arXiv subjects

Z. -K. Peng

Publications and source records attributed to Z. -K. Peng.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

A fast X-ray transient from a weak relativistic jet associated with a type Ic-BL supernova

Massive stars end their lives as core-collapse supernovae, amongst which some extremes are broad-lined type Ic supernovae from Wolf-Rayet stars associated with long-duration gamma-ray bursts (LGRBs) having powerful relativistic jets. Their less-extreme brethren make unsuccessful jets that are choked inside the stars, appearing as X-ray flashes or low-luminosity GRBs. On the other hand, there exists a population of extragalactic fast X-ray transients (EFXTs) with timescales ranging from seconds to thousands of seconds, whose origins remain obscure. Here, we report the discovery of the bright X-ray transient EP240414a detected by the Einstein Probe (EP), which is associated with the type Ic supernova SN 2024gsa at a redshift of 0.401. The X-ray emission evolution is characterised by a very soft energy spectrum peaking at $< 1.3$ keV, which makes it different from known LGRBs, X-ray flashes, or low-luminosity GRBs. Follow-up observations at optical and radio bands revealed the existence of a weak relativistic jet that interacts with an extended shell surrounding the progenitor star. Located on the outskirts of a massive galaxy, this event reveals a new population of explosions of Wolf-Rayet stars characterised by a less powerful engine that drives a successful but weak jet, possibly owing to a progenitor star with a smaller core angular momentum than in traditional LGRB progenitors.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2022

A hyper flare of a weeks-old magnetar born from a binary-neutron-star merger

Magnetars, a population of isolated neutron stars with ultra-strong magnetic fields of $\sim 10^{14}-10^{15}$ G, have been increasingly accepted to explain a variety of astrophysical transients. A nascent millisecond-period magnetar can release its spin-down energy and power bright sources such as Gamma-ray Bursts (GRBs) and their subsequent X-ray plateaus, Super Luminous Supernovae (SLSNe), and the fast X-ray transients such as CDF-S XT-2. Magnetars with ages of $10^3-10^4$ years have been observed within the Milky Way Galaxy, which are found to power diverse transients with the expense of their magnetic energy, in the form of giant flares and repeated soft-$γ$-ray or hard X-ray bursts and occasionally fast radio bursts (FRBs). Magnetar giant flares were also detected as disguised short GRBs from nearby galaxies . Here we report the identification of a GRB as a hyper flare of magnetar in a nearby galaxy. The magnitude of the hyper flare is about one thousand times brighter than that of a typical magnetar giant flare. A significant $\sim 80$ millisecond period is detected in the decaying light curve. Interpreting this period as the rotation period and given a magnetic field strength typical for a young magnetar, the age of the magnetar is constrained to be only a few weeks. The non-detection of a (superluminous) supernova nor a GRB weeks before the event further constrains that the magnetar is likely born from an off-axis merger event of two neutron stars. Our finding bridges the gap between the hypothetical millisecond magnetars and the observed Galactic magnetars, and points toward a broader channel of magnetar-powered gamma-ray transients.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2021

A Peculiarly Short-duration Gamma-Ray Burst from Massive Star Core Collapse

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have been phenomenologically classified into long and short populations based on the observed bimodal distribution of duration. Multi-wavelength and multi-messenger observations in recent years have revealed that in general long GRBs originate from massive star core collapse events, whereas short GRBs originate from binary neutron star mergers. It has been known that the duration criterion is sometimes unreliable, and multi-wavelength criteria are needed to identify the physical origin of a particular GRB. Some apparently long GRBs have been suggested to have a neutron star merger origin, whereas some apparently short GRBs have been attributed to genuinely long GRBs whose short, bright emission is slightly above the detector's sensitivity threshold. Here we report the comprehensive analysis of the multi-wavelength data of a bright short GRB 200826A. Characterized by a sharp pulse, this burst shows a duration of 1 second and no evidence of an underlying longer-duration event. Its other observational properties such as its spectral behaviors, total energy, and host galaxy offset, are, however, inconsistent with those of other short GRBs believed to originate from binary neutron star mergers. Rather, these properties resemble those of long GRBs. This burst confirms the existence of short duration GRBs with stellar core-collapse origin, and presents some challenges to the existing models.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2019

A multi-wavelength analysis of a collection of short-duration GRBs observed between 2012-2015

We investigate the prompt emission and the afterglow properties of short duration gamma-ray burst (sGRB) 130603B and another eight sGRB events during 2012-2015, observed by several multi-wavelength facilities including the GTC 10.4m telescope. Prompt emission high energy data of the events were obtained by INTEGRAL/SPI/ACS, Swift/BAT and Fermi/GBM satellites. The prompt emission data by INTEGRAL in the energy range of 0.1-10 MeV for sGRB 130603B, sGRB 140606A, sGRB 140930B, sGRB 141212A and sGRB 151228A do not show any signature of the extended emission or precursor activity and their spectral and temporal properties are similar to those seen in case of other short bursts. For sGRB130603B, our new afterglow photometric data constraints the pre jet-break temporal decay due to denser temporal coverage. For sGRB 130603B, the afterglow light curve, containing both our new as well as previously published photometric data is broadly consistent with the ISM afterglow model. Modeling of the host galaxies of sGRB 130603B and sGRB 141212A using the LePHARE software supports a scenario in which the environment of the burst is undergoing moderate star formation activity. From the inclusion of our late-time data for 8 other sGRBs we are able to; place tight constraints on the non-detection of the afterglow, host galaxy or any underlying kilonova emission. Our late-time afterglow observations of the sGRB 170817A/GW170817 are also discussed and compared with the sub-set of sGRBs.

astro-ph.HE↗