 GK), which are treated as free parameters, we find that the mass number of the heaviest element produced in our simulations is less than 90 ($A< 90$). Moreover, by comparing the calculated kilonova-like emission with the afterglow-subtracted observations of the possible kilonova associated with GRB 211211A, it is found that the merger of NS and WD cannot be ruled out as the origin of GRB 211211A to produce the possible kilonova emission if the remnant of the WD-NS merger is a supramassive or stable magnetar. Otherwise, it is difficult to explain the early possible kilonova emission following GRB 211211A by invoking the merger of a WD and an NS.

astro-ph.HE

Neutrino constraints and detection prospects from gamma-ray bursts with different jet compositions

The prompt emission mechanism of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) is a long-standing open question, and GRBs have been considered as potential sources of high-energy neutrinos. Despite many years of search for the neutrino events associated with GRBs from IceCube, there were no results. However, the absence of search results for neutrinos provides a unique opportunity to constrain the parameter space of GRB jet models. In this paper, we chose four peculiar GRBs with two different types of jet composition to investigate neutrino emission. It is found that only GRB 211211A could be well constrained within the dissipative photosphere model. By adopting the specific parameters of the photosphere, one can obtain $\varepsilon _{\rm p}/\varepsilon_{\rm e}<8$ for $f_{\rm p}>0.2$ from GRB 211211A. For the Internal-collision-induced Magnetic Reconnection and Turbulence (ICMART) model, we can effectively constrain neither GRB 230307A nor GRB 080916C. Moreover, we also investigate the detection prospects of high-energy neutrinos from GRBs and find that it is difficult to detect at least one high-energy neutrino associated with GRBs from the ICMART model even during the IceCube-Gen2 operation. For the GRB 211211A-like events, it is possible to detect at least one neutrino coincident with the gravitational wave during the IceCube-Gen2 operation, if such an event originated from mergers of compact stars within the photosphere dissipation.

astro-ph.HE