An unexpectedly rapid decline in the X-ray afterglow emission of long γ-ray bursts

G. Tagliaferri; M. Goad; G. Chincarini; A. Moretti; S. Campana; D. N. Burrows; M. Perri; S. D. Barthelmy; N. Gehrels; H. Krimm; T. Sakamoto; P. Kumar; P. I. Mészáros; S. Kobayashi; B. Zhang; L. Angelini; P. Banat; A. P. Beardmore; M. Capalbi; S. Covino; G. Cusumano; P. Giommi; O. Godet; J. E. Hill; J. A. Kennea; V. Mangano; D. C. Morris; J. A. Nousek; P. T. O'Brien; J. P. Osborne; C. Pagani; K. L. Page; P. Romano; L. Stella; A. Wells

doi:10.1038/nature03934

An unexpectedly rapid decline in the X-ray afterglow emission of long γ-ray bursts

G. Tagliaferri, M. Goad, G. Chincarini, A. Moretti, S. Campana, D. N. Burrows, M. Perri, S. D. Barthelmy, N. Gehrels, H. Krimm, T. Sakamoto, P. Kumar, P. I. Mészáros, S. Kobayashi, B. Zhang, L. Angelini, P. Banat, A. P. Beardmore, M. Capalbi, S. CovinoG. Cusumano, P. Giommi, O. Godet, J. E. Hill, J. A. Kennea, V. Mangano, D. C. Morris, J. A. Nousek, P. T. O'Brien, J. P. Osborne, C. Pagani, K. L. Page, P. Romano, L. Stella, A. Wells

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Abstract

'Long' γ-ray bursts (GRBs) are commonly accepted to originate in the explosion of particularly massive stars, which give rise to highly relativistic jets. Inhomogeneities in the expanding flow result in internal shock waves that are believed to produce the γ-rays we see. As the jet travels further outward into the surrounding circumstellar medium, 'external' shocks create the afterglow emission seen in the X-ray, optical and radio bands. Here we report observations of the early phases of the X-ray emission of five GRBs. Their X-ray light curves are characterised by a surprisingly rapid fall-off for the first few hundred seconds, followed by a less rapid decline lasting several hours. This steep decline, together with detailed spectral properties of two particular bursts, shows that violent shock interactions take place in the early jet outflows.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	985-988
Number of pages	4
Journal	Nature
Volume	436
Issue number	7053
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03934
State	Published - Aug 18 2005

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Tagliaferri, G., Goad, M., Chincarini, G., Moretti, A., Campana, S., Burrows, D. N., Perri, M., Barthelmy, S. D., Gehrels, N., Krimm, H., Sakamoto, T., Kumar, P., Mészáros, P. I., Kobayashi, S., Zhang, B., Angelini, L., Banat, P., Beardmore, A. P., Capalbi, M., ... Wells, A. (2005). An unexpectedly rapid decline in the X-ray afterglow emission of long γ-ray bursts. Nature, 436(7053), 985-988. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03934

@article{f1398d2bf6f345c59253615c87e434aa,

title = "An unexpectedly rapid decline in the X-ray afterglow emission of long γ-ray bursts",

abstract = "'Long' γ-ray bursts (GRBs) are commonly accepted to originate in the explosion of particularly massive stars, which give rise to highly relativistic jets. Inhomogeneities in the expanding flow result in internal shock waves that are believed to produce the γ-rays we see. As the jet travels further outward into the surrounding circumstellar medium, 'external' shocks create the afterglow emission seen in the X-ray, optical and radio bands. Here we report observations of the early phases of the X-ray emission of five GRBs. Their X-ray light curves are characterised by a surprisingly rapid fall-off for the first few hundred seconds, followed by a less rapid decline lasting several hours. This steep decline, together with detailed spectral properties of two particular bursts, shows that violent shock interactions take place in the early jet outflows.",

author = "G. Tagliaferri and M. Goad and G. Chincarini and A. Moretti and S. Campana and Burrows, {D. N.} and M. Perri and Barthelmy, {S. D.} and N. Gehrels and H. Krimm and T. Sakamoto and P. Kumar and M{\'e}sz{\'a}ros, {P. I.} and S. Kobayashi and B. Zhang and L. Angelini and P. Banat and Beardmore, {A. P.} and M. Capalbi and S. Covino and G. Cusumano and P. Giommi and O. Godet and Hill, {J. E.} and Kennea, {J. A.} and V. Mangano and Morris, {D. C.} and Nousek, {J. A.} and O'Brien, {P. T.} and Osborne, {J. P.} and C. Pagani and Page, {K. L.} and P. Romano and L. Stella and A. Wells",

note = "Funding Information: Acknowledgements We acknowledge support from ASI, NASA and PPARC.",

year = "2005",

month = aug,

day = "18",

doi = "10.1038/nature03934",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "436",

pages = "985--988",

journal = "Nature",

issn = "0028-0836",

publisher = "Nature Research",

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Tagliaferri, G, Goad, M, Chincarini, G, Moretti, A, Campana, S, Burrows, DN, Perri, M, Barthelmy, SD, Gehrels, N, Krimm, H, Sakamoto, T, Kumar, P, Mészáros, PI, Kobayashi, S, Zhang, B, Angelini, L, Banat, P, Beardmore, AP, Capalbi, M, Covino, S, Cusumano, G, Giommi, P, Godet, O, Hill, JE, Kennea, JA, Mangano, V, Morris, DC, Nousek, JA, O'Brien, PT, Osborne, JP, Pagani, C, Page, KL, Romano, P, Stella, L & Wells, A 2005, 'An unexpectedly rapid decline in the X-ray afterglow emission of long γ-ray bursts', Nature, vol. 436, no. 7053, pp. 985-988. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03934

TY - JOUR

T1 - An unexpectedly rapid decline in the X-ray afterglow emission of long γ-ray bursts

AU - Tagliaferri, G.

AU - Goad, M.

AU - Chincarini, G.

AU - Moretti, A.

AU - Campana, S.

AU - Burrows, D. N.

AU - Perri, M.

AU - Barthelmy, S. D.

AU - Gehrels, N.

AU - Krimm, H.

AU - Sakamoto, T.

AU - Kumar, P.

AU - Mészáros, P. I.

AU - Kobayashi, S.

AU - Zhang, B.

AU - Angelini, L.

AU - Banat, P.

AU - Beardmore, A. P.

AU - Capalbi, M.

AU - Covino, S.

AU - Cusumano, G.

AU - Giommi, P.

AU - Godet, O.

AU - Hill, J. E.

AU - Kennea, J. A.

AU - Mangano, V.

AU - Morris, D. C.

AU - Nousek, J. A.

AU - O'Brien, P. T.

AU - Osborne, J. P.

AU - Pagani, C.

AU - Page, K. L.

AU - Romano, P.

AU - Stella, L.

AU - Wells, A.

N1 - Funding Information: Acknowledgements We acknowledge support from ASI, NASA and PPARC.

PY - 2005/8/18

Y1 - 2005/8/18

N2 - 'Long' γ-ray bursts (GRBs) are commonly accepted to originate in the explosion of particularly massive stars, which give rise to highly relativistic jets. Inhomogeneities in the expanding flow result in internal shock waves that are believed to produce the γ-rays we see. As the jet travels further outward into the surrounding circumstellar medium, 'external' shocks create the afterglow emission seen in the X-ray, optical and radio bands. Here we report observations of the early phases of the X-ray emission of five GRBs. Their X-ray light curves are characterised by a surprisingly rapid fall-off for the first few hundred seconds, followed by a less rapid decline lasting several hours. This steep decline, together with detailed spectral properties of two particular bursts, shows that violent shock interactions take place in the early jet outflows.

AB - 'Long' γ-ray bursts (GRBs) are commonly accepted to originate in the explosion of particularly massive stars, which give rise to highly relativistic jets. Inhomogeneities in the expanding flow result in internal shock waves that are believed to produce the γ-rays we see. As the jet travels further outward into the surrounding circumstellar medium, 'external' shocks create the afterglow emission seen in the X-ray, optical and radio bands. Here we report observations of the early phases of the X-ray emission of five GRBs. Their X-ray light curves are characterised by a surprisingly rapid fall-off for the first few hundred seconds, followed by a less rapid decline lasting several hours. This steep decline, together with detailed spectral properties of two particular bursts, shows that violent shock interactions take place in the early jet outflows.

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U2 - 10.1038/nature03934

DO - 10.1038/nature03934

M3 - Article

C2 - 16107840

AN - SCOPUS:23944479124

SN - 0028-0836

VL - 436

SP - 985

EP - 988

JO - Nature

JF - Nature

IS - 7053

ER -

An unexpectedly rapid decline in the X-ray afterglow emission of long γ-ray bursts

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