Related papers: Delayed Afterglow Onset Interpreted as Baryon-Poor…
I review the main observational achievements concerning GRB optical afterglows occurred in the past two years. Their emission seems to be well interpreted in terms of the `fireball' model, although a variety of behaviours are observed.…
We propose to explain the recent observations of GRB early X-ray afterglows with SWIFT by the dissipation of energy in the reverse shock which crosses the ejecta as it is decelerated by the burst environment. We compute the evolution of the…
Half of the radio afterglows for which there is a good temporal coverage exhibit after 10 days from the burst a decay which is shallower than at optical frequencies, contrary to what is expected within the simplest form of the standard…
The high efficiency of converting kinetic energy into gamma-rays estimated with late-time afterglows in Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) phenomenon challenges the commonly accepted internal-shock model. However, the efficiency is still highly…
In many GRB inner engine models the highly relativistic GRB jets are engulfed by slower moving matter. This could result in different beaming for the prompt $\gamma$-ray emission and for the lower energy afterglow. In this case we should…
I discuss some theoretical expectations for the synchrotron emission from a relativistic blast-wave interacting with the ambient medium, as a model for GRB afterglows, and compare them with observations. An afterglow flux evolving as a…
The jet opening angle of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) is an important parameter for determining the characteristics of the progenitor, and the information contained in the opening angle gives insight into the relativistic outflow and the total…
(Abridged) We discuss a Gamma-ray burst (GRB) fireball with an additional energy injection, either in the form of a Poynting-flux-dominated outflow or a kinetic-energy-dominated matter shell injected after the burst. A total injection…
In order to constrain the broad-band spectral energy distribution of the afterglow of GRB 100621A, dedicated observations were performed in the optical/near-infrared with the 7-channel "Gamma-Ray Burst Optical and Near-infrared Detector"…
We extend the standard fireball model, widely used to interpret gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglow light curves, to include energy injections, and apply the model to the afterglow light curves of GRB 990510, GRB 000301C and GRB 010222. We show…
Observations of very early multi-wavelength afterglows are critical to reveal the properties of the radiating fireball and its environment as well as the central engine of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). We report our optical observations of GRB…
One of the most intriguing discoveries made by the Swift satellite is the flaring activity in about half of the afterglow lightcurves. Flares have been observed on both long and short duration GRBs and on time scales that range from minutes…
The launch of the Beppo-Sax satellite gave a unique opportunity to investigate gamma ray bursts (GRB) in different spectral regions. The large diversity of the afterglow behavior creates additional problems for the cosmological model with a…
Because of their cosmological origin, gamma-ray burst (GRB) optical afterglows are attenuated when they pass intergalactic absorbers in the GRB line-of-sight. Without the knowledge of the number of absorbers and their physical properties,…
Millisecond pulsars with strong magnetic fields may be formed through several processes, e.g. accretion-induced collapse of magnetized white dwarfs, merger of two neutron stars. During the birth of such a pulsar, an initial fireball…
Physics of GRB blast waves is discussed with a focus on two effects: (1) pair creation in the external medium by the gamma-ray front and (2) decay of neutrons ahead of the decelerating blast wave. Both effects impact the afterglow mechanism…
Abridged: The decay of half of the GRB radio afterglows with long temporal monitoring is significantly slower than at optical frequencies, contrary to what is expected in the simplest fireball model. We investigate four ways to decouple the…
The detection of delayed emission in X-ray, optical and radio wave length, ``afterglow'', following a gamma-ray burst can be described by the emission of a relativistic shell decelerating upon collision with the ISM. We show that the…
The cosmological nature of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) implies that a small portion of them could be gravitationally lensed by foreground objects during their propagation. The gravitational lensing effect on the GRB prompt emission and on-axis…
We present the main observational features expected for Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) that occur inside pulsar wind bubbles (PWBs). This is the most natural outcome of the supranova model, where initially a supernova (SN) explosion takes place,…