Search

X-ray flare (XRF) is a common phenomenon in the X-ray afterglow of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). Although it is commonly believed that XRFs may share a common origin with prompt emission, i.e., the "internal" origin, the origin of XRFs is still unknown. In this work, we compile a GRB sample containing 31 GRBs with a single XRF, a well-measured spectrum, and a redshift, and investigate the intrinsic properties and correlations between prompt emission and the XRFs of these events. We find that the distributions of main physical parameters of prompt emission and XRFs are basically log-normal. The median value of the rise time is shorter than the decay time for all flares, with a ratio of about 1:2, which is similar to the fast rise and exponential decay structure of prompt emission pulses. We also find that the prompt emission energy ( E iso ) and peak luminosity ( L iso ) have tight correlations with XRF energy ( E X , iso ) and peak luminosity ( L X , p ), E iso ∝ E X , iso 0.74 ( L X , p 0.62 ) and L iso ∝ E X , iso 0.85 ( L X , p 0.68 ). However, the durations of prompt emissions are independent of the temporal properties of XRFs. Furthermore, we also analyze the three-parameter correlations between prompt emissions and XRFs, and find that there are tight correlations among the XRF peak time ( T p , z ), L X , p , and E iso / L iso , L X , p ∝ T p , z − 1.08 E iso 0.84 and L X , p ∝ T p , z − 1.09 L iso 0.71 . Interestingly, these results are very similar to the properties of an X-ray plateau in GRBs, which indicates that X-ray flares and plateaus may have the same physical origin, and strongly supports that the two emission components originate from the late-time activity of the central engine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SVOM (Space-based multiband Variable Object Monitor) is a Chinese-French space mission mainly designed to study Gamma-Ray Bursts. The satellite carries four instruments to detect and localize the prompt GRB emission and measure the evolution of the afterglow in the visible band and in soft X-rays, and a VHF communication system enables the fast transmission of SVOM alerts to the ground. The ground segment includes an array of wide-angle cameras and two follow-up telescopes. It was launched into an orbit of about 635 km on 22 June 2024, with three years of nominal operations and an extension of two years.

Gamma-ray bursts were discovered by the Vela satellites in the late 1960s, but they were announced for the first time exactly 50 years ago, in 1973. The history of our understanding of gamma-ray bursts can be subdivided into several eras. We will highlight the main discoveries about GRBs, as well as the path toward the future that each GRB era could still indicate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We fitted 75 pulses from 44 gamma‐ray burst (GRB) prompt emission lightcurves, including four short ones and 40 long ones. Each pulse is fitted by a fast‐rising exponential‐decay (FRED) model. The statistical properties of these pulses are analyzed and compared with previous works. We found that the FRED model is almost suitable to describe all the pulses. We reconfirmed that there is a linear correlation between the full width at half maximum FWHM$$ \mathrm{FWHM} $$ and the pulse rising time Trise$$ {T}_{\mathrm{rise}} $$, which supports the idea that the individual pulse is emitted at once within one explosion. Moreover, we found that several pulses do not obey the FWHM−Trise$$ \mathrm{FWHM}-{T}_{\mathrm{rise}} $$ correlation, this implies that the radiation process of the prompt emission especially in the multi‐pulse GRBs might involve more than one type and even possibly change with time. The innovation of this work lies in examining the statistical characteristics of lightcurves of both long and short‐duration GRBs and re‐evaluating the applicability of empirical relationships discovered by predecessors to both types of GRBs while paying special attention to the existence of outlier pulses. This work has positive implications for further exploring the diversity of GRB prompt radiation mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the recent association of IceCube TeV and PeV neutrino events with gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) by considering the Lorentz violation of neutrinos, we provide a new estimate on the GRB neutrino flux with a more significant result compared to the previous constraint by the IceCube Collaboration. Among these 24 neutrino “shower” events above 60 TeV, 12 events are associated with GRBs. Such a result is compatible with the prediction from GRB fireball models. Analysis of track events provides a consistent result with the shower events to associate high energy cosmic neutrinos with GRBs under the same Lorentz violation features of neutrinos. We also make a background estimation and reveal GRBs as a significant source for the ultra-high energy IceCube neutrino events. Our work supports the Lorentz violation and CPT-violation of neutrinos, indicating new physics beyond relativity.

X-ray flare (XRF) is a common phenomenon in the X-ray afterglow of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). Although it is commonly believed that XRFs may share a common origin with prompt emission, i.e., the “internal” origin, the origin of XRFs is still unknown. In this work, we compile a GRB sample containing 31 GRBs with a single XRF, a well-measured spectrum, and a redshift, and investigate the intrinsic properties and correlations between prompt emission and the XRFs of these events. We find that the distributions of main physical parameters of prompt emission and XRFs are basically log-normal. The median value of the rise time is shorter than the decay time for all flares, with a ratio of about 1:2, which is similar to the fast rise and exponential decay structure of prompt emission pulses. We also find that the prompt emission energy (Eiso) and peak luminosity (Liso) have tight correlations with XRF energy (EX,iso) and peak luminosity (LX,p), Eiso∝EX,iso0.74 (LX,p0.62) and Liso∝EX,iso0.85 (LX,p0.68). However, the durations of prompt emissions are independent of the temporal properties of XRFs. Furthermore, we also analyze the three-parameter correlations between prompt emissions and XRFs, and find that there are tight correlations among the XRF peak time (Tp,z), LX,p, and Eiso/Liso, LX,p∝Tp,z−1.08Eiso0.84 and LX,p∝Tp,z−1.09Liso0.71. Interestingly, these results are very similar to the properties of an X-ray plateau in GRBs, which indicates that X-ray flares and plateaus may have the same physical origin, and strongly supports that the two emission components originate from the late-time activity of the central engine.

The binary-driven hypernova (BdHN) model explains long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) associated with supernovae (SNe) Ic through physical episodes that occur in a binary composed of a carbon-oxygen (CO) star and a neutron star (NS) companion in close orbit. The CO core collapse triggers the cataclysmic event, originating the SN and a newborn NS (hereafter ν NS) at its center. The ν NS and the NS accrete SN matter. BdHNe are classified based on the NS companion fate and the GRB energetics, mainly determined by the orbital period. In BdHNe I, the orbital period is of a few minutes, so the accretion causes the NS to collapse into a Kerr black hole (BH), explaining GRBs of energies > 10 52 erg. BdHN II, with longer periods of tens of minutes, yields a more massive but stable NS, accounting for GRBs of 10 50 – 10 52 erg. BdHNe III have still longer orbital periods (e.g., hours), so the NS companion has a negligible role, which explains GRBs with a lower energy release of < 10 50 erg. BdHN I and II might remain bound after the SN, so they could form NS-BH and binary NS (BNS), respectively. In BdHN III, the SN likely disrupts the system. We perform numerical simulations of BdHN II to compute the characteristic parameters of the BNS left by them, their mergers, and the associated short GRBs. We obtain the mass of the central remnant, whether it is likely to be a massive NS or a BH, the conditions for disk formation and its mass, and the event's energy release. The role of the NS nuclear equation of state is outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cocoon is an inevitable product of a jet propagating through ambient matter, and takes a fair fraction of the jet energy. In short gamma-ray bursts (s GRBs), the ambient matter is the ejecta from the merger of neutron stars, expanding with a high velocity ∼0.2 c , in contrast to the static stellar envelope in collapsars. Using 2D relativistic hydrodynamic simulations with the ejecta density profile as ρ ∝  r −2, we find that the expansion makes a big difference; only 0.5–5 per cent of the cocoon mass escapes from (faster than) the ejecta, with an opening angle 20°–30°, while it is |$\sim 100{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$| and spherical in collapsars. We also analytically obtain the shares of mass and energies for the escaped and trapped cocoons. Because the mass of the escaped cocoon is small and the trapped cocoon is concealed by the ejecta and the escaped cocoon, we suggest that it is unlikely that cooling emission from the s GRB-jet heated cocoon was observed as a counterpart to the gravitational wave event GW170817. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are brief, intense pulses of high-energy emission associated with extreme astrophysical phenomena, e.g. the death of massive stars or the coalescence of compact objects. They have been observed at high energies by the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT), which detects GRBs in the 20 MeV–300 GeV energy range. The Fermi-LAT Second GRB Catalog (2FLGC) presents information on 186 GRBs observed from 2008 to 2018. We consider the GRBs that have been fitted in the 2FLGC with a broken (21 GRBs) or simple power law (65 GRBs), compiling a total sample of 86 GRBs. We analyze the relationship between the spectral and temporal indices using closure relations according to the synchrotron forward-shock model evolving in stratified environments ( n ∝ r − k ). We find that the model without energy injection is preferred over the one with energy injection. There is a clear preference for the cooling conditions ν > max{ ν c , ν m } and ν m < ν < ν c (where ν c and ν m are the cooling and characteristic frequencies, namely the frequency at the spectral break). Within these cooling conditions, density profiles r − k with values of k = 1.5 and 2 generally have a higher rate of occurrence when considering relations with and without energy injection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gamma-ray bursts were discovered by the Vela satellites in the late 1960s, but they were announced for the first time exactly 50 years ago, in 1973. The history of our understanding of gamma-ray bursts can be subdivided into several eras. We will highlight the main discoveries about GRBs, as well as the path toward the future that each GRB era could still indicate.

Searching for X-ray and gamma-ray bursts, including Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), Soft Gamma-ray Repeaters (SGRs), and high energy transients associated with Gravitational wave (GW) events or Fast radio bursts (FRBs), is of great importance in the multimessenger and multiwavelength era. Although a coherent search based on the likelihood ratio and Gaussian statistics has been established and utilized in many studies, this Gaussian-based method could be problematic for weak and short bursts which usually have very few counts. To deal with all bursts including weak ones, here we propose the coherent search in Poisson statistics. We studied the difference between Poisson-based and Gaussian-based search methods by Monte Carlo simulations, and find that the Poisson-based search method has advantages compared to the Gaussian case, especially for weak bursts. Our results show that, for very weak bursts with very low number of counts, the Poisson-based search can provide higher significance than the Gaussian-based search, and its likelihood ratio (for background fluctuation) still generally follows the χ2 distribution, making the significance estimation of searched bursts very convenient. Thus, we suggest that the coherent search based on Poisson-likelihood ratio is more appropriate in the search for generic transients including very weak ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglow light curves produced by an off-axis jet in a stratified circumburst medium and summarize the temporal indices of the coasting phase, the deceleration phase, the Newtonian phase, and the deep Newtonian phase for various viewing angles and power-law indices of medium density. Generally, the afterglow light curves of off-axis GRBs in the homogeneous interstellar medium have a steep rise arising due to jet deceleration. In the stratified medium, the flux rises is more shallow but peaks earlier for the same viewing angle due to faster deceleration of the jet running into the denser stratified medium, compared with the case of the interstellar medium (ISM). Observations of off-axis bursts will possibly increase over the coming years due to the arrival of the multi-messenger era and the forthcoming surveys in multiple bands. The temporal indices of off-axis afterglows derived in the paper will provide a reference for comparison with the observations and can diagnose the circumburst environment. The numerical code calculating the afterglow light curve also can be used to fit the multi-wavelength light curves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The future space-based GAMMA-400 gamma-ray telescope will operate onboard the Russian astrophysical observatory in a highly elliptic orbit during 7 years to observe Galactic plane, Galactic Center, Fermi Bubbles, Crab, Vela, Cygnus X, Geminga, Sun, and other regions and measure gamma- and cosmic-ray fluxes. Observations will be performed in the point-source mode continuously for a long time (∼100 days). GAMMA-400 will measure gamma rays in the energy range from ∼ 20 MeV to several TeV and cosmic-ray electrons + positrons up to several tens TeV. GAMMA-400 instrument will have very good angle and energy resolutions, high separation efficiency of gamma rays from cosmic-ray background, as well as electrons + positrons from protons. The main feature of GAMMA-400 is the unprecedented angular resolution for energies > 30 GeV better than the space-based and ground-based gamma-ray telescopes by a factor of 5–10. GAMMA-400 observations will permit to resolve gamma rays from annihilation or decay of dark matter particles, identify many discrete sources, clarify the structure of extended sources, specify the data on cosmic-ray electron + positron spectra. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are the most explosive phenomena and can be used to study the expansion of Universe. In this paper, we compile a long GRB sample for the E iso– E p correlation from Swift and Fermi observations. The sample contains 221 long GRBs with redshifts from 0.03 to 8.20. From the analysis of data in different redshift intervals, we find no statistically significant evidence for the redshift evolution of this correlation. Then we calibrate the correlation in six subsamples and use the calibrated one to constrain cosmological parameters. Employing a piece-wise approach, we study the redshift evolution of dark energy equation of state (EOS), and find that the EOS tends to be oscillating at low redshift, but consistent with −1 at high redshift. It hints at dynamical dark energy at 2 σ confidence level at low redshift. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gamma-ray bursts are traditionally classified as short and long bursts based on their T 90 value (the time interval during which an instrument observes 5% to 95% of gamma-ray/hard X-ray fluence). However, T 90 is dependent on the detector sensitivity and the energy range in which the instrument operates. As a result, different instruments provide different values of T 90 for a burst. GRB 210217A is detected with different duration by Swift and Fermi. It is classified as a long/soft GRB by Swift-BAT with a T 90 value of 3.76 s. On the other hand, the sub-threshold detection by Fermi-GBM classified GRB 210217A as a short/hard burst with a duration of 1.024 s. We present the multi-wavelength analysis of GRB 210217A (lying in the overlapping regime of long and short GRBs) to identify its actual class using multi-wavelength data. We utilized the T 90 -hardness ratio, T 90 - E p and T 90 - t mvts distributions of the GRBs to find the probability of GRB 210217A being a short GRB. Further, we estimated the photometric redshift of the burst by fitting the joint XRT/UVOT SED and placed the burst in the Amati plane. We found that GRB 210217A is an ambiguous burst showing properties of both short and long class of GRBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2015, the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) and Advanced Virgo began observing the Universe in a revolutionary way. Gravitational waves from cosmic sources were detected for the first time, confirming their existence predicted almost one century before, and also directly revealing the existence of black holes in binary systems and characterizing their properties. In 2017, a new revolution was achieved with the first observation of a binary neutron star merger, GW170817, and its associated electromagnetic emission. The combination of the information from gravitational-wave and electromagnetic radiation produced a wealth of results, still growing, spectacularly demonstrating the power of the newly born field of gravitational-wave Multi Messenger Astrophysics. We discuss the discovery of GW170817 in the context of the achievements it brought to Gamma-Ray Burst astrophysics, and we also provide a few examples of advancements in fundamental physics and cosmology. The detection rates of binary neutron star mergers expected in the next decade for third generation gravitational-wave interferometers will open the new perspective of a statistical approach to the study of these multi-messenger sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies of Gamma-ray Burst (GRB) properties, such as duration and spectral hardness, have found evidence for additional classes beyond the short-hard (merger) and long-soft (collapsar) prototypes. Several clustering analyses of the duration-hardness plane identified a third, intermediate duration, class. In this work, Gaussian Mixture Model-based (GMM) clustering is applied to the Swift/BAT and Fermi/GBM samples of GRBs. The results obtained by the hierarchical combination of Gaussian components (or clusters) based on an entropy criterion are presented. This method counteracts possible overfitting arising from the application of Gaussian models to non-Gaussian underlying data. While the initial GMM clustering of the hardness-duration plane identifies three components (short/intermediate/long) for the Swift/BAT and Fermi/GBM samples, only two components (short/long) remain once the entropy criterion is applied. The analysis presented here suggests that the intermediate duration class may be the result of overfitting, rather than evidence of a distinct underlying population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies of Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) properties, such as duration and spectral hardness, have found evidence for additional classes, beyond the short/hard and long/soft prototypes, using model-dependent methods. In this paper, a model-independent approach was used to analyse the gamma-ray light curves of large samples of GRBs detected by BATSE, Swift/BAT and Fermi/GBM. All the features were extracted from the GRB time profiles in four energy bands using the Stationary Wavelet Transform and Principal Component Analysis. t-distributed Stochastic Neighbourhood Embedding (t-SNE) visualisation of the features revealed two distinct groups of Swift/BAT bursts using the T100 interval with 64 ms resolution data. When the same analysis was applied to 4 ms resolution data, two groups were seen to emerge within the first second (T1) post-trigger. These two groups primarily consisted of short/hard (Group 1) and long/soft (Group 2) bursts, and were 95% consistent with the groups identified using the T100 64 ms resolution data. Kilonova candidates, arising from compact object mergers, were found to belong to Group 1, while those events with associated supernovae fell into Group 2. Differences in cumulative counts between the two groups in the first second, and in the minimum variability timescale, identifiable only with the 4 ms resolution data, may account for this result. Short GRBs have particular significance for multi-messenger science as a distinctive EM signature of a binary merger, which may be discovered by its gravitational wave emissions. Incorporating the T1 interval into classification algorithms may support the rapid classification of GRBs, allowing for an improved prioritisation of targets for follow-up observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The binary-driven hypernova (BdHN) model explains long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) associated with supernovae (SNe) Ic through physical episodes that occur in a binary composed of a carbon-oxygen (CO) star and a neutron star (NS) companion in close orbit. The CO core collapse triggers the cataclysmic event, originating the SN and a newborn NS (hereafter νNS) at its center. The νNS and the NS accrete SN matter. BdHNe are classified based on the NS companion fate and the GRB energetics, mainly determined by the orbital period. In BdHNe I, the orbital period is of a few minutes, so the accretion causes the NS to collapse into a Kerr black hole (BH), explaining GRBs of energies >1052 erg. BdHN II, with longer periods of tens of minutes, yields a more massive but stable NS, accounting for GRBs of 1050–1052 erg. BdHNe III have still longer orbital periods (e.g., hours), so the NS companion has a negligible role, which explains GRBs with a lower energy release of <1050 erg. BdHN I and II might remain bound after the SN, so they could form NS-BH and binary NS (BNS), respectively. In BdHN III, the SN likely disrupts the system. We perform numerical simulations of BdHN II to compute the characteristic parameters of the BNS left by them, their mergers, and the associated short GRBs. We obtain the mass of the central remnant, whether it is likely to be a massive NS or a BH, the conditions for disk formation and its mass, and the event’s energy release. The role of the NS nuclear equation of state is outlined.

X-ray flares are frequently detected in the X-ray afterglow light curves and are highly correlated with the prompt emission of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). We compile a comprehensive sample of X-ray flares up to 2021 April, comprising 697 flares. We classify the total sample into four types: early flares ( t p ≤ 10 3 s), late flares ( t p > 10 3 s), long gamma-ray burst (LGRB) flares and short gamma-ray burst (SGRB) flares, and analyze the distributions and relationships of the flare parameters. It is found that the early flares have a higher frequency, shorter duration, and more asymmetrical structure. In addition, the distributions of the morphological parameters of the SGRB flares are similar to those of the LGRB flares. We also find that the durations and rising (decay) times of the early flares are positively correlated with the peak times, but the late flares follow the different dependent relations. There is a strong anti-correlation between the peak luminosities ( L X , P ) and the peak times of the flares, e.g., L X , p ∝ t p , z − 1.45 for the LGRB flares, and L X , p ∝ t p , z − 1.27 for the SGRB flares, respectively. Furthermore, the peak luminosity is highly dependent on the isotropic energy ( E X , i s o ) for the early LGRB flares, the best fit is L X , p ∝ E X , i s o 1.06 ( r = 0.89 ). We also find a tight three-parameter correlation, L X , p ∝ t p , z − 1.03 E X , i s o 0.92 ( r = 0.96 ). All the late flares fall into the 3 σ confidence region defined by the early flares. In terms of the point of kinematic arguments, both the SGRB and LGRB flares support a common scheme of internal origin. The SGRB flares have similar properties to the LGRB flares, suggesting that both of them share a similar physical mechanism from the late-time activity of central engine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gamma-ray bursts are the most energetic transients occurring in the distant cosmos. They are produced by either the collapse of massive stars or the merger of compact objects like neutron stars or black holes. Currently, gamma-ray burst is the only astrophysical event successfully observed in different messengers such as gravitational and electromagnetic waves. Despite several decades of extensive observations and research, gamma-ray bursts still remain largely elusive in terms of their central engine, jet composition and radiation process. In this article, the author will review the recent observational and theoretical advancements made in the direction to resolve some of these enigmas and the future outlook. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The afterglow data of gamma ray bursts (GRBs) can be used to constrain the physical properties of the fireball (e.g., the jet structure and opening angle) and the circumburst medium. With the peak time of the early afterglow light curve being taken as the deceleration time, one can estimate the initial Lorentz factor of the fireball. In this work, we perform a comprehensive analysis on the prompt emission and the afterglow data of GRB 181110A, where a clear peak is detected by Swift UVOT and XRT in optical to X-ray bands. Prompt emission spectral analysis shows that the spectrum of GRB 181110A is soft, and both hard-to-soft and intensity-tracking spectral evolution are found. By fitting the afterglow light curve and building spectral energy distribution, we find that the standard external forward shock model with a constant circumburst medium is favored, and the jet structure of GRB 181110A tends to be uniform rather than structured. With the peak time of early afterglow emission, we estimate the initial fireball Lorentz factor of GRB 181110A to be Γ 0 = 169 − 40 + 92 . We also compare GRB 181110A with other typical long GRBs in a statistical context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent multi-messenger and multi-wavelength observations of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have encouraged renewed interest in these energetic events. In spite of the substantial amount of data accumulated during the past few decades, the nature of the prompt emission remains an unsolved puzzle. We present an overview of the leading models for their prompt emission phase, focusing on the perspective opened by future missions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

X-ray emission from the gravitational wave transient GW170817 is well described as non-thermal afterglow radiation produced by a structured relativistic jet viewed off-axis. We show that the X-ray counterpart continues to be detected at 3.3 years after the merger. Such long-lasting signal is not a prediction of the earlier jet models characterized by a narrow jet core and a viewing angle ≈20 deg, and is spurring a renewed interest in the origin of the X-ray emission. We present a comprehensive analysis of the X-ray dataset aimed at clarifying existing discrepancies in the literature, and in particular the presence of an X-ray rebrightening at late times. Our analysis does not find evidence for an increase in the X-ray flux, but confirms a growing tension between the observations and the jet model. Further observations at radio and X-ray wavelengths would be critical to break the degeneracy between models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are brief, intense pulses of high-energy emission associated with extreme astrophysical phenomena, e.g. the death of massive stars or the coalescence of compact objects. They have been observed at high energies by the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT), which detects GRBs in the 20 MeV–300 GeV energy range. The Fermi-LAT Second GRB Catalog (2FLGC) presents information on 186 GRBs observed from 2008 to 2018. We consider the GRBs that have been fitted in the 2FLGC with a broken (21 GRBs) or simple power law (65 GRBs), compiling a total sample of 86 GRBs. We analyze the relationship between the spectral and temporal indices using closure relations according to the synchrotron forward-shock model evolving in stratified environments (n∝r−k). We find that the model without energy injection is preferred over the one with energy injection. There is a clear preference for the cooling conditions ν> max{νc,νm} and νm<ν<νc (where νc and νm are the cooling and characteristic frequencies, namely the frequency at the spectral break). Within these cooling conditions, density profiles r−k with values of k=1.5 and 2 generally have a higher rate of occurrence when considering relations with and without energy injection.

The High Energy Modular Ensemble of Satellites (HERMES) project intends to build an all-sky monitor operating from keV to MeV for the detection and localisation of transient events, like gamma ray bursts. HERMES is a modular observatory composed by detectors on-board of nanosatellites. HERMES aims to revolutionise the world of multi-messenger astrophysics thanks to the innovative concept of a modular instrument based on small satellites and characterised by reduced design and development times and low costs, in the face of high technological content and scientific profile of the mission. A first part of the project, HERMES Technological Pathfinder, composed of three CubeSats, aims to demonstrate the feasibility of detecting transient phenomena in high energy with small satellites. The next phase of the project, HERMES Scientific Pathfinder, will expand the constellation up to six satellites, allowing routinely accurate triangulation measurements. This paper presents an analysis that aims to be propaedeutic for the design of the final HERMES Full Constellation, which will be an all-sky monitor made up of tens/hundreds of nanosatellites in Low Earth Orbit with a total effective area of ∼ m 2. An adequate number of nanosatellites, simultaneously detecting a transient, provides a source localisation accuracy of the order of magnitude of few arcmin and large effective area. The objective of this work is to define possible strategies of injection in orbit of the complete constellation. In this first analysis we used only the number of triangulable Gamma Ray Bursts (simultaneously detected by at least three nanosatellites) as discriminating factor in order to maximise the constellation performance. By achieving the goal of at least a mean number of 20 Gamma Ray Bursts triangulated per nanosatellite over the two years life-time, optimal configurations for the complete constellation, consisting of seven to fourteen CubeSats, have been identified. • High Energy Modular Ensemble of Satellites (HERMES) mission. • Propaedeutic analysis for the design of the final Full Constellation. • Nanosatellites constellation for fast detection and positioning of Gamma Ray Bursts. • All-sky coverage constellation based on small satellites in Low Earth Orbit. • Maximisation of Gamma Ray Bursts triangulable during the lifetime by each satellite. • Robustness analysis: atmospheric drag, solar radiation pressure and early failures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglow light curves produced by an off-axis jet in a stratified circumburst medium and summarize the temporal indices of the coasting phase, the deceleration phase, the Newtonian phase, and the deep Newtonian phase for various viewing angles and power-law indices of medium density. Generally, the afterglow light curves of off-axis GRBs in the homogeneous interstellar medium have a steep rise arising due to jet deceleration. In the stratified medium, the flux rises is more shallow but peaks earlier for the same viewing angle due to faster deceleration of the jet running into the denser stratified medium, compared with the case of the interstellar medium (ISM). Observations of off-axis bursts will possibly increase over the coming years due to the arrival of the multi-messenger era and the forthcoming surveys in multiple bands. The temporal indices of off-axis afterglows derived in the paper will provide a reference for comparison with the observations and can diagnose the circumburst environment. The numerical code calculating the afterglow light curve also can be used to fit the multi-wavelength light curves.

We revisit a supersymmetric string model for space-time foam, in which bosonic open-string states, such as photons, can possess quantum-gravity-induced velocity fluctuations in vacuum. We argue that the suggestion of light speed variation with lower bound from gamma-ray burst photon time delays can serve as a support for this string-inspired framework, through connecting the experimental finding with model predictions. We also derive the value of the effective quantum-gravity mass in this framework, and give a qualitative study on the model-dependent coefficients. Constraints from birefringent effects and/or photon decays, including the novel γ-decay constraint obtained here from the latest Tibet ASγ near-PeV photon, are also found to be consistent with predictions in such a quantum-gravity scheme. Future observation that can testify further the theory is suggested.

In 2015, the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) and Advanced Virgo began observing the Universe in a revolutionary way. Gravitational waves from cosmic sources were detected for the first time, confirming their existence predicted almost one century before, and also directly revealing the existence of black holes in binary systems and characterizing their properties. In 2017, a new revolution was achieved with the first observation of a binary neutron star merger, GW170817, and its associated electromagnetic emission. The combination of the information from gravitational-wave and electromagnetic radiation produced a wealth of results, still growing, spectacularly demonstrating the power of the newly born field of gravitational-wave Multi Messenger Astrophysics. We discuss the discovery of GW170817 in the context of the achievements it brought to Gamma-Ray Burst astrophysics, and we also provide a few examples of advancements in fundamental physics and cosmology. The detection rates of binary neutron star mergers expected in the next decade for third generation gravitational-wave interferometers will open the new perspective of a statistical approach to the study of these multi-messenger sources.

We present radio and optical afterglow observations of the TeV-bright long gamma-ray burst 190114C at a redshift of z = 0.425, which was detected by the Major Atmospheric Gamma Imaging Cherenkov telescope. Our observations with Atacama Large Millimeter/submillitmeter Array, Australia Telescope Compact Array , and upgraded Giant Metre-wave Radio Telescope were obtained by our low frequency observing campaign and range from ∼1 to ∼140 d after the burst and the optical observations were done with three optical telescopes spanning up to ∼25 d after the burst. Long-term radio/mm observations reveal the complex nature of the afterglow, which does not follow the spectral and temporal closure relations expected from the standard afterglow model. We find that the microphysical parameters of the external forward shock, representing the share of shock-created energy in the non-thermal electron population and magnetic field, are evolving with time. The inferred kinetic energy in the blast-wave depends strongly on the assumed ambient medium density profile, with a constant density medium demanding almost an order of magnitude higher energy than in the prompt emission, while a stellar wind-driven medium requires approximately the same amount energy as in prompt emission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mechanism of the gamma-ray burst is uncertain while the current candidates, respectively, for short and long GRBs are rather accepted. They conflict with some observed facts. Here we examine in detail the process for an energy circulation to separate to two ones by the energy circulation theory. We derive the equations of the force and the potential energy for the separation of a galactic seed. A galactic seed divides to two seeds orthogonally. If the receding speed is high enough, two seeds separate away orthogonally. If not enough, they are trapped at the energy trough, from where a subsequent flat separation occurs. The difference in the potential energy is partly emitted as gamma-ray radiations. The proposed process nicely meets the observed features of the GRBs, which the standard cosmology cannot explain. The GRBs are an important evidence to support our proposed model of galactic evolution, which includes galactic seed separations, as well as its basis; the energy circulation theory. Another key evidence, which we reported previously, is that the model predicts a constant speed of a galaxy rotation at any radial distances without dark matter.

Studies of Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) properties, such as duration and spectral hardness, have found evidence for additional classes, beyond the short/hard and long/soft prototypes, using model-dependent methods. In this paper, a model-independent approach was used to analyse the gamma-ray light curves of large samples of GRBs detected by BATSE, Swift/BAT and Fermi/GBM. All the features were extracted from the GRB time profiles in four energy bands using the Stationary Wavelet Transform and Principal Component Analysis. t-distributed Stochastic Neighbourhood Embedding (t-SNE) visualisation of the features revealed two distinct groups of Swift/BAT bursts using the T100 interval with 64 ms resolution data. When the same analysis was applied to 4 ms resolution data, two groups were seen to emerge within the first second (T1) post-trigger. These two groups primarily consisted of short/hard (Group 1) and long/soft (Group 2) bursts, and were 95% consistent with the groups identified using the T100 64 ms resolution data. Kilonova candidates, arising from compact object mergers, were found to belong to Group 1, while those events with associated supernovae fell into Group 2. Differences in cumulative counts between the two groups in the first second, and in the minimum variability timescale, identifiable only with the 4 ms resolution data, may account for this result. Short GRBs have particular significance for multi-messenger science as a distinctive EM signature of a binary merger, which may be discovered by its gravitational wave emissions. Incorporating the T1 interval into classification algorithms may support the rapid classification of GRBs, allowing for an improved prioritisation of targets for follow-up observations.

X-ray flares are frequently detected in the X-ray afterglow light curves and are highly correlated with the prompt emission of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). We compile a comprehensive sample of X-ray flares up to 2021 April, comprising 697 flares. We classify the total sample into four types: early flares (tp≤103 s), late flares (tp>103 s), long gamma-ray burst (LGRB) flares and short gamma-ray burst (SGRB) flares, and analyze the distributions and relationships of the flare parameters. It is found that the early flares have a higher frequency, shorter duration, and more asymmetrical structure. In addition, the distributions of the morphological parameters of the SGRB flares are similar to those of the LGRB flares. We also find that the durations and rising (decay) times of the early flares are positively correlated with the peak times, but the late flares follow the different dependent relations. There is a strong anti-correlation between the peak luminosities (LX,P) and the peak times of the flares, e.g., LX,p∝tp,z−1.45 for the LGRB flares, and LX,p∝tp,z−1.27 for the SGRB flares, respectively. Furthermore, the peak luminosity is highly dependent on the isotropic energy (EX,iso) for the early LGRB flares, the best fit is LX,p∝EX,iso1.06(r=0.89). We also find a tight three-parameter correlation, LX,p∝tp,z−1.03EX,iso0.92(r=0.96). All the late flares fall into the 3σ confidence region defined by the early flares. In terms of the point of kinematic arguments, both the SGRB and LGRB flares support a common scheme of internal origin. The SGRB flares have similar properties to the LGRB flares, suggesting that both of them share a similar physical mechanism from the late-time activity of central engine.

Studies of Gamma-ray Burst (GRB) properties, such as duration and spectral hardness, have found evidence for additional classes beyond the short-hard (merger) and long-soft (collapsar) prototypes. Several clustering analyses of the duration-hardness plane identified a third, intermediate duration, class. In this work, Gaussian Mixture Model-based (GMM) clustering is applied to the Swift/BAT and Fermi/GBM samples of GRBs. The results obtained by the hierarchical combination of Gaussian components (or clusters) based on an entropy criterion are presented. This method counteracts possible overfitting arising from the application of Gaussian models to non-Gaussian underlying data. While the initial GMM clustering of the hardness-duration plane identifies three components (short/intermediate/long) for the Swift/BAT and Fermi/GBM samples, only two components (short/long) remain once the entropy criterion is applied. The analysis presented here suggests that the intermediate duration class may be the result of overfitting, rather than evidence of a distinct underlying population.

On August 17, 2017, less than two years after the direct detection of gravitational radiation from the merger of two∼30 M⊙ black holes, a binary neutron star merger was identified as the source of a gravitational wave signal of ∼100 s duration that occurred at less than 50 Mpc from Earth. A short gamma-ray burst was independently identified in the same sky area by the Fermi and INTEGRAL satellites for high energy astrophysics, which turned out to be associated with the gravitational event. Prompt follow-up observations at all wavelengths led first to the detection of an optical and infrared source located in the spheroidal Galaxy NGC4993 and, with a delay of ∼10 days, to the detection of radio and X-ray signals. This article revisits these observations and focusses on the early optical/infrared source, which was thermal in nature and powered by the radioactive decay of the unstable isotopes of elements synthesized via rapid neutron capture during the merger and in the phases immediately following it. The far-reaching consequences of this event for cosmic nucleosynthesis and for the history of heavy elements formation in the Universe are also illustrated.

The first combined detection of gravitational waves and electromagnetic signals from a binary neutron star (BNS) merger in August 2017 (an event named GW170817) represents a major landmark in the ongoing investigation of these extraordinary systems. In this short review, we discuss BNS mergers as events of utmost importance for astrophysics and fundamental physics and survey the main discoveries enabled by this first multimessenger observation, including compelling evidence that such mergers produce a copious amount of heavy r-process elements and can power short gamma-ray bursts. We further discuss some remaining key open questions regarding this event and BNS mergers in general, focusing on the current status and limitations of theoretical models and numerical simulations.

The afterglow data of gamma ray bursts (GRBs) can be used to constrain the physical properties of the fireball (e.g., the jet structure and opening angle) and the circumburst medium. With the peak time of the early afterglow light curve being taken as the deceleration time, one can estimate the initial Lorentz factor of the fireball. In this work, we perform a comprehensive analysis on the prompt emission and the afterglow data of GRB 181110A, where a clear peak is detected by Swift UVOT and XRT in optical to X-ray bands. Prompt emission spectral analysis shows that the spectrum of GRB 181110A is soft, and both hard-to-soft and intensity-tracking spectral evolution are found. By fitting the afterglow light curve and building spectral energy distribution, we find that the standard external forward shock model with a constant circumburst medium is favored, and the jet structure of GRB 181110A tends to be uniform rather than structured. With the peak time of early afterglow emission, we estimate the initial fireball Lorentz factor of GRB 181110A to be Γ0=169−40+92. We also compare GRB 181110A with other typical long GRBs in a statistical context.

The recent multi-messenger and multi-wavelength observations of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have encouraged renewed interest in these energetic events. In spite of the substantial amount of data accumulated during the past few decades, the nature of the prompt emission remains an unsolved puzzle. We present an overview of the leading models for their prompt emission phase, focusing on the perspective opened by future missions.