Related papers: Distribution of Gamma-ray Burst Ejecta Energy with…
The plateaus observed in about one half of the early X-ray afterglows are the most puzzling feature in gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) detected by Swift. By analyzing the temporal and spectral indices of a large X-ray plateau sample, we find that…
While it is generally agreed that the emitting regions in Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) move ultra relativistically towards the observer, different estimates of the initial Lorentz factors, $\Gamma_0$, lead to different, at times conflicting…
To study the ejecta property dependence of the gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglow, we carry out spherically symmetrical one-dimensional special relativistic magneto-hydrodynamic simulations of magnetized outflows with an adaptive mesh…
The peak time of optical afterglow may be used as a proxy to constrain the Lorentz factor Gamma of the gamma-ray burst (GRB) ejecta. We revisit this method by including bursts with optical observations that started when the afterglow flux…
In the past two years, tremendous progresses to understand X-ray Flashes have been made. Now it is widely believed that X-ray Flashes and Gamma-ray Bursts are intrinsically the same, their much different peak energy and flux may be just due…
We present time-resolved spectral analysis of the steep decay segments of 29 bright X-ray flares of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) observed with the Swift/X-ray telescope, and model their lightcurves and spectral index evolution behaviors with the…
The instantaneous emission from a relativistic surface endowed with a Lorentz factor $\Gamma$ that decreases away from the outflow symmetry axis can naturally explain the three phases observed by Swift/XRT in GRBs and their afterglows (GRB…
The Swift X-Ray Telescope often observes a rapidly decaying X-ray emission stretching to as long as $ t \sim 10^3$ seconds after a conventional prompt phase. This component is most likely due to a prompt emission viewed at large observer…
In the fireball model, it is more physically realistic that gamma-ray burst (GRB) ejecta have a range of bulk Lorentz factors (assuming $M\propto \Gamma^{-s}$). The low Lorentz factor part of the ejecta will catch up with the high Lorentz…
X-ray flares were discovered in the afterglow phase of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) by the {\em Swift} satellite a decade ago and known as a canonical component in GRB X-ray afterglows. In this paper, we constrain the Lorentz factors of GRB…
In the internal shock scenario for GRBs we expect some fraction of the energy of the burst to be carried by slow moving shells that were ejected at late times. These slow shells collide with faster moving outer shells when the outer shells…
The X-ray afterglows observed by Swift exhibit rich light-curves, with four phases of different decay rate. The temporal and spectral properties for a set of 47 bursts are used to identify the mechanisms which can explain these four phases.…
Bright X-ray flares are routinely detected by the Swift satellite during the early afterglow of gamma-ray bursts, when the explosion ejecta drives a blast wave into the external medium. We suggest that the flares are produced as the reverse…
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…
The X-ray light curves of hundreds of bursts are now available, thanks to the X-ray Telescope on board the Swift satellite, on time scales from ~1 minute up to weeks and in some cases months from the burst explosion. These data allow us to…
Most X-ray afterglows of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) observed by the Swift satellite have a shallow decay phase t^{-1/2} in the first few hours. This is not predicted by the standard afterglow model and needs an explanation. We discuss that the…
Recent analytical and numerical work argue that successful relativistic Fermi acceleration requires a weak magnetization of the unshocked plasma, all the more so at high Lorentz factors. The present paper tests this conclusion by computing…
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…
Explosions of massive stars are believed to be the source of a significant fraction of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). If this is indeed the case, then the explosion blast wave propagates into a complex density structure, composed of a stellar…
We present an updated catalog of 113 X-ray flares detected by Swift in the ~33% of the X-ray afterglows of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRB). 43 flares have a measured redshift. For the first time the analysis is performed in 4 different X-ray energy…