AN ANALYSIS OF<i>CHANDRA</i>DEEP FOLLOW-UP GAMMA-RAY BURSTS: IMPLICATIONS FOR OFF-AXIS JETS

Bin‐Bin Zhang, Hendrik van Eerten, D. N. Burrows, Geoffrey Ryan, P. A. Evans, J. L. Racusin, E. Troja, Andrew MacFadyen

Abstract

We present a sample of 27 gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) with detailed Swift light curves supplemented by late-time Chandra observations. To answer the missing jet-break problem in general, we develop a numerical-simulation-based model that can be directly fit to the data using Monte Carlo methods. Our numerical model takes into account all the factors that can shape a jet break: (i) lateral expansion, (ii) edge effects, and (iii) off-axis effects. Our results provide improved fits to the light curves and constraints on physical parameters. More importantly, our results suggest that off-axis effects are important and must be included in interpretations of GRB jet breaks.

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• The Astrophysical Journal - View - PDF
• arXiv (Cornell University) - View - PDF
• Pure (University of Bath) - View - PDF
• DataCite API - View