Related papers: GRB Polarization: A Unique Probe of GRB Physics
The true nature of the progenitor to GRBs remains elusive; one characteristic that would constrain our understanding of the GRB mechanism considerably is gamma-ray polarimetry measurements of the initial burst flux. We present a method that…
The composition of gamma-ray burst (GRB) jets remained a mystery until recently. In practice, we usually characterize the magnetization of the GRB jets ($\sigma_0$) through the ratio between the Poynting flux and matter (baryonic) flux.…
A complete understanding of Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) has been difficult to achieve due to our incomplete knowledge of the radiation mechanism that is responsible for producing the prompt emission. This emission, which is detected in the…
Gamma-ray burst (GRB) prompt emission is highly beamed, and understanding the jet geometry and beaming configuration can provide information on the poorly understood central engine and circum-burst environment. Prior to the advent of…
The degree to which gamma ray bursts are collimated is now the dominant uncertainty in their energy requirements and event rates. In this review I begin with the reasons for studying GRB collimation, then discuss existing tests for…
The second brightest GRB in history, GRB230307A, provides an ideal laboratory to study the mechanism of GRB prompt emission thanks to its extraordinarily high photon statistics and its single episode activity. Here we demonstrate that the…
Polarization measurements of gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglows are a promising means of probing the structure, geometry, and magnetic composition of relativistic GRB jets. However, a precise treatment of instrumental calibration is vital for…
Linear and circular polarizations of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have been detected during recent years. We adopt a simplified model to investigate GRB polarization characteristics in this paper. A compressed two-dimensional turbulent slab…
The afterglow emission has become the main stream of Gamma-Ray burst research since its discovery three years ago. With the distance-scale enigma solved, the study of the late-time GRB emission is now the most promising approach to disclose…
While the dominant radiation mechanism gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) remains a question of debate, synchrotron emission is one of the foremost candidates to describe the multi-wavelength afterglow observations. As such, it is expected that GRBs…
The radiation mechanisms powering Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and their physical processes remain one of the unresolved questions in high-energy astrophysics. Spectro-polarimetric observations of exceptionally bright GRBs provide a powerful…
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…
Over the past few decades impressive progress has been made in the field of photon polarimetry, especially in the hard X-ray and soft gamma-ray energy regime. Measurements of the linear degree of polarization for some of the most energetic…
Despite decades of polarization observations and high-significance polarized $\gamma$-ray, X-ray, optical, and radio emissions in gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have been accumulating in dozens of cases, people have yet to find a consistent…
The exciting detection of a very high degree of linear polarization, $P=(80\pm 20)%$, in the prompt gamma-ray emission of GRB 021206, supports synchrotron emission as being the dominant radiation mechanism. There were also claims that this…
Motivated by the Fermi gamma-ray space telescope results, in recent years immense efforts were given to understanding the mechanism that leads to the prompt emission observed. The failure of the optically thin emission models (synchrotron…
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…
X-ray flares, lasting for $\sim 100 - 1000$ s in the X-ray band, are often observed following gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). The physical origin of X-ray flares is still unknown merely with the temporal/spectral information. On the other hand,…
Both observations and theoretical models suggest that the emissions in gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and the afterglows are beamed. We argue that the recent polarization measured in the afterglows gives further evidence of beaming in GRBs. In…
The emission region of $\rm \gamma$-ray bursts (GRBs) is poorly constrained. The uncertainty on the size of the dissipation site spans over 4 orders of magnitude ($\rm 10^{12}-10^{17}$ cm) depending on the unknown energy composition of the…