Optical Classification of Gamma-Ray Bursts in the Swift Era
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
2010-03-19 v1
Abstract
We propose a new method for the classification of optically dark gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), based on the X-ray and optical-to-X-ray spectral indices of GRB afterglows, and utilizing the spectral capabilities of Swift. This method depends less on model assumptions than previous methods, and can be used as a quick diagnostic tool to identify optically sub-luminous bursts. With this method we can also find GRBs that are extremely bright at optical wavelengths. We show that the previously suggested correlation between the optical darkness and the X-ray/gamma-ray brightness is merely an observational selection effect.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.0905.0524,
title = {Optical Classification of Gamma-Ray Bursts in the Swift Era},
author = {A. J. van der Horst and C. Kouveliotou and N. Gehrels and E. Rol and R. A. M. J. Wijers and J. K. Cannizzo and J. Racusin and D. N. Burrows},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0905.0524},
year = {2010}
}
Comments
6 pages, 3 figures; accepted for publication in ApJ