Constraints on short gamma-ray burst physics and their host galaxies from systematic radio follow-up campaigns
Short gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are explosive transients caused by binary mergers of compact objects containing at least one neutron star. Multiwavelength afterglow observations provide constraints on the physical parameters of the jet, its surrounding medium, and the microphysics of the enhanced magn...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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2024
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| Online Access: | http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DE180100346 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/96169 |
| _version_ | 1848766105844187136 |
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| author | Chastain, S.I. van der Horst, A.J. Anderson, Gemma Rhodes, L. d’Antonio, D. Bell, M.E. Fender, R.P. Hancock, Paul Horesh, A. Kouveliotou, C. Mooley, K.P. Rowlinson, A. Vergani, S.D. Wijers, R.A.M.J. Woudt, P.A. |
| author_facet | Chastain, S.I. van der Horst, A.J. Anderson, Gemma Rhodes, L. d’Antonio, D. Bell, M.E. Fender, R.P. Hancock, Paul Horesh, A. Kouveliotou, C. Mooley, K.P. Rowlinson, A. Vergani, S.D. Wijers, R.A.M.J. Woudt, P.A. |
| author_sort | Chastain, S.I. |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Short gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are explosive transients caused by binary mergers of compact objects containing at least one neutron star. Multiwavelength afterglow observations provide constraints on the physical parameters of the jet, its surrounding medium, and the microphysics of the enhanced magnetic fields and accelerated electrons in the blast wave at the front of the jet. The synchrotron radio emission can be tracked for much longer than in other spectral regimes, and it can pin down the evolution of the spectral peak. We present the results of a systematic observing campaign of eight short GRBs with the MeerKAT radio telescope. Additionally, we present observations of four of these short GRBs using the ATCA radio telescope and two of these short GRBs with the e-MERLIN radio telescope. Using these results we report one possible detection of a short GRB afterglow from GRB 230217A and deep upper limits for the rest of our short GRB observations. We use these observations to place constraints on some of the physical parameters, in particular those related to electron acceleration, the circumburst density, and gamma-ray energy efficiency. We discuss how deeper observations with new and upgraded telescopes should be able to determine if the gamma-ray efficiency differs between long and short GRBs. We also report detections of the likely host galaxies for four of the eight GRBs and upper limits for another GRB, increasing the number of detected host galaxies in the radio with implications for the star formation rate in these galaxies. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:45:52Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-96169 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:45:52Z |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-961692024-11-07T03:34:42Z Constraints on short gamma-ray burst physics and their host galaxies from systematic radio follow-up campaigns Chastain, S.I. van der Horst, A.J. Anderson, Gemma Rhodes, L. d’Antonio, D. Bell, M.E. Fender, R.P. Hancock, Paul Horesh, A. Kouveliotou, C. Mooley, K.P. Rowlinson, A. Vergani, S.D. Wijers, R.A.M.J. Woudt, P.A. Short gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are explosive transients caused by binary mergers of compact objects containing at least one neutron star. Multiwavelength afterglow observations provide constraints on the physical parameters of the jet, its surrounding medium, and the microphysics of the enhanced magnetic fields and accelerated electrons in the blast wave at the front of the jet. The synchrotron radio emission can be tracked for much longer than in other spectral regimes, and it can pin down the evolution of the spectral peak. We present the results of a systematic observing campaign of eight short GRBs with the MeerKAT radio telescope. Additionally, we present observations of four of these short GRBs using the ATCA radio telescope and two of these short GRBs with the e-MERLIN radio telescope. Using these results we report one possible detection of a short GRB afterglow from GRB 230217A and deep upper limits for the rest of our short GRB observations. We use these observations to place constraints on some of the physical parameters, in particular those related to electron acceleration, the circumburst density, and gamma-ray energy efficiency. We discuss how deeper observations with new and upgraded telescopes should be able to determine if the gamma-ray efficiency differs between long and short GRBs. We also report detections of the likely host galaxies for four of the eight GRBs and upper limits for another GRB, increasing the number of detected host galaxies in the radio with implications for the star formation rate in these galaxies. 2024 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/96169 10.1093/mnras/stae1568 http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DE180100346 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ fulltext |
| spellingShingle | Chastain, S.I. van der Horst, A.J. Anderson, Gemma Rhodes, L. d’Antonio, D. Bell, M.E. Fender, R.P. Hancock, Paul Horesh, A. Kouveliotou, C. Mooley, K.P. Rowlinson, A. Vergani, S.D. Wijers, R.A.M.J. Woudt, P.A. Constraints on short gamma-ray burst physics and their host galaxies from systematic radio follow-up campaigns |
| title | Constraints on short gamma-ray burst physics and their host galaxies from systematic radio follow-up campaigns |
| title_full | Constraints on short gamma-ray burst physics and their host galaxies from systematic radio follow-up campaigns |
| title_fullStr | Constraints on short gamma-ray burst physics and their host galaxies from systematic radio follow-up campaigns |
| title_full_unstemmed | Constraints on short gamma-ray burst physics and their host galaxies from systematic radio follow-up campaigns |
| title_short | Constraints on short gamma-ray burst physics and their host galaxies from systematic radio follow-up campaigns |
| title_sort | constraints on short gamma-ray burst physics and their host galaxies from systematic radio follow-up campaigns |
| url | http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DE180100346 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/96169 |