Related papers: GRB Afterglow Polarimetry: Past, Present and Futur…
Gamma-ray bursts and their afterglows are thought to be produced by an ultra-relativistic jet. One of the most important open questions is the outflow composition: the energy may be carried out from the central source either as kinetic…
As the most energetic explosion in the universe, gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are usually believed to be generated by relativistic jets. Some mechanisms (e.g. internal non-uniform magnetic dissipation processes or the precession of the central…
The degree and the temporal evolution of linear polarization in the prompt and afterglow emission of gamma-ray bursts is a very robust diagnostic of some key features of gamma-ray bursts jets and their micro and macro physics. In this…
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are most probably powered by collimated relativistic outflows (jets) from accreting black holes at cosmological distances. Bright afterglows are produced when the outflow collides with the ambient medium. Afterglow…
Polarimetry of Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) afterglows in the last few years has been considered one of the most effective tool to probe the geometry, energetic, dynamics and the environment of GRBs. We report some of the most recent results and…
Polarization behaviors of optical afterglows from two-component gamma-ray burst jets are investigated, assuming various configurations for the two components. In most cases, the observed polarization is dominated by the inner narrow…
We review some open problems in the physics of afterglows, namely their polarization properties and the existence of dark/faint bursts. Polarization studies yield precious insights in the physical structure and dynamical evolution of GRB…
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are powered by ultra-relativistic jets. The launching sites of these jets are surrounded by dense media, which the jets must cross before they can accelerate and release the high energy emission. Interaction with the…
Extended, fading emissions in multi-wavelength are observed following Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). Recent broad-band observational campaigns led by the Swift Observatory reveal rich features of these GRB afterglows. Here we review the latest…
It has been recently proposed that current burst and afterglow observations can be accounted for by a top hat jet structure as well as by a more universal structured outflow, in which the energy carried by the flow is maximum at the jet…
The origin of GRBs have been a mystery for almost 30 years. The afterglow observed in the last few years enabled redshift determination for a handful of bursts, and the cosmological origin is now firmly established. Though the distance…
The central engine and jet composition of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) remain mysterious. Here we suggest that observations on polarization evolution of early optical afterglows may shed light on these questions. We first study the dynamics of a…
Gamma-Ray Burst afterglow polarization measurements, in spite of their intrinsic difficulties, have been carried out for a number of events that begins to be adequate to draw some general statistical conclusions. Although the presence of…
It is by now fairly well established that gamma-ray burst afterglows result from initially relativistic outflows interacting with the medium surrounding the burster and emitting non-thermal radiation ranging from radio to X-rays. However,…
Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) afterglows arise from the interaction of relativistic ejecta with the circumburst medium and are observed across the electromagnetic spectrum. Afterglow polarisation is expected at early and late phases depending on…
The past year has witnessed a large increase in our knowledge of the polarization properties of Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) radiation. In the prompt phase, the measurement (albeit highly debated) of a large degree of linear polarization in GRB…
Synchrotron and inverse Compton emission successfully explain the observed spectra of gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglows. It is thought that most GRBs are products of extremely relativistic outflows and the afterglow marks the interaction of…
Follow-up observations of large numbers of gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglows, facilitated by the Swift satellite, have produced a large sample of spectral energy distributions and light curves, from which the basic micro- and macrophysical…
Synchrotron is considered the dominant emission mechanism in the production of gamma-ray burst photons in the prompt as well as in the afterglow phase. Polarization is a characteristic feature of synchrotron and its study can reveal a…
The optical afterglows of the gamma ray bursts can be strongly polarized, in principle up to tens of percents, if: (i) the afterglow is synchrotron radiation from an ultra-relativistic blast, (ii) the blast is beamed during the afterglow…