Related papers: X-ray flares from dense shells formed in gamma-ray…
The follow-up of $\gamma$-ray bursts (GRBs) by the X-ray telescope (XRT, 0.3-10 keV) on board the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory led to the discovery of a shallow decay phase (the so-called plateau) of the X-ray emission in a good fraction…
Early-time X-ray observations of GRBs with the Swift satellite have revealed a more complicated phenomenology than was known before. In particular, the presence of flaring activity on a wide range of time scales probably requires late-time…
We report on the temporal and spectral characteristics of the early X-ray emission from the GRB 050822 as observed by Swift. This burst is likely to be an XRF showing major X-ray flares in its XRT light-curve. The quality of the data allows…
Since the suggestion of relativistic shocks as the origin of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) in early 90's, the mathematical formulation of this process has stayed at phenomenological level. One of the reasons for the slow development of…
Observations of X-ray flares from Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) imply strong constraints on possible physical models. We provide a general discussion of these. In particular, we show that in order to account for the relatively flat and weak…
The detection of flares with the Swift satellite triggered a lot of bservational and theoretical interest in these phenomena. As a consequence a large analysis effort started within the community to characterize the phenomenon and at the…
The many similarities between the prompt emission pulses in gamma ray bursts (GRBs) and X-ray flares during the fast decay and afterglow phases of GRBs suggest a common origin. In the cannonball (CB) model of GRBs, this common origin is…
The prompt emission of Gamma Ray Bursts extends from the early pulses observed in gamma-rays (>15 keV) to very late flares of X-ray photons (0.3-10 keV). The duration of prompt gamma-ray pulses is rather constant while the width of X-ray…
Soft X-ray flares were detected to follow the short-duration gamma-ray burst GRB 050724. The temporal properties of the flares suggest that they are likely due to the late time activity of the central engine. We argue that if short GRBs are…
The Swift satellite has enabled us to follow the evolution of gamma-ray burst (GRB) fireballs from the prompt gamma-ray emission to the afterglow phase. The early x-ray and optical data obtained by telescopes aboard the Swift satellite show…
The statistics of X-ray flares in the afterglow of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have been studied extensively without considering the possible different origins of each flare. By satisfying six observational criteria, we find a sample composed…
We propose that the flat decay phase in the first 100-10,000 seconds of the X-ray light curve of Gamma Ray Bursts can be interpreted as prolonged activity of the central engine, producing shells of decreasing bulk Lorentz factors Gamma. The…
In many X-ray point sources on the sky, the X-ray emission arises because hydrogen and/or helium is accreted onto a neutron star from a nearby donor star. When this matter settles on the neutron star surface, it will undergo nuclear fusion.…
Observations of gamma ray bursts (GRBs) with Swift produced the initially surprising result that many bursts have large X-ray flares superimposed on the underlying afterglow. These flares were sometimes intense, rapid, and late relative to…
Late X-ray flares observed in X-ray afterglows of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) suggest late central engine activities at a few minuets to hours after the burst. A few unambiguously confirmed cases of supernova associations with nearby long GRBs…
Many gamma ray bursts (GRBs) have been observed with the Burst-Alert and X-Ray telescopes of the Swift satellite. The successive `pulses' of these GRBs end with a fast decline and a fast spectral softening, until they are overtaken by…
The optical light that is generated simultaneously with the x-rays and gamma-rays during a gamma-ray burst (GRB) provides clues about the nature of the explosions that occur as massive stars collapse to form black holes. We report on the…
Gamma-ray burst (GRB) X-ray light curves exhibit a variety of complex temporal structures, such as flares and plateaus. The origin of flares seen in many GRB early afterglows is still uncertain. Here, we analyze a sample of 89 GRBs, 61 of…
Data from the Swift satellite has enabled us for the first time to provide a complete picture of the gamma-ray burst emission mechanism and its relationship with the early afterglow emissions. We show that gamma-ray photons for two bursts,…
This paper discusses Swift observations of the gamma-ray burst GRB 050315 (z=1.949) from 80 s to 10 days after the onset of the burst. The X-ray light curve displayed a steep early decay (t^-5) for ~200 s and several breaks. However, both…