Abstract
We prove that both the canonical and single power-law decay X-ray afterglow lightcurves of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) observed with the Swift X-ray telescope may be an emission component radiated by external shocks prior to the GRB trigger. Our systematical analysis on both the early optical and X-ray afterglow data also indicates that they might be from different components. The detected optical emission possibly is dominated by the afterglow of the GRB fireball. The X-ray afterglows may be detected for some GRBs, but most of the detected X-rays for most GRBs are likely dominated by the prior X-ray component. With the deceleration feature in the early optical afterglow data, we estimate the initial Lorentz factors of the GRBs and discover a tight relation of the Lorentz factor to the isotropic gamma-ray energy.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1955-1959 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | International Journal of Modern Physics D |
Volume | 20 |
Issue number | 10 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Sept 2011 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Gamma-ray bursts
- Gamma-ray observations
- Nonthermal radiation mechanism