Time-integrated Polarizations of the GRB X-Ray Flares
Despite decades of studies, the energy dissipation mechanism of the X-ray flares in the afterglow phase of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) is still debated. If the jet is dominated by the Poynting flux, there would be a large-scale ordered magnetic field in it, and the X-ray flares might be powered by the m...
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IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adee19 |
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| author | Xing-Yao Wang Mi-Xiang Lan |
| author_facet | Xing-Yao Wang Mi-Xiang Lan |
| author_sort | Xing-Yao Wang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Despite decades of studies, the energy dissipation mechanism of the X-ray flares in the afterglow phase of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) is still debated. If the jet is dominated by the Poynting flux, there would be a large-scale ordered magnetic field in it, and the X-ray flares might be powered by the magnetic reconnection process. However, if the jet is dynamical energy dominated and the magnetic field is random, the X-ray flares may be generated by the internal shocks of the cold outflow or by the synchrotron emission escaping from the hot plasma. Polarization is very sensitive to the magnetic field configuration in the radiation region; hence, it can be used as a probe of the magnetic field and the corresponding energy dissipation mechanism in the radiation region. In this paper, the magnetic reconnection model, the internal shock model, and the photosphere model are all described by a simple parametric model to study the time-integrated polarizations of the GRB X-ray flares. We found the time-integrated polarization degree of the GRB X-ray flares would concentrate on high values for the magnetic reconnection process and around zero for the internal shock or the photosphere origin. The influences of the parameters on the time-integrated polarizations are also discussed. Therefore, the statistical properties of the polarizations obtained by the dedicated polarization detector, Low-energy Polarimetry Detector on board POLAR-2, would make a distinction of the energy dissipation processes in the radiation region of the GRB X-ray flares. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-08c85daedd3d4c0398ae7e950044c844 |
| institution | Kabale University |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
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| series | The Astrophysical Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-08c85daedd3d4c0398ae7e950044c8442025-08-20T03:36:14ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-01989217210.3847/1538-4357/adee19Time-integrated Polarizations of the GRB X-Ray FlaresXing-Yao Wang0Mi-Xiang Lan1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5641-2598Center for Theoretical Physics and College of Physics, Jilin University , Changchun, 130012, People’s Republic of China ; lanmixiang@jlu.edu.cnCenter for Theoretical Physics and College of Physics, Jilin University , Changchun, 130012, People’s Republic of China ; lanmixiang@jlu.edu.cnDespite decades of studies, the energy dissipation mechanism of the X-ray flares in the afterglow phase of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) is still debated. If the jet is dominated by the Poynting flux, there would be a large-scale ordered magnetic field in it, and the X-ray flares might be powered by the magnetic reconnection process. However, if the jet is dynamical energy dominated and the magnetic field is random, the X-ray flares may be generated by the internal shocks of the cold outflow or by the synchrotron emission escaping from the hot plasma. Polarization is very sensitive to the magnetic field configuration in the radiation region; hence, it can be used as a probe of the magnetic field and the corresponding energy dissipation mechanism in the radiation region. In this paper, the magnetic reconnection model, the internal shock model, and the photosphere model are all described by a simple parametric model to study the time-integrated polarizations of the GRB X-ray flares. We found the time-integrated polarization degree of the GRB X-ray flares would concentrate on high values for the magnetic reconnection process and around zero for the internal shock or the photosphere origin. The influences of the parameters on the time-integrated polarizations are also discussed. Therefore, the statistical properties of the polarizations obtained by the dedicated polarization detector, Low-energy Polarimetry Detector on board POLAR-2, would make a distinction of the energy dissipation processes in the radiation region of the GRB X-ray flares.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adee19Gamma-ray burstsMagnetic fieldsStarlight polarization |
| spellingShingle | Xing-Yao Wang Mi-Xiang Lan Time-integrated Polarizations of the GRB X-Ray Flares The Astrophysical Journal Gamma-ray bursts Magnetic fields Starlight polarization |
| title | Time-integrated Polarizations of the GRB X-Ray Flares |
| title_full | Time-integrated Polarizations of the GRB X-Ray Flares |
| title_fullStr | Time-integrated Polarizations of the GRB X-Ray Flares |
| title_full_unstemmed | Time-integrated Polarizations of the GRB X-Ray Flares |
| title_short | Time-integrated Polarizations of the GRB X-Ray Flares |
| title_sort | time integrated polarizations of the grb x ray flares |
| topic | Gamma-ray bursts Magnetic fields Starlight polarization |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adee19 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT xingyaowang timeintegratedpolarizationsofthegrbxrayflares AT mixianglan timeintegratedpolarizationsofthegrbxrayflares |