Indication of Two Classes in the Swift Short Gamma-Ray Bursts from the XRT X-Ray Afterglow Light Curves

We present the discovery of two distinct classes in the Swift short duration gamma-ray bursts (S-GRBs) from the X-Ray Telescope (XRT) X-ray afterglow light curve. We find that about 40% of the Swift S-GRBs have an X-ray afterglow light curves which only lasts less than 10000 seconds after the burst trigger (hereafter short-lived S-GRBs). On the other hand, another 60% of S-GRBs have a long lasting X-ray afterglow light curve which resembles the long duration gamma-ray bursts. We also find that none of the short-lived S-GRBs shows the extended emission in the Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) energy range. We compare the burst properties for both the prompt emission and the afterglow, and discuss the possibility of different progenitors for the Swift short GRBs.Comment: 3 pages, 6 figures, Submitted to Proceedings of Huntsville 2008 Symposium on GRB

An Extended Burst Tail from SGR 1900+14 with a Thermal X-ray Spectrum

The Soft Gamma Repeater, SGR 1900+14, entered a new phase of activity in April 2001 initiated by the intermediate flare recorded on April 18. Ten days following this flare, we discovered an abrupt increase in the source flux between consecutive RXTE orbits. This X-ray flux excess decayed over the next several minutes and was subsequently linked to a high fluence burst from SGR 1900+14 recorded by other spacecraft (Ulysses and KONUS) while the SGR was Earth-occulted for RXTE. We present here spectral and temporal analysis of both the burst of 28 April and the long X-ray tail following it. We find strong evidence of an exclusively thermal X-ray tail in this event and bring this evidence to bear on other bursts and flares from SGR 1900+14 which have shown extended X-ray excesses (e.g. 1998 August 29). We include in this comparison a discussion of the physical origins of SGR bursts and extended X-ray tails.Comment: 27 pages, 13 figures, ApJ submissio

CMBPol Mission Concept Study: Foreground Science Knowledge and Prospects

We report on our knowledge of Galactic foregrounds, as well as on how a CMB satellite mission aiming at detecting a primordial B-mode signal (CMBPol) will contribute to improving it. We review the observational and analysis techniques used to constrain the structure of the Galactic magnetic field, whose presence is responsible for the polarization of Galactic emissions. Although our current understanding of the magnetized interstellar medium is somewhat limited, dramatic improvements in our knowledge of its properties are expected by the time CMBPol flies. Thanks to high resolution and high sensitivity instruments observing the whole sky at frequencies between 30 GHz and 850 GHz, CMBPol will not only improve this picture by observing the synchrotron emission from our galaxy, but also help constrain dust models. Polarized emission from interstellar dust indeed dominates over any other signal in CMBPol's highest frequency channels. Observations at these wavelengths, combined with ground-based studies of starlight polarization, will therefore enable us to improve our understanding of dust properties and of the mechanism(s) responsible for the alignment of dust grains with the Galactic magnetic field. CMBPol will also shed new light on observations that are presently not well understood. Morphological studies of anomalous dust and synchrotron emissions will indeed constrain their natures and properties, while searching for fluctuations in the emission from heliospheric dust will test our understanding of the circumheliospheric interstellar medium. Finally, acquiring more information on the properties of extra-Galactic sources will be necessary in order to maximize the cosmological constraints extracted from CMBPol's observations of CMB lensing. (abridged)Comment: 43 pages, 7 figures, 2 table

Chandra Observations of the Faintest Low-Mass X-ray Binaries

There exists a group of persistently faint galactic X-ray sources that, based on their location in the galaxy, high L_x/L_opt, association with X-ray bursts, and absence of low frequency X-ray pulsations, are thought to be low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs). We present results from Chandra observations for eight of these systems: 4U 1708-408, 2S 1711-339, KS 1739-304, SLX 1735-269, GRS 1736-297, SLX 1746-331, 1E 1746.7-3224, and 4U 1812-12. Locations for all sources, excluding GRS 1736-297, SLX 1746-331, and KS 1739-304 (which were not detected) were improved to 0.6" error circles (90% confidence). Our observations support earlier findings of transient behavior of GRS 1736-297, KS 1739-304, SLX 1746-331, and 2S 1711-339 (which we detect in one of two observations). Energy spectra for 4U 1708-408, 2S 1711-339, SLX 1735-269, 1E 1746.7-3224, and 4U 1812-12 are hard, with power law indices typically 1.4-2.1, which are consistent with typical faint LMXB spectra.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures. Accepted by Ap

Spectral Lags of Gamma-Ray Bursts from Primordial Black Hole (PBH) Evaporations

Primordial Black Holes (PBHs), which may have been created in the early Universe, are predicted to be detectable by their Hawking radiation. PBHs with an initial mass of 5.0 * 10^14 g should be expiring today with a burst of high energy particles. Evaporating PBHs in the solar neighborhood are candidate Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) progenitors. We propose spectral lag, which is the temporal delay between the high energy photon pulse and the low energy photon pulse, as a possible method to detect PBH evaporation events with the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope Observatory.Comment: 3 pages; Published in the proceedings of Huntsville 2008 symposium on GRBs; Indices in Equation 7 and 8 correcte

Temporal and Spectral Characteristics of Short Bursts from the Soft Gamma Repeaters 1806-20 and 1900+14

We study the temporal and coarse spectral properties of 268 bursts from SGR 1806-20 and 679 bursts from SGR 1900+14, all observed with the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer/Proportional Counter Array. Hardness ratios and temporal parameters, such as T_90 durations and tau_90 emission times are determined for these bursts. We find a lognormal distribution of burst durations, ranging over more than two orders of magnitude: T_90 ~ 10^-2 to >~ 1 s, with a peak at ~ 0.1 s. The burst light curves tend to be asymmetrical, with more than half of all events showing rise times t_r < 0.3 T_90. We find that there exists a correlation between the duration and fluence of bursts from both sources. We also find a significant anti-correlation between hardness ratio and fluence for SGR 1806-20 bursts and a marginal anti-correlation for SGR 1900+14 events. Finally, we discuss possible physical implications of these results within the framework of the magnetar model.Comment: 24 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

The optical afterglow of the short gamma-ray burst GRB 050709

It has long been known that there are two classes of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), mainly distinguished by their durations. The breakthrough in our understanding of long-duration GRBs (those lasting more than ~2 s), which ultimately linked them with energetic Type Ic supernovae, came from the discovery of their long-lived X-ray and optical afterglows, when precise and rapid localizations of the sources could finally be obtained. X-ray localizations have recently become available for short (duration <2 s) GRBs, which have evaded optical detection for more than 30 years. Here we report the first discovery of transient optical emission (R-band magnitude ~23) associated with a short burst; GRB 050709. The optical afterglow was localized with subarcsecond accuracy, and lies in the outskirts of a blue dwarf galaxy. The optical and X-ray afterglow properties 34 h after the GRB are reminiscent of the afterglows of long GRBs, which are attributable to synchrotron emission from ultrarelativistic ejecta. We did not, however, detect a supernova, as found in most nearby long GRB afterglows, which suggests a different origin for the short GRBs.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, press material at http://www.astro.ku.dk/dark

The optical counterpart to gamma-ray burst GRB970228 observed using the Hubble Space Telescope

Although more than 2,000 astronomical gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have been detected, and numerous models proposed to explain their occurrence, they have remained enigmatic owing to the lack of an obvious counterpart at other wavelengths. The recent ground-based detection of a transient source in the vicinity of GRB 970228 may therefore have provided a breakthrough. The optical counterpart appears to be embedded in an extended source which, if a galaxy as has been suggested, would lend weight to those models that place GRBs at cosmological distances. Here we report the observations using the Hubble Space Telescope of the transient counterpart and extended source 26 and 39 days after the initial gamma-ray outburst. We find that the counterpart has faded since the initial detection (and continues to fade), but the extended source exhibits no significant change in brightness between the two dates of observations reported here. The size and apparent constancy between the two epochs of HST observations imply that it is extragalactic, but its faintness makes a definitive statement about its nature difficult. Nevertheless, the decay profile of the transient source is consistent with a popular impulsive-fireball model, which assumes a merger between two neutron stars in a distant galaxy.Comment: 11 pages + 2 figures. To appear in Nature (29 May 1997 issue

NuSTAR Observations of X-Ray Bursts from the Magnetar 1E 1048.1-5937

We report the detection of eight bright X-ray bursts from the 6.5 s magnetar 1E 1048.15937, during a 2013 July observation campaign with the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array. We study the morphological and spectral properties of these bursts and their evolution with time. The bursts resulted in count rate increases by orders of magnitude, sometimes limited by the detector dead time, and showed blackbody spectra with kT is approx. 6-8 keV in the T90 duration of 1-4 s, similar to earlier bursts detected from the source. We find that the spectra during the tail of the bursts can be modeled with an absorbed blackbody with temperature decreasing with flux. The burst flux decays followed a power law of index 0.8-0.9. In the burst tail spectra, we detect a is approx. 13 keV emission feature, similar to those reported in previous bursts from this source as well as from other magnetars observed with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer.We explore possible origins of the spectral feature such as proton cyclotron emission, which implies a magnetic field strength of B is approx. 210(exp15) G in the emission region. However, the consistency of the energy of the feature in different objects requires further explanation

Prompt and Afterglow Emission Properties of Gamma-Ray Bursts with Spectroscopically Identified Supernovae

We present a detailed spectral analysis of the prompt and afterglow emission of four nearby long-soft gamma-ray bursts (GRBs 980425, 030329, 031203, and 060218) that were spectroscopically found to be associated with type Ic supernovae, and compare them to the general GRB population. For each event, we investigate the spectral and luminosity evolution, and estimate the total energy budget based upon broadband observations. The observational inventory for these events has become rich enough to allow estimates of their energy content in relativistic and sub-relativistic form. The result is a global portrait of the effects of the physical processes responsible for producing long-soft GRBs. In particular, we find that the values of the energy released in mildly relativistic outflows appears to have a significantly smaller scatter than those found in highly relativistic ejecta. This is consistent with a picture in which the energy released inside the progenitor star is roughly standard, while the fraction of that energy that ends up in highly relativistic ejecta outside the star can vary dramatically between different events.Comment: 55 pages including 23 figures and 8 tables. Accepted for publication in ApJ. Replaced with the accepted versio