Luis Borgonovo

On the Hardness-Intensity Correlation in Gamma-Ray Burst Pulses

We study the hardness-intensity correlation (HIC) in gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). In particular, we analyze the decay phase of pulse structures in their light curves. The study comprises a sample of 82 long pulses selected from 66 long bursts observed by the Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) on the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory. We find that at least 57% of these pulses have HICs that can be well described by a power law. A number of the other cases can still be explained with the power-law model if various limitations of the observations are taken into account. The distribution of the power-law indices γ, obtained by modeling the HIC of pulses from different bursts, is broad, with a mean of 1.9 and a standard deviation of 0.7. We also compare indices among pulses from the same bursts and find that their distribution is significantly narrower. The probability p of a random coincidence is shown to be very small (<2 × 10-5). In most cases, the indices are equal to within the uncertainties. These results demand a physical model to be able to reproduce multiple pulses with similar characteristics for an individual burst, but with a large diversity for pulses from an ensemble of bursts. This is particularly relevant when comparing the external versus the internal models. In our analysis, we also use a new method for studying the hardness-intensity correlation, in which the intensity is represented by the peak value of the EFE spectrum, where E is the energy and FE is the energy flux spectrum. We compare it to the traditional method in which the intensity over a finite energy range is used instead, which may be an incorrect measure of the bolometric intensity. This new method gives stronger correlations and is useful in the study of various aspects of the HIC. In particular, it produces a better agreement between indices of different pulses within the same burst. Also, we find that some pulses exhibit a track jump in their HICs, in which the correlation jumps between two power laws with the same index. We discuss the possibility that the track jump is caused by strongly overlapping pulses. Based on our findings, the constancy of the index is proposed to be used as a tool for pulse identification in overlapping pulses and examples of its application are given.

Evolution of the 0.01–25 Hz power spectral components in Cygnus X-1

Analyzing the archival data from the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE), we study the power density spectra (PDS) of Cygnus X-1 from 1996 to 2003 in the frequency range of 0.01-25 Hz. Using a model ...

The width of gamma-ray burst spectra

The emission processes active in the highly relativistic jets of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) remain unknown. In this paper, we propose a new measure to describe spectra: the width of the EFE spectrum, a quantity dependent only on finding a good fit to the data. We apply this to the full sample of GRBs observed by Fermi/Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) and Compton Gamma-ray Observatory/Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE). The results from the two instruments are fully consistent. We find that the median widths of spectra from long and short GRBs are significantly different (chance probability < 10(-6)). The width does not correlate with either duration or hardness, and this is thus a new, independent distinction between the two classes. Comparing the measured spectra with widths of spectra from fundamental emission processes - synchrotron and blackbody radiation - the results indicate that a large fraction of GRB spectra are too narrow to be explained by synchrotron radiation from a distribution of electron energies: for example, 78 per cent of long GRBs and 85 per cent of short GRBs are incompatible with the minimum width of standard slow cooling synchrotron emission from a Maxwellian distribution of electrons, with fast cooling spectra predicting even wider spectra. Photospheric emission can explain the spectra if mechanisms are invoked to give a spectrum much broader than a blackbody.

Bimodal distribution of the autocorrelation function in gamma-ray bursts

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are sporadic flashes of light observed primarily in the gamma-ray band. Being the brightest explosions in the Universe since its birth, they are at present also the furthest astronomical sources detected. Since their serendipitous discovery in the late 1960s the study of GRBs has grown into one of the most active fields in astrophysics with ramifications in many other scientific areas.Despite intense studies many of the basic questions about the nature of GRBs remain unanswered. Long duration bursts are believed to be the result of ultra-relativistic outflows associated with the collapse of very massive stars. The mechanisms responsible for the emission, the geometry of the emitter, and the radiative processes involved are still a matter of research. Common multi-pulse bursts display a spectral evolution as complex as their light curves. However, it is unclear what produces the observed variability. The works presented in this thesis aim to build the necessary base to answer these open questions.A characterization of the spectral evolution is presented (based on time-resolved spectral analysis) that provides insight into the underlying emission processes and imposes severe constraints on current physical models (Paper I).We report the results of a multi-variate analysis on a broad range of GRB physical parameters covering temporal and spectral properties. Empirical relations were found that indicate a self-similar property in burst light curves and a luminosity correlation with potential use as a distance indicator (Paper II).Determining the relevant timescales of any astronomical phenomenon is essential to understand its associated physical processes. Linear methods in time-series analysis are powerful tools for the researcher that can provide insight into the underlying dynamics of the studied systems. For the first time these methods were used on GRB light curves correcting for cosmic time dilation effects which revealed two classes of variability. The possible origin of these classes is discussed (Papers III & IV).

Probing the temporal variability of Cygnus X-1 into the soft state

Building on results from previous studies of Cygnus X-1, we analyze Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) data taken when the source was in the soft and transitional spectral states. We look at the po ...

Gamma-ray bursts observed by the INTEGRAL-SPI anticoincidence shield: A study of individual pulses and temporal variability ?

We study a set of 28 GRB light-curves detected between 15 December 2002 and 9 June 2003 by the anti-coincidence shield of the spectrometer (SPI) of INTEGRAL. During this period it has detected 50 b ...

On the temporal variability classes found in long gamma-ray bursts with known redshift

Context. Based on the analysis of a small sample of BATSE and Konus gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) with know redshift it has been reported that the width of the autocorrelation function (ACF) shows a remarkable bimodal distribution in the rest-frame of the source. However, the origin of these two well-separated ACF classes remains unexplained. Aims. We study the properties of the bursts belonging to each ACF class and look for significant differences between them. Methods. We complement previous ACF analysis studying the corresponding power density spectra (PDS). With the addition of Beppo-SAX data and taken advantage of its broad-band capability, we not only increase the burst sample but we extend the analysis to X-ray energies. Results. The rest-frame PDS analysis at γ-ray energies shows that the two ACF classes are not simply characterised by a different low frequency cut-off, but they have a distinct variability as a whole in the studied frequency range. Both classes exhibit average PDS with power-law behaviour at high frequencies (f � ≥ 0.1 Hz) but significantly different slopes, with index values close to those of Brownian (−2) and Kolmogorov (−5/3) spectra for the narrow and broad classes respectively. The latter spectrum presents an additional PDS component, a low-frequency noise excess with a sharp cut-off at a characteristic frequency f � c � 0.025 Hz, in conjunction with the small relative dispersion (∼6%) of the ACF width in this class. At X-ray energies we find the power-law index unchanged for the broad class, but a significantly steeper slope in the narrow case (∼−3). We interpret this as an indication that the broad class bursts have weaker spectral evolution than the narrow ones, as suggested also by our analysis of the ACF energy dependence. The low and high frequency PDS components may then arise from two radiating regions involving different emission mechanisms. We compare our GRB sample conditioned by afterglow detections with a complete, flux limited BATSE sample, finding a significant bias against narrow ACF bursts.

Vanishing hardness-flux correlation in Cygnus X-1: signs of the disc moving out

Aims. We investigate observations of the X-ray binary Cygnus X-1 with unusually high hardness and low flux. In particular, we study the characteristic frequencies seen in the PDS and the hardness-flux correlation within and between these observations. Methods. We analyse observations of Cyg X-1 during periods when the source reaches its highest hardness levels (> 1f or the 9–20 keV over 2–4 keV RXTE/PCA count ratios, corresponding to Γ 50 Rg), thereby requiring more time to adjust to a changing accretion rate than allowed by a single RXTE observation, and compare our findings to estimates of the viscous time scale responsible for small scale variability in the system.

Statistical Analysis of BATSE Gamma-Ray Bursts: Self-Similarity and the Amati Relation

The statistical properties of a complete, flux-limited sample of 197 long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) detected by BATSE are studied. In order to bring forth their main characteristics, care was taken to define a representative set of 10 parameters. A multivariate analysis gives that ~70% of the total variation in parameter values is driven by only three principal components. The variation of the temporal parameters is clearly distinct from that of the spectral ones. A close correlation is found between the half-width of the autocorrelation function (τ) and the emission time (50); most importantly, this correlation is self-similar in the sense that the mean values and dispersions of both τ and 50 scale with the duration of the burst (T90). It is shown that the Amati relation can be derived from the sample and that the scatter around this relation is correlated with the value of τ. Hence, τ has a role similar to that of the break in the afterglow light curve (tb) in the Ghirlanda-relation. In the standard GRB-scenario, the close relation between a global parameter (tb) and a local one (τ) indicates that some of the jet-properties do not vary much for different lines of sight. Finally, it is argued that the basic temporal and spectral properties are associated with individual pulses, while the overall properties of a burst is determined mainly by the number of pulses.

Factor analysis of the long gamma-ray bursts

Aims. We study statistically 197 long gamma-ray bursts, detected and measured in detail by the BATSE instrument of the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory. In the sample, 10 variables, describing for any burst the time behavior of the spectra and other quantities, are collected. Methods. The factor analysis method is used to find the latent random variables describing the temporal and spectral properties of GRBs. Results. The application of this particular method to this sample indicates that five factors and the REpk spectral variable (the ratio of peak energies in the spectrum) describe the sample satisfactorily. Both the pseudo-redshifts inferred from the variability, and the Amati-relation in its original form, are disfavored.