Abstract The jet composition in gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) is still an unsolved issue. We try to provide some clues to the issue by analyzing the spectral properties of GRB 160509A and GRB 130427A with a main burst and a postburst. We first perform Bayesian time-resolved spectral analysis and compare the spectral components and spectral properties of the main bursts and postbursts of the two bursts and find that both bursts have the thermal components, and the thermal components are mainly found in the main bursts, while the postbursts are mainly dominated by the nonthermal components. We also find that the low-energy spectral indices of some time bins in the main bursts of these two GRBs exceed the so-called synchronous dead line, and in the postburst, only GRB 160509A has four time bins exceeding the dead line, while none of GRB 130427A exceed the dead line. We then constrain the outflow properties of both bursts and find that the main bursts is consistent with the typical properties of photosphere radiation. Therefore, our results support the transition of the GRB jet component from the fireball to the Poynting-flux-dominated jet. Finally, after analyzing the correlation and parameter evolution of the spectral parameters of the two bursts, we find that the correlations of the spectral parameters have different behaviors in the main bursts and postbursts. The parameter evolution trends of the main bursts and postbursts also show consistent and inconsistent behavior; therefore, we currently cannot determine whether the main bursts and postbursts come from the same origin.
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A Cosmological Fireball with 16% Gamma-Ray Radiative Efficiency
Abstract Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are the most powerful explosions in the universe. How efficiently the jet converts its energy to radiation is a long-standing problem, which is poorly constrained. The standard model invokes a relativistic fireball with a bright photosphere emission component. A definitive diagnosis of GRB radiation components and the measurement of GRB radiative efficiency require prompt emission and afterglow data, with high resolution and wide band coverage in time and energy. Here, we present a comprehensive temporal and spectral analysis of the TeV-emitting bright GRB 190114C. Its fluence is one of the highest for all the GRBs that have been detected so far, which allows us to perform a high-resolution study of the prompt emission spectral properties and their temporal evolutions, down to a timescale of about 0.1 s. We observe that each of the initial pulses has a thermal component contributing ∼20% of the total energy and that the corresponding temperature and inferred Lorentz factor of the photosphere evolve following broken power-law shapes. From the observation of the nonthermal spectra and the light curve, the onset of the afterglow corresponding to the deceleration of the fireball is considered to start at ∼6 s. By incorporating the thermal and nonthermal observations, as well as the photosphere and synchrotron radiative mechanisms, we can directly derive the fireball energy budget with little dependence on hypothetical parameters, measuring a ∼16% radiative efficiency for this GRB. With the fireball energy budget derived, the afterglow microphysics parameters can also be constrained directly from the data.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2011759
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10437820
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- The Astrophysical Journal Letters
- Volume:
- 944
- Issue:
- 2
- ISSN:
- 2041-8205
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- L57
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acb99d
