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Title:
The Early X-Ray Emission from GRBs
Authors:
O'Brien, P. T.; Willingale, R.; Osborne, J.; Goad, M. R.; Page, K. L.; Vaughan, S.; Rol, E.; Beardmore, A.; Godet, O.; Hurkett, C. P.; Wells, A.; Zhang, B.; Kobayashi, S.; Burrows, D. N.; Nousek, J. A.; Kennea, J. A.; Falcone, A.; Grupe, D.; Gehrels, N.; Barthelmy, S.; Cannizzo, J.; Cummings, J.; Hill, J. E.; Krimm, H.; Chincarini, G.; Tagliaferri, G.; Campana, S.; Moretti, A.; Giommi, P.; Perri, M.; Mangano, V.; LaParola, V.
Affiliation:
AA(Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK.), AB(Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK.), AC(Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK.), AD(Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK.), AE(Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK.), AF(Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK.), AG(Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK.), AH(Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK.), AI(Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK.), AJ(Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK.), AK(Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK.), AL(Department of Physics, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV 89154.), AM(Astrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, Twelve Quays House, Birkenhead CH41 1LD, UK.), AN(Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pennsylvania State University, 525 Davey Laboratory, University Park, PA 16802.), AO(Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pennsylvania State University, 525 Davey Laboratory, University Park, PA 16802.), AP(Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pennsylvania State University, 525 Davey Laboratory, University Park, PA 16802.), AQ(Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pennsylvania State University, 525 Davey Laboratory, University Park, PA 16802.), AR(Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pennsylvania State University, 525 Davey Laboratory, University Park, PA 16802.), AS(NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771.), AT(NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771.), AU(NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771.; Joint Center for Astrophysics, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD 21250.), AV(NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771.; National Research Council, 2101 Constitution Avenue, Washington, DC 20418.), AW(NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771.; Universities Space Research Association, 10211 Wincopin Circle, Suite 500, Columbia, MD 21044-3432.), AX(NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771.; Universities Space Research Association, 10211 Wincopin Circle, Suite 500, Columbia, MD 21044-3432.), AY(INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera, Via E. Bianchi 46, I-23807 Merate (LC), Italy.; Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, Dipartimento di Fisica, Piazza delle Scienze 3, I-20126 Milano, Italy.), AZ(INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera, Via E. Bianchi 46, I-23807 Merate (LC), Italy.), BA(INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera, Via E. Bianchi 46, I-23807 Merate (LC), Italy.), BB(INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera, Via E. Bianchi 46, I-23807 Merate (LC), Italy.), BC(ASI Science Data Center, Via G. Galilei, I-00044 Frascati, Italy.), BD(ASI Science Data Center, Via G. Galilei, I-00044 Frascati, Italy.), BE(INAF-Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica Sezione di Palermo, Via U. La Malfa 153, I-90146 Palermo, Italy.), BF(INAF-Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica Sezione di Palermo, Via U. La Malfa 153, I-90146 Palermo, Italy.)
Publication:
The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 647, Issue 2, pp. 1213-1237. (ApJ Homepage)
Publication Date:
08/2006
Origin:
UCP
ApJ Keywords:
Accretion, Accretion Disks, Black Hole Physics, Gamma Rays: Bursts
DOI:
10.1086/505457
Bibliographic Code:
2006ApJ...647.1213O

Abstract

We present observations of the early X-ray emission for a sample of 40 gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) obtained using the Swift satellite, for which the narrow-field instruments were pointed at the burst within 10 minutes of the trigger. Using data from the Burst Alert Telescope and the X-Ray Telescope, we show that the X-ray light curve can be well described by an exponential that relaxes into a power law, often with flares superimposed. The transition time between the exponential and the power law provides a physically defined timescale for the burst duration. In most bursts, the power law breaks to a shallower decay within the first hour, and a late emission ``hump'' is observed, which can last for many hours. In other GRBs the hump is weak or absent. The observed variety in the shape of the early X-ray light curve can be explained as a combination of three components: prompt emission from the central engine, afterglow, and the late hump. In this scenario, afterglow emission begins during or soon after the burst, and the observed shape of the X-ray light curve depends on the relative strengths of the emission due to the central engine and that of the afterglow. There is a strong correlation such that those GRBs with stronger afterglow components have brighter early optical emission. The late emission hump can have a total fluence equivalent to that of the prompt phase. GRBs with the strongest late humps have weak or no X-ray flares.
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