Related papers: Polarization and light curve variability: the "pat…

We present general analytic expressions for GRB afterglow light curves arising from a variable external density profile and/or a variable energy in the blast wave. The former could arise from a clumpy ISM or a variable stellar wind; The…

The fluctuations observed in the light curves of some GRB-afterglows (such as GRB 021004) provide a useful tool to probe the circum-burst density profile and to probe the variations in the energy of blast-wave with time. We present a…

Several GRB afterglow light curves deviate strongly from the power law decay observed in most bursts. We show that these variations can be accounted for by including refreshed shocks in the standard fireball model previously used to…

In a recent paper, Rol and colleagues present evidence for a variable polarization in the optical afterglow following the gamma-ray burst GRB 990712. The variation is highly significant, but the position angle appears time independent.…

[Abridged] A number of phenomena have been observed in GRB afterglows that defy explanation by simple versions of the standard fireball model, leading to a variety of new models. Polarimetry can be a major independent diagnostic of…

Linear polarization measurements in the optical band show polarization degrees of a few percent at late times. Recently, polarization at sub-percent level was also detected in radio by ALMA, opening the window for multi-wavelength…

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…

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…

We present a broadband modeling of the afterglow of GRB 021004. The optical transient of this burst has been detected very early and densely sampled in several bands. Its light curve shows significant deviations from a simple power law. We…

Sharp breaks have been observed in the afterglow light curves of several GRBs; this is generally explained by the jet model. However, there are still some uncertainties concerning this interpretation due to the unclear hydrodynamics of jet…

We report the discovery of the afterglow of the X-ray rich, long-duration gamma-ray burst GRB 011211 and present evidence for oscillatory behaviour in its early optical light curve. The time-scale of the fluctuations, ~1 hour, is much…

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…

We numerically compute light and polarisation curves of gamma-ray burst afterglows for various configurations of the jet luminosity structure and for different dynamical evolutions. We especially consider the standard homogeneous ``top…

We present polarimetric observations of the afterglow of gamma-ray burst (GRB) 021004, obtained with the Nordic Optical Telescope (NOT) and the Very Large Telescope (VLT) between 8 and 17 hours after the burst. Comparison among the…

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…

GRB 030329 is unique in many aspects. It has a very low redshift for a GRB, $z=0.1685$, and is therefore very bright and easy to monitor, making it the most well studied afterglow to date. It shows a supernova bump in the light curve, with…

The polarization of the optical afterglow (AG) of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) has only been measured in a few instances at various times after the GRB. In all cases except the best measured one (GRB 030329) the observed polarization and its…

The optical lightcurve of GRB010222 exhibited one of the slowest decays of any gamma-ray burst to date. Its broadband properties have been difficult to explain with conventional afterglow models, as they either require the power law index…

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…

We report 31 polarimetric observations of the afterglow of GRB 030329 with high signal-to-noise and high sampling frequency. We establish the polarization light curve, detect sustained polarization at the percent level, and find significant…