Gamma-Ray Burst Pulses and Lateral Jet Motion
Abstract
We propose that gamma-ray burst pulses are produced when highly-relativistic jets sweep across an observer's line-of-sight. We hypothesize that axisymmetric jet profiles, coupled with special relativistic effects, produce the time-reversed properties of gamma-ray burst pulses. Curvature resulting from rapid jet expansion is responsible for much of the observed pulse asymmetry and hard-to-soft evolution. The relative obliqueness with which the jet crosses the line-of-sight explains the known GRB pulse morphological types. We explore two scenarios: one in which a rigid/semi-rigid jet moves laterally, and the other in which a ballistic jet sprays material from a laterally-moving nozzle. The ballistic jet model is favored based upon its consistency with standard emission mechanisms.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2403.11387,
title = {Gamma-Ray Burst Pulses and Lateral Jet Motion},
author = {Jon Hakkila and Geoffrey N. Pendleton and Robert D. Preece and Timothy W. Giblin},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2403.11387},
year = {2024}
}
Comments
18 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal