Evolution of the polarization of the optical afterglow of the γ-ray burst GRB030329

Greiner, J.; Klose, S.; Reinsch, K.; Schmid, Hans Martin; Sari, Re’em; Hartmann, D. H.; Kouveliotou, C.; Rau, A.; Palazzi, E.; Straubmeier, C.; Stecklum, B.; Zharikov, S. V.; Tovmassian, G.; Bärnbantner, O.; Ries, C.; Jehin, Emmanuël; Henden, A. A.; Kaas, A. A.; Grav, T.; Hjorth, J.; Pedersen, H.; Wijers, R. A. M. J.; Kaufer, A.; Park, Hye -Sook; Williams, G. G.; Reimer, O.

doi:10.1038/nature02077

Cited by 112 publications

(117 citation statements)

References 25 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

109

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The polarisation is observed to be at about the 1-3% level and is reasonably constant when associated with a smooth afterglow lightcurve (Covino et al 2003). The polarisation can vary in direction and degree on a time scale of hours if there are deviations from the smooth power law decay (Greiner et al 2003). For a review of the levels of asymmetry needed to provide a polarisation signal in the prompt and afterglow emission, see Lazzati (2006).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Polarisation studies of the prompt gamma-ray emission from GRB 041219a using the spectrometer aboard INTEGRAL

McGlynn

Clark

Dean

et al. 2007

A&A

156

138

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Context. Linear polarisation in gamma-ray burst prompt emission is an important diagnostic with the potential to significantly constrain models. The spectrometer aboard INTEGRAL, SPI, has the capability to detect the signature of polarised emission from a bright γ-ray source. GRB 041219a is the most intense burst localised by INTEGRAL with a fluence of 5.7 ×10 −4 erg cm −2 over the energy range 20 keV-8 MeV and is an ideal candidate for such a study. Aims. Polarisation can be measured using multiple events scattered into adjacent detectors because the Compton scatter angle depends on the polarisation of the incoming photon. A search for linear polarisation in the most intense pulse of duration 66 seconds and in the brightest 12 seconds of GRB 041219a was performed in the 100-350 keV, 100-500 keV and 100 keV-1 MeV energy ranges. It was possible to divide the events into six directions in the energy ranges of 100-350 keV and 100-500 keV using the kinematics of the Compton scatter interactions. Methods. The multiple event data from the spectrometer was analysed and compared with the predicted instrument response obtained from Monte-Carlo simulations using the GEANT 4 INTEGRAL mass model. The χ 2 distribution between the real and simulated data as a function of the percentage polarisation and polarisation angle was calculated for all three energy ranges. The degree and angle of polarisation were obtained from the best-fit value of χ 2 . Results. A weak signal consistent with polarisation was found throughout the analyses. The degree of linear polarisation in the brightest pulse of duration 66 s was found to be 63 +31 −30 % at an angle of 70 +14 −11 degrees in the 100-350 keV energy range. The degree of polarisation was also constrained in the brightest 12 s of the GRB and a polarisation fraction of 96 +39 −40 % at an angle of 60 +12 −14 degrees was determined over the same energy range. However, despite extensive analysis and simulations, a systematic effect that could mimic the weak polarisation signal could not be definitively excluded. Conclusions. Our results over several energy ranges and time intervals are consistent with a polarisation signal of about 60% but at a low level of significance (∼2σ). The polarisation results are compared with predictions from the synchrotron and Compton drag processes. The spectrum of this GRB can also be well fit by a combined black body and power law model which could arise from a combination of the Compton and synchrotron processes, with different degrees of polarisation. We therefore conclude that the procedure described here demonstrates the effectiveness of using SPI as a polarimeter, and is a viable method of measuring polarisation levels in intense gamma-ray bursts.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Polarisation studies of the prompt gamma-ray emission from GRB 041219a using the spectrometer aboard INTEGRAL

McGlynn

Clark

Dean

et al. 2007

A&A

156

138

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…5 and 7) is frequently observed in well sampled optical afterglow light curves (e.g., Lazzati et al 2002;Greiner et al 2003;Lipkin et al 2004;Updike et al 2008;Perley et al 2008;Krühler et al 2009b). Given the low amplitude, smooth structure, time, and roughly equal color to the power-law component, the observed variability in the light curve of GRB 090323 is most likely related to a process intrinsic to the generic forward shock or the circumburst medium, and not to late inner engine activity.…”

Section: Bumps In the Afterglow Light Curvesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optical and near-infrared follow-up observations of fourFermi/LAT GRBs: redshifts, afterglows, energetics, and host galaxies

McBreen

Krühler

Rau

et al. 2010

A&A

116

100

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Aims. Fermi can measure the spectral properties of gamma-ray bursts over a very large energy range and is opening a new window on the prompt emission of these energetic events. Localizations by the instruments on Fermi in combination with follow-up by Swift provide accurate positions for observations at longer wavelengths leading to the determination of redshifts, the true energy budget, host galaxy properties and facilitate comparison with pre-Fermi bursts. Methods. Multi-wavelength follow-up observations were performed on the afterglows of four bursts with high energy emission detected by Fermi/LAT: GRB 090323, GRB 090328, GRB 090510 and GRB 090902B. They were obtained in the optical/near-infrared bands with GROND mounted at the MPG/ESO 2.2 m telescope and additionally of GRB 090323 in the optical with the 2 m telescope in Tautenburg, Germany. Three of the events are classified as long bursts while GRB 090510 is a well localized short GRB with GeV emission. In addition, host galaxies were detected for three of the four bursts. Spectroscopic follow-up was initiated with the VLT for GRB 090328 and GRB 090510. Results. The afterglow observations in 7 bands are presented for all bursts and their host galaxies are investigated. Knowledge of the distance and the local dust extinction enables comparison of the afterglows of LAT-detected GRBs with the general sample. The spectroscopic redshifts of GRB 090328 and GRB 090510 were determined to be z = 0.7354 ± 0.0003 and z = 0.903 ± 0.001 and dust corrected star-formation rates of 4.8 M yr −1 and 0.60 M yr −1 were derived for their host galaxies, respectively. Conclusions. The afterglows of long bursts exhibit power-law decay indices (α) from less than 1 to ∼2.3 and spectral indices (β opt ) values from 0.65 to ∼1.2 which are fairly standard for GRB afterglows. Constraints are placed on the jet half opening angles of < ∼ 2.1 • to > ∼ 6.4 • , which allows limits to be placed on the beaming corrected energies. These range from < ∼ 5 × 10 50 erg to the one of the highest values ever recorded, > ∼ 2.2 × 10 52 erg for GRB 090902B, and are not consistent with a standard candle. The extremely energetic long Fermi bursts have optical afterglows which lie in the top half of the brightness distribution of all optical afterglows detected in the Swift era or even in the top 5% if incompleteness is considered. The properties of the host galaxies of these LAT detected bursts in terms of extinction, star formation rates and masses do not appear to differ from previous samples.

show abstract

“…These two bursts have conform polarization degree of 70% ± 22%(3.7σ) and 84 +16 −28 %(3.3σ), respectively (Yonetoku et al 2012). The temporal evolution of polarization has also been observed (Greiner et al 2003;Götz et al 2009;Yonetoku et al 2011b;Mundell et al 2013). Although the uncertainty is still large and many controversies exist, the possibility that some GRBs are highly polarized can't be excluded.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gamma-ray burst polarization reduction induced by the Lorentz invariance violation

Lin

Chang

2016

Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

It has been observed that photons in the prompt emission of some gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are highly polarized. The high polarization is used by some authors to give a strict constraint on the Lorentz invariance violation (LIV). If the Lorentz invariance is broken, the polarization vector of a photon may rotate during its propagation. The rotation angle of polarization vector depends on both the photon energy and the distance of source. It is believed that if high polarization is observed, then the relative rotation angle (denoted by α) of polarization vector of the highest energy photon with respect to that of the lowest energy photon should be no more than π/2. Otherwise, the net polarization will be severely suppressed, thus couldn't be as high as what was actually observed. In this paper, we will give a detailed calculation on the evolution of GRB polarization arising from LIV effect duration the propagation. It is shown that the polarization degree rapidly decrease as α increases, and reaches a local minimum at α ≈ π, then increases until α ≈ 3π/2, after that decreases again until α ≈ 2π, etc. The polarization degree as a function of α oscillates with a quasi-period T ≈ π, while the oscillating amplitude gradually decreases to zero. Moreover, we find that a considerable amount (more than 60% of the initial polarization) of polarization degree can be conserved when α ≈ π/2. The polarization observation in a higher and wider energy band, a softer photon spectrum, and a higher redshift GRB is favorable in order to tightly constrain LIV effect.

show abstract

Evolution of the polarization of the optical afterglow of the γ-ray burst GRB030329

Cited by 112 publications

References 25 publications

Polarisation studies of the prompt gamma-ray emission from GRB 041219a using the spectrometer aboard INTEGRAL

Polarisation studies of the prompt gamma-ray emission from GRB 041219a using the spectrometer aboard INTEGRAL

Optical and near-infrared follow-up observations of fourFermi/LAT GRBs: redshifts, afterglows, energetics, and host galaxies

Gamma-ray burst polarization reduction induced by the Lorentz invariance violation

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About