High energy neutrino early afterglows from gamma-ray bursts revisited

The high energy neutrino emission from gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) has been expected in various scenarios. In this paper, we study the neutrino emission from early afterglows of GRBs, especially under the reverse-forward shock model and late prompt emission model. In the former model, the early afterglow emission occurs due to dissipation made by an external shock with the circumburst medium (CBM). In the latter model, internal dissipation such as internal shocks produces the shallow decay emission in early afterglows. We also discuss implications of recent Swift observations for neutrino signals in detail. Future neutrino detectors such as IceCube may detect neutrino signals from early afterglows, especially under the late prompt emission model, while the detection would be difficult under the reverse-forward shock model. Contribution to the neutrino background from the early afterglow emission may be at most comparable to that from the prompt emission unless the outflow making the early afterglow emission loads more nonthermal protons, and it may be important in the very high energies. Neutrino-detections are inviting because they could provide us with not only information on baryon acceleration but also one of the clues to the model of early afterglows. Finally, we compare various predictions for the neutrino background from GRBs, which are testable by future neutrino-observations.Comment: 18 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in PR

Macrophages and Neutrophils: Regulation of the Inflammatory Microenvironment in Autoimmunity and Cancer.

No abstract available

Modeling GRB 050904: Autopsy of a Massive Stellar Explosion at z=6.29

GRB 050904 at redshift z=6.29, discovered and observed by Swift and with spectroscopic redshift from the Subaru telescope, is the first gamma-ray burst to be identified from beyond the epoch of reionization. Since the progenitors of long gamma-ray bursts have been identified as massive stars, this event offers a unique opportunity to investigate star formation environments at this epoch. Apart from its record redshift, the burst is remarkable in two respects: first, it exhibits fast-evolving X-ray and optical flares that peak simultaneously at t~470 s in the observer frame, and may thus originate in the same emission region; and second, its afterglow exhibits an accelerated decay in the near-infrared (NIR) from t~10^4 s to t~3 10^4 s after the burst, coincident with repeated and energetic X-ray flaring activity. We make a complete analysis of available X-ray, NIR, and radio observations, utilizing afterglow models that incorporate a range of physical effects not previously considered for this or any other GRB afterglow, and quantifying our model uncertainties in detail via Markov Chain Monte Carlo analysis. In the process, we explore the possibility that the early optical and X-ray flare is due to synchrotron and inverse Compton emission from the reverse shock regions of the outflow. We suggest that the period of accelerated decay in the NIR may be due to suppression of synchrotron radiation by inverse Compton interaction of X-ray flare photons with electrons in the forward shock; a subsequent interval of slow decay would then be due to a progressive decline in this suppression. The range of acceptable models demonstrates that the kinetic energy and circumburst density of GRB 050904 are well above the typical values found for low-redshift GRBs.Comment: 45 pages, 7 figures, and ApJ accepted. Revised version, minor modifications and 1 extra figur

Spectra and Light Curves of GRB Afterglows

We performed accurate numerical calculations of angle-, time-, and frequency-dependent radiative transfer for the relativistic motion of matter in gamma-ray burst (GRB) models. Our technique for solving the transfer equation, which is based on the method of characteristics, can be applied to the motion of matter with a Lorentz factor up to 1000. The effect of synchrotron self-absorption is taken into account. We computed the spectra and light curves from electrons with a power-law energy distribution in an expanding relativistic shock and compare them with available analytic estimates. The behavior of the optical afterglows from GRB 990510 and GRB 000301c is discussed qualitatively.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure

Tail emission from a ring-like jet: its application to shallow decays of early afterglows and to GRB 050709

Similar to the pulsar, the magnetic axis and the spin axis of the gamma-ray burst source may not lie on the same line. This may cause a ring-like jet due to collimation of the precessing magnetic axis. We analyze the tail emission from such a jet, and find that it has a shallow decay phase with temporal index equal to -1/2 if the Lorentz factor of the ejecta is not very high. This phase is consistent with the shallow decay phase of some early X-ray afterglow detected by {\it{swift}}. The ring-like jet has a tail cusp with sharp rising and very sharp decay. This effect can provide an explanation for the re-brightening and sharp decay of the X-ray afterglow of GRB 050709.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures. Accepted by ChJA

The very early afterglow powered by the ultra-relativistic mildly magnetized outflows

In the Poynting Flux dominated outflow (the initial ratio of the electromagnetic energy flux to the particle energy flux $\sigma_0\gg1$) model for Gamma-ray bursts, nearly half of the internally dissipated magnetic energy is converted into the prompt $\gamma-$ray energy emission and the rest is converted into the kinetic energy of the outflow. Consequently, at the end of the $\gamma-$ray burst, $\sigma$ decreases significantly ($\sigma\sim 1$ or even smaller). We numerically investigate the very early reverse shock emission powered by such mildly magnetized outflows interacting with medium--uniform interstellar medium (ISM) or stellar wind (WIND). We show that for $\sigma\sim0.05-1$ and typical parameters of Gamma-ray bursts, both the ISM-ejecta interaction and the WIND-ejecta interaction can power very strong optical emission ($m_{\rm R}\sim 10-12{\rm th}$ magnitude or even brighter). Similar to the very early afterglow powered by the non-magnetized ejecta interacting with the external medium, the main difference between the ISM-ejecta interaction case and the WIND-ejecta interaction case is that, before the reverse shock crosses the ejecta, the R-band emission flux increases rapidly for the former, but for the latter it increases only slightly. (The abstract has been shortened). We suggest that the linear polarization detection of the early multi-wavelength afterglow is highly needed to see whether the outflows powering GRBs are magnetized or not.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, A&A in pres

No visible optical variability from a relativistic blast wave encountering a wind-termination shock

Gamma-ray burst afterglow flares and rebrightenings of the optical and X-ray light curve have been attributed to both late time inner engine activity and density changes in the medium surrounding the burster. To test the latter, we study the encounter between the relativistic blast wave from a gamma-ray burster and a stellar wind termination shock. The blast wave is simulated using a high performance adaptive mesh relativistic hydrodynamics code, AMRVAC, and the synchrotron emission is analyzed in detail with a separate radiation code. We find no bump in the resulting light curve, not even for very high density jumps. Furthermore, by analyzing the contributions from the different shock wave regions we are able to establish that it is essential to resolve the blast wave structure in order to make qualitatively correct predictions on the observed output and that the contribution from the reverse shock region will not stand out, even when the magnetic field is increased in this region by repeated shocks. This study resolves a controversy in recent literature.Comment: 4 figures, submitted to MNRAS letter

Shallow decay phase of GRB X-ray afterglows from relativistic wind bubbles

The postburst object of a GRB is likely to be a highly magnetized, rapidly rotating compact object (e.g., a millisecond magnetar), which could produce an ultrarelativistic electron-positron-pair wind. The interaction of such a wind with an outwardly expanding fireball ejected during the burst leads to a relativistic wind bubble (RWB). We numerically calculate the dynamics and radiative properties of RWBs and use this model to explain the shallow decay phase of the early X-ray afterglows observed by Swift. We find that RWBs can fall into two types: forward-shock-dominated and reverse-shock-dominated bubbles. Their radiation during a period of $\sim 10^{2}-10^{5}$ seconds is dominated by the shocked medium and the shocked wind, respectively, based on different magnetic energy fractions of the shocked materials. For both types, the resulting light curves always have a shallow decay phase. In addition, we provide an example fit to the X-ray afterglows of GRB 060813 and GRB 060814 and show that they could be produced by forward-shock-dominated and reverse-shock-dominated bubbles, respectively. This implies that, for some early afterglows (e.g., GRB 060814), the long-lasting reverse shock emission is strong enough to explain their shallow decay phase.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, Accepted for Publication in A&

A Detailed Study on the Equal Arrival Time Surface Effect in Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglows

Due to the relativistic motion of gamma-ray burst remnant and its deceleration in the circumburst medium, the equal arrival time surfaces at any moment are not spherical, but should be distorted ellipsoids. This will leave some imprints in the afterglows. In this article, we study the effect of equal arrival time surfaces numerically under various conditions, i.e., for isotropic fireballs, collimated jets, density jump conditions, and energy injection events. For each condition, direct comparison between the two instances when the effect is and is not included, is presented. For isotropic fireballs and jets viewed on axis, the effect slightly hardens the spectra and postpones the peak time of afterglows, but does not change the shapes of the spectra and light curves significantly. In the cases when a density jump or an energy injection is involved, the effect smears the variability of the afterglows markedly.Comment: Accepted for publication in: Chin. J. Astron. Astrophys., 15 pages, 8 embedded eps figure

GRB Radiative Efficiencies Derived from the Swift Data: GRBs vs. XRFs, Long vs. Short

We systematically analyze the prompt emission and the early afterglow data of a sample of 31 GRBs detected by {\em Swift} before September 2005, and estimate the GRB radiative efficiency. BAT's narrow band inhibits a precise determination of the GRB spectral parameters, and we have developed a method to estimate these parameters with the hardness ratio information. The shallow decay component commonly existing in early X-ray afterglows, if interpreted as continuous energy injection in the external shock, suggests that the GRB efficiency previously derived from the late-time X-ray data were not reliable. We calculate two radiative efficiencies using the afterglow kinetic energy E_K derived at the putative deceleration time t_{dec}) and at the break time (t_b) when the energy injection phase ends, respectively. At t_b XRFs appear to be less efficient than normal GRBs. However, when we analyze the data at t_{dec} XRFs are found to be as efficient as GRBs. Short GRBs have similar radiative efficiencies to long GRBs despite of their different progenitors. Twenty-two bursts in the sample are identified to have the afterglow cooling frequency below the X-ray band. Assuming \epsilon_e = 0.1, we find \eta_\gamma(t_b) usually 90%. Nine GRBs in the sample have the afterglow cooling frequency above the X-ray band for a very long time. This suggests a very small \epsilon_B and/or a very low ambient density n.Comment: 43 pages, 10 figures, ApJ, in pres