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Zi-Gao Dai

Publications and source records attributed to Zi-Gao Dai.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources

The allowed parameter space of a long-lived neutron star as the merger remnant of GW170817

Limited by the sensitivities of the current gravitational wave (GW) detectors, the central remnant of the binary neutron star (NS) merger associated with GW170817 remains an open question. Considering the relatively large total mass, it is generally proposed that the merger of GW170817 would lead to a shortly lived hypermassive NS or directly produce a black hole (BH). There is no clear evidence to support or rule out a long-lived NS as the merger remnant. Here we utilize the GW and electromagnetic (EM) signals to comprehensively investigate the parameter space that allows a long-lived NS to survive as the merger remnant of GW170817. We find that for some stiff equations of state, the merger of GW170817 could, in principle, lead to a massive NS, which has a millisecond spin period. The post-merger GW signal could hardly constrain the ellipticity of the NS. If the ellipticity reaches $10^{-3}$, in order to be compatible with the multi-band EM observations, the dipole magnetic field of the NS ($B_p$) is constrained to the magnetar level of $\sim10^{14}$ G. If the ellipticity is smaller than $10^{-4}$, $B_p$ is constrained to the level of $\sim10^{10}-10^{12}\,$G. These conclusions weakly depend on the adoption of equations of state.

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A Monte Carlo approach to magnetar-powered transients: II. Broad-lined type Ic supernovae not associated with GRBs

Broad-lined type Ic supernovae (SNe Ic-BL) are a subclass of rare core collapse SNe whose energy source is debated in the literature. Recently a series of investigations on SNe Ic-BL with the magnetar (plus 56Ni) model were carried out. Evidence for magnetar formation was found for the well-observed SNe Ic-BL 1998bw and 2002ap. In this paper we systematically study a large sample of SNe Ic-BL not associated with gamma-ray bursts. We use photospheric velocity data determined in a homogeneous way. We find that the magnetar+56Ni model provides a good description of the light curves and velocity evolution of our sample of SNe Ic-BL, although some SNe (not all) can also be described by the pure-magnetar model or by the two-component pure-56Ni model (3 out of 12 are unlikely explained by two-component model). In the magnetar+56Ni model, the amount of 56Ni required to explain their luminosity is significantly reduced, and the derived initial explosion energy is, in general, in accordance with neutrino heating. Some correlations between different physical parameters are evaluated and their implications regarding magnetic field amplification and the total energy reservoir are discussed.

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Afterglows and Kilonovae Associated with Nearby Low-Luminosity Short-Duration Gamma-Ray Bursts: Application to GW170817/GRB170817A

Very recently, the gravitational-wave (GW) event GW170817 was discovered to be associated with the short gamma-ray burst (GRB) 170817A. Multi-wavelength follow-up observations were carried out, and X-ray, optical, and radio counterparts to GW170817 were detected. The observations undoubtedly indicate that GRB 170817A originates from a binary neutron star merger. However, the GRB falls into the low-luminosity class that could have a higher statistical occurrence rate and detection probability than the normal (high-luminosity) class. This implies the possibility that GRB 170817A is intrinsically powerful, but we are off-axis and only observe its side emission. In this Letter, we provide a timely modeling of the multi-wavelength afterglow emission from this GRB and the associated kilonova signal from the merger ejecta, under the assumption of a structured jet, a two-component jet, and an intrinsically less-energetic quasi-isotropic fireball, respectively. Comparing the afterglow properties with the multi-wavelength follow-up observations, we can distinguish between these three models. Furthermore, a few model parameters (e.g., the ejecta mass and velocity) can be constrained.

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Multimessenger tests of the weak equivalence principle from GW170817 and its electromagnetic counterparts

The coincident detection of a gravitational-wave (GW) event GW170817 with electromagnetic (EM) signals (e.g., a short gamma-ray burst SGRB 170817A or a macronova) from a binary neutron star merger within the nearby galaxy NGC 4933 provides a new, multimessenger test of the weak equivalence principle (WEP), extending the WEP test with GWs and photons. Assuming that the arrival time delay between the GW signals from GW170817 and the photons from SGRB 170817A or the macronova is mainly attributed to the gravitational potential of the Milky Way, we demonstrate that the strict upper limits on the deviation from the WEP are $Δγ<1.4\times10^{-3}$ for GW170817/macronova and $Δγ<5.9\times10^{-8}$ for GW170817/SGRB 170817A. A much more severe constraint on the WEP accuracy can be achieved ($\sim0.9\times10^{-10}$) for GW170817/SGRB 170817A when we consider the gravitational potential of the Virgo Cluster, rather than the Milky Way's gravity. This provides the tightest limit to date on the WEP through the relative differential variations of the $γ$ parameter for two different species of particles. Compared with other multimessenger (photons and neutrinos) results, our limit is 7 orders of magnitude tighter than that placed by the neutrinos and photons from supernova 1987A, and is almost as good as or is an improvement of 6 orders of magnitude over the limits obtained by the low-significance neutrinos correlated with GRBs and a blazar flare.

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Modeling The Most Luminous Supernova Associated with a Gamma-Ray Burst, SN 2011kl

We study the most luminous known supernova (SN) associated with a gamma-ray burst (GRB), SN 2011kl. The photospheric velocity of SN 2011kl around peak brightness is $21,000\pm7,000$ km s$^{-1}$. Owing to different assumptions related to the light-curve (LC) evolution (broken or unbroken power-law function) of the optical afterglow of GRB 111209A, different techniques for the LC decomposition, and different methods (with or without a near-infrared contribution), three groups derived three different bolometric LCs for SN 2011kl. Previous studies have shown that the LCs without an early-time excess preferred a magnetar model, a magnetar+$^{56}$Ni model, or a white dwarf tidal disruption event model rather than the radioactive heating model. On the other hand, the LC shows an early-time excess and dip that cannot be reproduced by the aforementioned models, and hence the blue-supergiant model was proposed to explain it. Here we reinvestigate the energy sources powering SN 2011kl. We find that the two LCs without the early-time excess of SN 2011kl can be explained by the magnetar+$^{56}$Ni model, and the LC showing the early excess can be explained by the magnetar+$^{56}$Ni model taking into account the cooling emission from the shock-heated envelope of the SN progenitor, demonstrating that this SN might primarily be powered by a nascent magnetar.

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Afterglows and Macronovae Associated with Nearby Low-Luminosity Short-Duration Gamma-Ray Bursts

A binary neutron star (BNS) merger has been widely argued to be one of the progenitors of a short gamma-ray burst (SGRB). This central engine can be verified if its gravitational-wave (GW) event is detected simultaneously. Once confirmed, this kind of association will be a landmark in multi-messenger astronomy and will greatly enhance our understanding of the BNS merger processes. Due to the limited detection horizon of BNS mergers for the advanced LIGO/Virgo GW observatories, we are inclined to local SGRBs within few hundreds of mega-parsecs. Since normal SGRBs rarely fall into such a close range, to make it more observationally valuable, we have to focus on low-luminosity SGRBs which have a higher statistical occurrence rate and detection probability. However, there is a possibility that an observed low-luminosity SGRB is intrinsically powerful but we are off-axis and only observe its side emission. In this paper, we provide some theoretical predictions of both the off-axis afterglow emission from a nearby SGRB under the assumption of a structured jet and the macronova signal from the ejecta of this GW-detectable BNS merger. From the properties of the afterglow emission, we could distinguish an off-axis normal SGRB from an intrinsically low-energy quasi-isotropic class. Furthermore, with follow-up multi-wavelength observations, a few parameters for BNS mergers (e.g. the medium density and the ejecta mass and velocity) would be constrained.

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A Multiple Ejecta-Circumstellar Meduim Interaction Model and Its Implications for the Superluminous Supernova iPTF15esb

Recently, a hydrogen-poor superluminous supernova (SLSN) iPTF15esb at redshift $z=0.224$ was reported, whose light curve (LC) and spectrum show several unusual characteristics. Its late-time spectrum shows a strong, broad H$α$ emission line and the bolometric LC exhibits two peaks and a post-peak plateau. Here we propose an ejecta-circumstellar medium (CSM) interaction model involving multiple shells and winds to explain this double-peak SN. We find that the theoretical LC reproduced by this model can well match the observations of iPTF15esb. Based on this result, we infer that the progenitor has undergone at least three violent mass-loss processes before the SN explosion. Furthermore, we find that the masses of the CSM wind and shells from the outermost shell (the first eruption) to the innermost wind (the final eruption) decrease sequentially but their densities increase. The variation trend of the inferred densities of the shells and wind is consistent with the stellar structure before an SN explosion. Further investigations for similar SLSNe would provide a probe for the mass-loss history of their progenitors.

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Prompt Neutrino Emission of Gamma-Ray Bursts in the Dissipative Photospheric Scenario Revisited: Possible Contributions from Cocoons

High-energy neutrinos are expected to originate from different stages in a gamma-ray burst (GRB) event. In this work we revisit the dissipative photospheric scenario, in which the GRB prompt emission is produced around the photospheric radius. Meanwhile, possible dissipation mechanisms (e.g., internal shocks or magnetic reconnection) could accelerate cosmic-rays (CRs) to ultra-high energies and then produce neutrinos via hadronuclear and photohadronic processes, which are referred to as prompt neutrinos. In this paper, we obtain the prompt neutrino spectrum of a single GRB within a self-consistent analytical framework, in which the jet-cocoon structure and possible collimation effects are included. We investigate a possible neutrino signal from the cocoon, which has been ignored in the previous studies. We show that if a GRB event happens at a distance of the order of Mpc, there is a great chance to observe the neutrino emission from the cocoon by IceCube, which is even more promising than jet neutrinos since the opening angle of the cocoon is much larger. We also figure out the diffuse neutrino flux of GRB cocoons and find that it could be comparable with that of the jets. Our results are consistent with the latest result reported by the IceCube collaboration that no significant correlation between neutrino events and observed GRBs is seen in the new data (Aartsen et al. 2017).

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A Monte Carlo Approach to Magnetar-powered Transients: I. Hydrogen-deficient Superluminous Supernovae

In this paper we collect 19 hydrogen-deficient superluminous supernovae (SLSNe) and fit their light curves, temperature evolution, and velocity evolution based on the magnetar-powered model. To obtain the best-fitting parameters, we incorporate the Markov Chain Monte Carlo approach. We get rather good fits for 7 events ($χ^2$/d.o.f = $0.24-0.96$) and good fits for other 7 events ($χ^2$/d.o.f = $1.37-3.13$). We find that the initial periods ($P_{0}$) and magnetic strength ($B_{p}$) of the magnetars supposed to power these SLSNe are in the range of $\sim 1.2-8.3$ ms and $\sim (0.2-8.8)\times 10^{14}\,$G, respectively; the inferred masses of the ejecta of these SLSNe are between 1 and 27.6 $M_{\odot }$, and the values of the gamma-ray opacity $κ_{γ}$ are between 0.01 and 0.82 cm$^2$ ~g$^{-1}$. We also calculate the fraction of the initial rotational energy of the magnetars harbored in the centers of the remnants of these SLSNe that is converted to the kinetic energy of the ejecta and find that the fraction is $\sim 19-97$ for different values of $P_{0}$ and $B_{p}$, indicating that the acceleration effect cannot be neglected. Moreover, we find that the initial kinetic energies of most of these SLSNe are so small ($\lesssim 2\times 10^{51}$ erg) that they can be easily explained by the neutrino-driven mechanism. These results can help clarify some important issues related to the energy-source mechanisms and explosion mechanisms and reveal the nature of SLSNe.

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Steep Decay of GRB X-ray Flares: the Result of Anisotropic Synchrotron Radiation

When an emitting spherical shell with a constant Lorentz factor turns off emission abruptly at some radius, its high-latitude emission would obey the relation of $\hatα$ (the temporal index) = $2 + \hatβ$ (the spectral index). However, this relation is violated by the X-ray fares in some gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), whose $\hatα$ is much more steeper. We show that the synchrotron radiation should be anisotropic when the angular distribution of accelerated electrons has preferable orientation, and this anisotropy would naturally lead to the steeper decay for the high-latitude emission if the the intrinsic emission is limb-brightened. We use our simple toy model to reproduce the temporal and the spectral evolution of the X-ray flares. We show that our model can well interpret the steep decay of the X-ray flares in the three GRBs selected as example. Recent simulations on particle acceleration may support the specific anisotropic distribution of the electrons adopted in our work. Reversely, confirmation of the anisotropy in the radiation would give meaningful clues to the details of electron acceleration in the emitting region.

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Evolution of newborn rapidly rotating magnetars: effects of r-mode and fall-back accretion

In this paper we investigate effects of the $r$-mode instability on a newborn rapidly-rotating magnetar with fall-back accretion. Such a magnetar could usually occur in core-collapse supernovae and gamma-ray bursts. We find that the magnetar's spin and $r$-mode evolution are influenced by accretion. If the magnetar is sufficiently spun up to a few milliseconds, gravitational radiation leads to the growth of the $r$-mode amplitude significantly. The maximum $r$-mode amplitude reaches an order $\sim 0.001$ when the damping due to the growth of a toroidal magnetic field balances the growth of the $r$-mode amplitude. If such a sufficiently spun-up magnetar was located at a distance less than 1\,Mpc, then gravitational waves would be detectable by the Einstein Telescope but would have an extremely low event rate. However, if the spin-up is insufficient, the growth of the $r$-mode amplitude is mainly due to the accretion torque. In this case, the maximum $r$-mode amplitude is of the order of $\sim 10^{-6}-10^{-5}$.

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New test of weak equivalence principle using polarized light from astrophysical events

Einstein's weak equivalence principle (WEP) states that any freely falling, uncharged test particle follows the same identical trajectory independent of its internal structure and composition. Since the polarization of a photon is considered to be part of its internal structure, we propose that polarized photons from astrophysical transients, such as gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and fast radio bursts (FRBs), can be used to constrain the accuracy of the WEP through the Shapiro time delay effect. Assuming that the arrival time delays of photons with different polarizations are mainly attributed to the gravitational potential of the Laniakea supercluster of galaxies, we show that a strict upper limit on the differences of the parametrized post-Newtonian parameter $γ$ value for the polarized optical emission of GRB 120308A is $Δγ<1.2\times10^{-10}$, for the polarized gamma-ray emission of GRB 100826A is $Δγ<1.2\times10^{-10}$, and for the polarized radio emission of FRB 150807 is $Δγ<2.2\times10^{-16}$. These are the first direct verifications of the WEP for multiband photons with different polarizations. In particular, the result from FRB 150807 provides the most stringent limit to date on a deviation from the WEP, improving by one order of magnitude the previous best result based on Crab pulsar photons with different energies.

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Constraining the age of a magnetar possibly associated with FRB 121102

The similarity of the host galaxy of FRB 121102 with those of long gamma-ray bursts and Type I super-luminous supernovae suggests that this FRB could be associated with a young magnetar. By assuming the FRB emission to be produced within the magnetosphere, we derive a lower limit on the age of the magnetar, after which GHz emission is able to escape freely from the dense relativistic wind of the magnetar. Another lower limit is obtained by requiring the dispersion measure contributed by the electron/positron pair wind to be consistent with the observations of the host galaxy. Furthermore, we also derive some upper limits on the magnetar age with discussions on possible energy sources of the FRB emission and the recently-discovered persistent radio counterpart. As a result, some constraints on model parameters are addressed by reconciling the lower limits with the possible upper limits that are derived with an assumption of rotational energy source.

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Neutrino Production in Electromagnetic Cascades: An extra component of cosmogenic neutrino at ultrahigh energies

Muon pairs can be produced in the annihilation of ultra-high energy (UHE, $E \gtrsim 10^{18} \,\mathrm{eV}$) photons with low energy cosmic background radiation in the intergalactic space, giving birth to neutrinos. Although the branching ratio of muon pair production is low, products of other channels, which are mainly electron/positron pairs, will probably transfer most of their energies into the new generated UHE photon in the subsequent interaction with the cosmic background radiation via Compton scattering in deep Klein-Nishina regime. The regeneration of these new UHE photons then provides a second chance to produce the muon pairs, enhancing the neutrino flux. We investigate the neutrino production in the propagation of UHE photons in the intergalactic space at different redshifts, considering various competing processes such as pair production, double pair production for UHE photons, and triplet production and synchrotron radiation for UHE electrons. Regarding the least energetic outgoing particles as energy loss, we obtain the effective penetration length of the leading particle, as well as energy loss rate including the neutrino emission rate in the cascade process. Finally, we find that an extra component of UHE neutrinos will arise from the propagation of UHE cosmic rays due to the generated UHE photons and electron/positrons. However, the flux of this component is quite small, with a flux of at most $10\%$ of that of the conventional cosmogenic neutrino at a few EeV, in the absence of a strong intergalactic magnetic field and a strong cosmic radio background. The precise contribution of extra component depends on several factors, e.g., cosmic radio background, intergalactic magnetic field, the spectrum of proton, which will be discussed in this work.

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Lorentz factor - Beaming Corrected Energy/Luminosity Correlations and GRB Central Engine Models

We work on a GRB sample whose initial Lorentz factors ($Γ_0$) are constrained with the afterglow onset method and the jet opening angles ($θ_{\rm j}$) are determined by the jet break time. We confirm the $Γ_0$ - $E_{γ,\rm iso}$ correlation by Liang et al. (2010), and the $Γ_0$ - $L_{γ,\rm iso}$ correlation by L{ü} et al. (2012). Furthermore, we find correlations between $Γ_0$ and the beaming corrected $γ$-ray energy ($E_γ$) and mean $γ$-ray luminosity ($L_γ$). By also including the kinetic energy of the afterglow, we find rough correlations (with larger scatter) between $Γ_0$ and the total ($γ$-ray plus kinetic) energy and the total mean luminosity, both for isotropic values and beaming corrected values: these correlations allow us to test the data with GRB central engine models. Limiting our sample to the GRBs that likely have a black hole central engine, we compare the data with theoretical predictions of two types of jet launching mechanisms from BHs, i.e. the non-magnetized $ν\barν$ - annihilation mechanism, and the strongly magnetized Blandford-Znajek (BZ) mechanism. We find that the data are more consistent with the latter mechanism, and discuss the implications of our findings for GRB jet composition.

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Solving the 56Ni puzzle of magnetar-powered broad-lined type Ic supernovae

Broad-lined type Ic supernovae (SNe Ic-BL) are of great importance because their association with long-duration gamma-ray bursts (LGRBs) holds the key to deciphering the central engine of LGRBs, which refrains from being unveiled despite decades of investigation. Among the two popularly hypothesized types of central engine, i.e., black holes and strongly magnetized neutron stars (magnetars), there is mounting evidence that the central engine of GRB-associated SNe (GRB-SNe) is rapidly rotating magnetars. Theoretical analysis also suggests that magnetars could be the central engine of SNe Ic-BL. What puzzled the researchers is the fact that light curve modeling indicates that as much as 0.2-0.5 solar mass of 56Ni was synthesized during the explosion of the SNe Ic-BL, which is unfortunately in direct conflict with current state-of-the-art understanding of magnetar-powered 56Ni synthesis. Here we propose a dynamic model of magnetar-powered SNe to take into account the acceleration of the ejecta by the magnetar, as well as the thermalization of the injected energy. Assuming that the SN kinetic energy comes exclusively from the magnetar acceleration, we find that although a major fraction of the rotational energy of the magnetar is to accelerate the SNe ejecta, a tiny fraction of this energy deposited as thermal energy of the ejecta is enough to reduce the needed 56Ni to 0.06 solar mass for both SN 1997ef and SN 2007ru. We therefore suggest that magnetars could power SNe Ic-BL both in aspects of energetics and of 56Ni synthesis.

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Testing Einstein's Weak Equivalence Principle With Gravitational Waves

A conservative constraint on the Einstein Weak Equivalence Principle (WEP) can be obtained under the assumption that the observed time delay between correlated particles from astronomical sources is dominated by the gravitational fields through which they move. Current limits on the WEP are mainly based on the observed time delays of photons with different energies. It is highly desirable to develop more accurate tests that include the gravitational wave (GW) sector. The detection by the advanced LIGO/VIRGO systems of gravitational waves will provide attractive candidates for constraining the WEP, extending the tests to gravitational interactions, with potentially higher accuracy. Considering the capabilities of the advanced LIGO/VIRGO network and the source direction uncertainty, we show that the joint detection of GWs and electromagnetic signals could probe the WEP to an accuracy down to $10^{-10}$, which is one order of magnitude tighter than previous limits, and seven orders of magnitude tighter than the multi-messenger (photons and neutrinos) results by supernova 1987A.

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The Observer's Guide to the Gamma-Ray Burst-Supernova Connection

In this review we present a progress report of the connection between long-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and their accompanying supernovae (SNe). The analysis is from the point of view of an observer, with much of the emphasis placed on how observations, and the modelling of observations, have constrained what we known about GRB-SNe. We discuss their photometric and spectroscopic properties, their role as cosmological probes, including their measured luminosity$-$decline relationships, and how they can be used to measure the Hubble constant. We present a statistical analysis of their bolometric properties, and use this to determine the properties of the "average" GRB-SNe: which has a kinetic energy of $E_{\rm K} \approx 2.5\times10^{52}$ erg, an ejecta mass of $M_{\rm ej} \approx 6$ M$_{\odot}$, a nickel mass of $M_{\rm Ni} \approx 0.4$ M$_{\odot}$, a peak photospheric velocity of $v_{\rm ph} \approx 21,000$ km s$^{-1}$, a peak bolometric luminosity of $L_{\rm p} \approx 1\times10^{43}$ erg s$^{-1}$, and it reaches peak bolometric light in $t_{\rm p} \approx 13$ days. We discuss their geometry, consider the various physical processes that are thought to power the luminosity of GRB-SNe, and whether differences exist between GRB-SNe and the SNe associated with ultra-long duration GRBs. We discuss how observations of the environments of GRB-SNe further constrain the physical properties of their progenitor stars, and give an overview of the current theoretical paradigms of their suspected central engines. We also present an overview of the radioactively powered transients that have been photometrically associated with short-duration GRBs. We conclude the review by discussing what additional research is needed to further our understanding of GRB-SNe, in particular the role of binary-formation channels and the connection of GRB-SNe with superluminous SNe (abridged).

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