The existence of excess absorption in the X-ray spectra of GRBs is well known, but the primary location of the absorbing material is still uncertain. To gain more knowledge about this, we have performed a time-resolved analysis of the X-ray spectra of 199 GRBs observed by the Swift X-ray telescope, searching for evidence of a decreasing column density (N-H,N-intr) that would indicate that the GRBs are ionizing matter in their surroundings. We structured the analysis as Bayesian inference and used an absorbed power law as our baseline model. We also explored alternative spectral models in cases where decreasing absorption was inferred. The analysis reveals seven GRBs that show signs of a decrease in N-H,N-intr, but we note that alternative models for the spectral evolution cannot be ruled out. We conclude that the excess absorption in the vast majority of GRBs must originate on large scales of the host galaxies and/or in the intergalactic medium. Our results also imply that an evolving column density is unlikely to affect the spectral analysis of the early X-ray spectra of GRBs. In line with this, we show that estimating the total N-H,N-intr from early Swift data in Window Timing mode reveals the same increasing trend with redshift as previous results based on data taken at later times, but with tighter constraints.

We extend previous work on gamma-ray burst afterglows involving hot thermal electrons at the base of a shock-accelerated tail. Using a physically motivated electron distribution based on first-principles simulations, we compute the broadband emission from radio to TeV gamma rays. For the first time, we present the effects of a thermal distribution of electrons on synchrotron self-Compton emission. The presence of thermal electrons causes temporal and spectral structure across the entire observable afterglow, which is substantively different from models that assume a pure power-law distribution for the electrons. We show that early-time TeV emission is enhanced by more than an order of magnitude for our fiducial parameters, with a time-varying spectral index that does not occur for a pure power law of electrons. We further show that the X-ray closure relations take a very different, also time-dependent, form when thermal electrons are present; the shape traced out by the X-ray afterglows is a qualitative match to observations of the traditional decay phase.

The physical processes of gamma-ray emission and particle acceleration during the prompt phase in gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are still unsettled. In order to perform unambiguous physical modeling of observations, a clear identification of the emission mechanism is needed. An instance of a clear identification is the synchrotron emission during the very strong flare in GRB 160821A, which occurred during the prompt phase at 135 s. Here we show that the distribution of the radiating electrons in this flare is initially very narrow but later develops a power-law tail of accelerated electrons. We thus identify for the first time the onset of particle acceleration in a GRB jet. The flare is consistent with a late energy release from the central engine causing an external shock as it encounters a preexisting ring nebula of a progenitor Wolf-Rayet star. Relativistic forward and reverse shocks develop, leading to two distinct emission zones with similar properties. The particle acceleration only occurs in the forward shock, moving into the dense nebula matter. Here, the magnetization also decreases below the critical value, which allows for Fermi acceleration to operate. Using this fact, we find a bulk Lorentz factor of 420 less than or similar to Gamma less than or similar to 770 and an emission radius of R similar to 10(18) cm, indicating a tenuous gas of the immediate circumburst surroundings. The observation of the onset of particle acceleration thus gives new and independent constraints on the properties of the flow as well as on theories of particle acceleration in collisionless astrophysical shocks.

Macrolensing of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) is expected to manifest as a GRB recurring with the same light curve and spectrum as a previous one, but with a different flux and a slightly offset position. Identifying such lensed GRBs may give important information about the lenses, the cosmology, and the GRBs themselves. Here we present a search for lensed GRBs among similar to 2700 GRBs observed by the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor during 11 yr of operations. To identify lensed GRBs, we perform initial cuts on position, time-averaged spectral properties, and relative duration. We then use the cross-correlation function to assess the similarity of light curves, and finally we analyze the time-resolved spectra of the most promising candidates. We find no convincing lens candidates. The most similar pairs are single-pulsed GRBs with relatively few time bins for the spectral analysis. This is best explained by similarities within the GRB population rather than lensing. However, the null result does not rule out the presence of macrolensed GRBs in the sample. In particular, we find that observational uncertainties and Poisson fluctuations can lead to significant differences within a pair of lensed GRBs.

There is no complete description of the emission physics during the prompt phase in gamma-ray bursts. Spectral analyses, however, indicate that many spectra are narrower than what is expected for nonthermal emission models. Here, we reanalyze the sample of 37 bursts in Yu et al. by fitting the narrowest time-resolved spectrum in each burst. We perform a model comparison between photospheric and synchrotron emission models based on Bayesian evidence. We compare the shapes of the narrowest expected spectra: emission from the photosphere in a non-dissipative flow and slow cooled synchrotron emission from a narrow electron distribution. We find that the photospheric spectral shape is preferred by 54% 8% of the spectra (20/37), while 38% 8% of the spectra (14/37) prefer the synchrotron spectral shape; three spectra are inconclusive. We hence conclude that GRB spectra are indeed very narrow and that more than half of the bursts have a photospheric emission episode. We also find that a third of all analyzed spectra, not only prefer, but are also compatible with a non-dissipative photosphere, confirming previous similar findings. Furthermore, we notice that the spectra that prefer the photospheric model all have low-energy power-law indices alpha greater than or similar to -0.5. This means that alpha is a good estimator for which model is preferred by the data. Finally, we argue that the spectra that statistically prefer the synchrotron model could equally as well be caused by subphotospheric dissipation. If that is the case, photospheric emission during the early, prompt phase would be even more dominant.

The jet photosphere has been proposed as the origin for the gamma-ray burst (GRB) prompt emission. In many such models, characteristic features in the spectra appear below the energy range of the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) detectors, so joint fits with X-ray data are important in order to assess the photospheric scenario. Here we consider a particular photospheric model which assumes localized subphotospheric dissipation by internal shocks in a non-magnetized outflow. We investigate it using Bayesian inference and a sample of eight GRBs with known redshifts which are observed simultaneously with Fermi GBM and the Swift X-ray Telescope (XRT). This provides us with an energy range of 0.3. keV-40. MeV and much tighter parameter constraints. We analyze 32 spectra and find that 16 are well described by the model. We also find that the estimates of the bulk Lorentz factor, Gamma, and the fireball luminosity, L-0,L-52, decrease while the fraction of dissipated energy, epsilon(d), increases in the joint fits compared to GBM-only fits. These changes are caused by a small excess of counts in the XRT data, relative to the model predictions from fits to GBM-only data. The fact that our limited implementation of the physical scenario yields 50% accepted spectra is promising, and we discuss possible model revisions in the light of the new data. Specifically, we argue that the inclusion of significant magnetization, as well as removing the assumption of internal shocks, will provide better fits at low energies.

It has been suggested that the prompt emission in gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) could be described by radiation from the photosphere in a hot fireball. Such models must be tested by directly fitting them to data. In this work we use data from the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope and consider a specific photospheric model, in which the kinetic energy of a low-magnetization outflow is dissipated locally by internal shocks below the photosphere. We construct a table model with a physically motivated parameter space and fit it to time-resolved spectra of the 36 brightest Fermi GRBs with a known redshift. We find that about two-thirds of the examined spectra cannot be described by the model, as it typically underpredicts the observed flux. However, since the sample is strongly biased towards bright GRBs, we argue that this fraction will be significantly lowered when considering the full population. From the successful fits we find that the model can reproduce the full range of spectral slopes present in the sample. For these cases we also find that the dissipation consistently occurs at a radius of ∼10¹² cm and that only a few per cent efficiency is required. Furthermore, we find a positive correlation between the fireball luminosity and the Lorentz factor. Such a correlation has been previously reported by independent methods. We conclude that if GRB spectra are due to photospheric emission, the dissipation cannot only be the specific scenario we consider here.

The early X-ray afterglows of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are usually well described by absorbed power laws. However, in some cases, additional thermal components have been identified. The origin of this emission is debated, with proposed explanations including supernova shock breakout, emission from a cocoon surrounding the jet, as well as emission from the jet itself. A larger sample of detections is needed in order to place constraints on these different models. Here, we present a time-resolved spectral analysis of 74 GRBs observed by Swift X-ray Telescope in a search for thermal components. We report six detections in our sample, and also confirm an additional three cases that were previously reported in the literature. The majority of these bursts have a narrow range of blackbody radii around similar to 2 x 10(12) cm, despite having a large range of luminosities (L-peak similar to 10(47)-10(51) erg s(-1)). This points to an origin connected to the progenitor stars, and we suggest that emission from a cocoon breaking out from a thick wind may explain the observations. For two of the bursts in the sample, an explanation in terms of late prompt emission from the jet is instead more likely. We also find that these thermal components are preferentially detected when the X-ray luminosity is low, which suggests that they may be hidden by bright afterglows in the majority of GRBs.

The origin of the prompt emission in gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) is still an unsolved problem and several different mechanisms have been suggested. Here, we fit Fermi GRB data with a photospheric emission model which includes dissipation of the jet kinetic energy below the photosphere. The resulting spectra are dominated by Comptonization and contain no significant contribution from synchrotron radiation. In order to fit to the data, we span a physically motivated part of the model's parameter space and create DREAM (Dissipation with Radiative Emission as A table Model), a table model for XSPEC. We show that this model can describe different kinds of GRB spectra, including GRB 090618, representing a typical Band function spectrum, and GRB 100724B, illustrating a double peaked spectrum, previously fitted with a Band+blackbody model, suggesting they originate from a similar scenario. We suggest that the main difference between these two types of bursts is the optical depth at the dissipation site.

Much evidence points towards that the photosphere in the relativistic outflow in GRBs plays an important role in shaping the observed MeV spectrum. However, it is unclear whether the spectrum is fully produced by the photosphere or whether a substantial part of the spectrum is added by processes far above the photosphere. Here we make a detailed study of the. ray emission from single pulse GRB110920A which has a spectrum that becomes extremely narrow towards the end of the burst. We show that the emission can be interpreted as Comptonization of thermal photons by cold electrons in an unmagnetized outflow at an optical depth of tau similar to 20. The electrons receive their energy by a local dissipation occurring close to the saturation radius. The main spectral component of GRB110920A and its evolution is thus, in this interpretation, fully explained by the emission from the photosphere including localized dissipation at high optical depths.