High-resolution simulations demonstrate that two-zone models for GRB early afterglows fail to match hydrodynamic evolution in the Newtonian reverse shock regime before Blandford-McKee self-similarity, causing systematic overpredictions of emission depending on the transition prescription.
Observation of contemporaneous optical radiation from a gamma-ray burst
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abstract
The origin of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) has been enigmatic since their discovery. The situation improved dramatically in 1997, when the rapid availability of precise coordinates for the bursts allowed the detection of faint optical and radio afterglows - optical spectra thus obtained have demonstrated conclusively that the bursts occur at cosmological distances. But, despite efforts by several groups, optical detection has not hitherto been achieved during the brief duration of a burst. Here we report the detection of bright optical emission from GRB990123 while the burst was still in progress. Our observations begin 22 seconds after the onset of the burst and show an increase in brightness by a factor of 14 during the first 25 seconds; the brightness then declines by a factor of 100, at which point (700 seconds after the burst onset) it falls below our detection threshold. The redshift of this burst, approximately 1.6, implies a peak optical luminosity of 5 times 10^{49} erg per second. Optical emission from gamma-ray bursts has been generally thought to take place at the shock fronts generated by interaction of the primary energy source with the surrounding medium, where the gamma-rays might also be produced. The lack of a significant change in the gamma-ray light curve when the optical emission develops suggests that the gamma-rays are not produced at the shock front, but closer to the site of the original explosion.
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UNVERDICTED 3representative citing papers
New early multi-wavelength data on GRB 230328B shows afterglow with early bump and late achromatic rebrightening at ~4000 s, modeled via MCMC as forward shock plus late energy injection in a dusty S0 host with AV~0.8 and no supernova signature.
A review of early optical GRB features including prompt emission, reverse shocks, and afterglow onset, highlighting robotic telescopes' role in constraining jet Lorentz factors and magnetization.
citing papers explorer
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Systematic Error in Approximate Models of the GRB Early Afterglow
High-resolution simulations demonstrate that two-zone models for GRB early afterglows fail to match hydrodynamic evolution in the Newtonian reverse shock regime before Blandford-McKee self-similarity, causing systematic overpredictions of emission depending on the transition prescription.
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Earliest simultaneous multi-color optical observations of GRB 230328B: from 41 seconds to the host-galaxy identification
New early multi-wavelength data on GRB 230328B shows afterglow with early bump and late achromatic rebrightening at ~4000 s, modeled via MCMC as forward shock plus late energy injection in a dusty S0 host with AV~0.8 and no supernova signature.
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Early Optical Follow-up of Gamma-Ray Bursts: The Critical Role of Robotic Telescopes
A review of early optical GRB features including prompt emission, reverse shocks, and afterglow onset, highlighting robotic telescopes' role in constraining jet Lorentz factors and magnetization.