Related papers: Synthetic off-axis light curves for low energy gam…
Numerical studies of gamma-ray burst afterglow jets reveal significant qualitative differences with simplified analytical models. We present an on-line library of synthetic afterglow light curves and broadband spectra for use in…
Numerical jet simulations serve a valuable role in calculating gamma-ray burst afterglow emission beyond analytical approximations. Here we present the results of high resolution 2D simulations of decelerating relativistic jets performed…
GRB afterglow jets have been notoriously difficult to resolve numerically using 2D hydrodynamical simulations due to high outflow Lorentz factors. By performing simulations in a boosted frame, it is possible to calculate light curves from…
Gamma ray burst (GRB) afterglow light curves have the potential to inform us about presently unobserved stages in the aftermath of a neutron star merger. Using numerical simulations of short GRB afterglows we obtain an approximate…
The ultra-relativistic outflows powering gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) acquire angular structure through their interaction with external material. They are often characterized by a compact, nearly uniform narrow core (with half-opening angle…
The jet structure in gamma-ray burst (GRB) sources is still largely an open question. The leading models invoke either (i) a roughly uniform jet with sharp edges, or (ii) a jet with a narrow core and wide wings where the energy per solid…
Gamma-ray burst (GRB) jets are narrow, and thus typically point away from us. They are initially ultra-relativistic, causing their prompt $\gamma$-ray and early afterglow emission to be beamed away from us. However, as the jet gradually…
Starting as highly relativistic collimated jets, gamma-ray burst outflows gradually decelerate and become non-relativistic spherical blast waves. Although detailed analytical solutions describing the afterglow emission received by an…
The recently discovered GRB afterglow is believed to be described reasonably well by synchrotron emission from a slowing down relativistic shell that collides with an external medium. To compare theoretical models with afterglow…
In gamma-ray burst research it is quite common to fit the afterglow light curves with a broken power law to interpret the data. We apply this method to a computer simulated population of afterglows and find systematic differences between…
We discuss jet dynamics for narrow and wide gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglow jets and the observational implications of numerical simulations of relativistic jets in two dimensions. We confirm earlier numerical results that sideways…
Gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglows are well described by synchrotron emission originating from the interaction between a relativistic blast wave and the external medium surrounding the GRB progenitor. We introduce a code to reconstruct…
The observed behavior of a short gamma-ray burst (sGRB) afterglow lightcurve can reveal the angular structure of the relativistic jet and constrain the observer's viewing angle $\theta_\textrm{obs}$. Regardless of viewing angle, the…
We calculate Gamma-Ray Burst afterglow light-curves from a relativistic jet of initial opening angle theta_0, as seen by observers at a wide range of viewing angles, theta_obs, from the jet axis. We describe three increasingly more…
We present an analysis of the unusual optical light curve of the gamma-ray burst GRB 081029, a long-soft burst with a redshift of z = 3.8479. We combine X-ray and optical observations from the Swift X-Ray Telescope and the Swift…
Direct multi-dimensional numerical simulation is the most reliable approach for calculating the fluid dynamics and observational signatures of relativistic jets in gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). We present a two-dimensional relativistic…
The optical light curve of the energetic gamma-ray burst GRB 991216 is consistent with jet-like behavior in which a power-law decay steepens from t**(-1.22 +/- 0.04) at early times to t**(-1.53 +/- 0.05) in a gradual transition at around 2…
We demonstrate that gamma-ray burst afterglow spectra and light curves can be calculated for arbitrary explosion and radiation parameters by scaling the peak flux and the critical frequencies connecting different spectral regimes. Only one…
Gamma ray bursts are often modelled as jet-like outflows directed towards the observer; the cone angle of the jet is then commonly inferred from the time at which there is a steepening in the power-law decay of the afterglow. We consider an…
We examine a sample of 21 gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglow light curves at radio frequencies, and compare them to the X-ray and/or optical properties of the afterglows and to the predictions of the standard jet/fireball model. Our sample…