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Multiwavelength analysis of the intriguing GRB 061126: the reverse shock scenario and magnetization
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(2008) Multiwavelength analysis of the intriguing GRB 061126: the reverse shock scenario and magnetization. Astrophysical Journal, Volume 687 (Number 1). pp. 443-455. doi:10.1086/592062 Research output not available from this repository, contact author.
Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/592062
Abstract
We present a detailed study of the prompt and afterglow emission from Swift GRB 061126 using BAT, XRT, UVOT data and multicolor optical imaging from 10 ground-based telescopes. GRB 061126 was a long burst (T-90 = 191 s) with four overlapping peaks in its gamma-ray light curve. The X-ray afterglow, observed from 26 minutes to 20 days after the burst, shows a simple power-law decay with alpha(x) 1: 290 +/- 0:008. Optical observations presented here cover the time range from 258 s (Faulkes Telescope North) to 15 days ( Gemini North) after the burst; the decay rate of the optical afterglow shows a steep-to-shallow transition (from alpha(1) - 1.48 +/- 0:06 to alpha(2) - 0:88 +/- 0:03) approximately 13 minutes after the burst. We suggest the early, steep component is due to a reverse shock and show that the magnetic energy density in the ejecta, expressed as a fraction of the equipartition value, is a few 10 times larger than in the forward shock in the early afterglow phase. The ejecta might be endowed with primordial magnetic fields at the central engine. The optical light curve implies a late-time break at about 1.5 days after the burst, while there is no evidence of the simultaneous break in the X-ray light curve. We model the broadband emission and show that some afterglow characteristics (the steeper decay in X-ray and the shallow spectral index from optical to X-ray) are difficult to explain in the framework of the standard fireball model. This might imply that the X-ray afterglow is due to an additional emission process, such as late-time central engine activity rather than blast-wave shock emission. The possible chromatic break at 1.5 days after the burst would give support to the additional emission scenario.
| Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subjects: | Q Science > QB Astronomy | ||||
| Divisions: | Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Science > Physics | ||||
| Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Gamma ray bursts, Cosmology -- Observations | ||||
| Journal or Publication Title: | Astrophysical Journal | ||||
| Publisher: | IOP Publishing | ||||
| ISSN: | 0004-637X | ||||
| Official Date: | 1 November 2008 | ||||
| Dates: |
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| Volume: | Volume 687 | ||||
| Number: | Number 1 | ||||
| Number of Pages: | 13 | ||||
| Page Range: | pp. 443-455 | ||||
| DOI: | 10.1086/592062 | ||||
| Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||
| Publication Status: | Published | ||||
| Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access | ||||
| Funder: | Royal Society (Great Britain), Slovenian Research Agency, Slovenia. Ministrstvo za visoko šolstvo, znanost in tehnologijo, Agenzia spaziale italiana [Italian Space Agency] (ASI), Research Councils UK, Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (Great Britain) (PPARC), United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Science and Technology Facilities Council (Great Britain) (STFC) | ||||
| Grant number: | 1/011/07/0 (ASI) |
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