Modeling the Multi-band Afterglows of GRB 060614 and GRB 060908: Further Evidence for a Double Power-Law Hard Electron Energy Spectrum

Abstract

Electrons accelerated in relativistic collisionless shocks are usually assumed to follow a power-law energy distribution with an index of $p$. Observationally, although most gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have afterglows that are consistent with $p>2$, there are still a few GRBs suggestive of a hard ($p<2$) electron energy spectrum. Our previous work showed that GRB 091127 gave strong evidence for a double power-law hard electron energy (DPLH) spectrum with $1<p_1<2$, $p_2>2$ and an "injection break" assumed as ${\gamma }_{\mathrm{b}}\propto {\gamma }^q$ in the highly relativistic regime, where $\gamma$ is the bulk Lorentz factor of the jet. In this paper, we show that GRB 060614 and GRB 060908 provide further evidence for such a DPLH spectrum. We interpret the multi-band afterglow of GRB 060614 with the DPLH model in an homogeneous interstellar medium by taking into account a continuous energy injection process, while for GRB 060908, a wind-like circumburst density profile is used. The two bursts, along with GRB 091127, suggest a similar behavior in the evolution of the injection break, with $q\sim 0.5$. Whether this represents a universal law of the injection break remains uncertain and more such afterglow observations are needed to test this conjecture.

arXiv comment14 pages, 2 figure, submitted to ApJ, revised version

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