The State of the Circumstellar Medium Surrounding Gamma-Ray Burst Sources and its Effect on the Afterglow Appearance

Abstract

We present a numerical investigation of the contribution of the presupernova ejecta of Wolf-Rayet stars to the environment surrounding gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), and describe how this external matter can affect the observable afterglow characteristics. An implicit hydrodynamic calculation for massive stellar evolution is used here to provide the inner boundary conditions for an explicit hydrodynamical code to model the circumstellar gas dynamics. The resulting properties of the circumstellar medium are then used to calculate the deceleration of a relativistic, gas-dynamic jet and the corresponding afterglow light curve produced as the shock wave propagates through the shocked-wind medium. We find that variations in the stellar wind drive instabilities that may produce radial filaments in the shocked-wind region. These comet-like tails of clumps could give rise to strong temporal variations in the early afterglow lightcurve. Afterglows may be expected to differ widely among themselves, depending on the angular anisotropy of the jet and the properties of the stellar progenitor; a wide diversity of behaviors may be the rule, rather than the exception.

arXiv comment17 pages, 7 figures, ApJ in press

References in corpus (48)

• Collapsars - Gamma-Ray Bursts and Explosions in "Failed Supernovae"
• A very energetic supernova associated with the gamma-ray burst of 29 March 2003
• Spectroscopic Discovery of the Supernova 2003dh Associated with GRB 030329
• Are Gamma-Ray Bursts in Star Forming Regions?
• Presupernova Evolution of Differentially Rotating Massive Stars Including Magnetic Fields
• Supernovae, Jets, and Collapsars
• Wind Interaction Models for Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglows: The Case for Two Types of Progenitors
• How to Tell a Jet from a Balloon: A Proposed Test for Beaming in Gamma Ray Bursts
• The unusual afterglow of GRB 980326: evidence for the gamma-ray burst/supernova connection
• Relativistic Jets in Collapsars
• Analytic Light-Curves of Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglows: Homogeneous versus Wind External Media
• Viewing Angle and Environment Effects in GRB: Sources of Afterglow Diversity
• Hydrodynamic Time Scales and Temporal Structure of GRBs
• Events in the life of a cocoon surrounding a light, collapsar jet
• A gamma ray burst with small contamination
• The Rates of Hypernovae and Gamma-Ray Bursts: Implications for their Progenitors
• Observation of X-ray lines from a Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB991216): Evidence of Moving Ejecta from the Progenitor
• HST and Palomar Imaging of GRB 990123: Implications for the Nature of Gamma-Ray Bursts and their Hosts
• The sub-energetic GRB 031203 as a cosmic analogue to GRB 980425
• The Signature of Supernova Ejecta Measured in the X-ray Afterglow of Gamma-Ray Burst 011211
• Implications of the radio afterglow from the gamma-ray burst of May 8, 1997
• A Systematic Analysis of Supernova Light in Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglows
• The Afterglow and the Host Galaxy of the Dark Burst GRB 970828
• Formation rates of core collapse SNe and GRBs
• The detailed optical light curve of GRB 030329
• The Diversity of Gamma-Ray Bursts and the Surroundings of Massive Stars
• Winds from massive stars: implications for the afterglows of gamma-ray bursts
• Variability in GRB Afterglows and GRB 021004
• GRB 021004: A Possible Shell Nebula around a Wolf-Rayet Star Gamma-Ray Burst Progenitor
• GRB 021004: a Massive Progenitor Star Surrounded by Shells
• The decay of optical emission from the Gamma-Ray Burst GRB 970228
• Hydrodynamics of Relativistic Blast Waves in a Density-Jump Medium and Their Emission Signature
• Variability of GRB Afterglows Due to Interstellar Turbulence
• GRB 030226 in a Density-Jump Medium
• Quiescent times in gamma-ray bursts: II. Dormant periods in the central engine?
• Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglows in Pulsar-Wind Bubbles
• The Case for a Misaligned Relativistic Jet from SN 2001em
• Perspective on Afterglows: Numerically Computed Views, Lightcurves and the Analysis of Homogeneous and Structured Jets with Lateral Expansion
• Implications of the Measured Image Size for the Radio Afterglow of GRB 030329
• Broadband Modeling of GRB 021004
• The apparent size of GRB afterglows as a test of the Fireball model
• Chromatic Signatures in the Microlensing of GRB Afterglows
• Iron K-alpha Emission from X-ray Reflection: Predictions for Gamma-Ray Burst Models
• Small-scale variations in the radiating surface of the GRB 011211 jet
• A Failed Gamma-Ray Burst with Dirty Energetic Jets Spirited Away? New Implications for the GRB-SN Connection from Supernova 2002ap
• A Possible Explanation of the Radio Afterglow of GRB980519: The Dense Medium Effect
• Flaring up: radio diagnostics of the kinematic, hydrodynamic and environmental properties of GRBs
• Gamma-ray bursts in normal and extreme star-forming galaxies

Cited by in corpus (53)

• The Supernova -- Gamma-Ray Burst Connection
• Physical processes shaping GRB X-ray afterglow lightcurves: theoretical implications from the Swift XRT observations
• Gamma-Ray Bursts in the Swift Era
• Gamma-Ray Bursts in the Swift Era
• The First Positive Detection of Molecular Gas in a GRB Host Galaxy
• The Radio and X-ray Luminous SN 2003bg and the Circumstellar Density Variations Around Radio Supernovae
• The Collimation and Energetics of the Brightest Swift Gamma-Ray Bursts
• Dissecting the Circumstellar Environment of Gamma-Ray Burst Progenitors
• Afterglow Imaging and Polarization of Misaligned Structured GRB Jets and Cocoons: Breaking the Degeneracy in GRB 170817A
• Analysis of the X-ray Emission of Nine Swift Afterglows
• Smooth Light Curves from a Bumpy Ride: Relativistic Blast Wave Encounters a Density Jump
• Simulations of GRB Jets in a Stratified External Medium: Dynamics, Afterglow Lightcurves, Jet Breaks and Radio Calorimetry
• Radiation-Hydrodynamic Models of the evolving Circumstellar Medium around Massive Stars
• High-Ion Absorption in Seven GRB Host Galaxies at z=2-4: Evidence for both Circumburst Plasma and Outflowing Interstellar Gas
• Three-Dimensional Simulations of MHD Turbulence Behind Relativistic Shock Waves and Their Implications for GRBs
• A Survey for NV Absorption at z~z_GRB in GRB Afterglow Spectra: Clues to Gas Near the Progenitor Star
• The circumstellar environment of Wolf-Rayet stars & Gamma-ray burst afterglows
• A Cool and Inflated Progenitor Candidate for the Type Ib Supernova 2019yvr at 2.6 Years Before Explosion
• Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglows as Probes of Environment and Blastwave Physics II: the Distribution of p and Structure of the Circumburst Medium
• Forming a constant density medium close to long gamma-ray bursts
• Gamma-Ray Burst Dynamics and Afterglow Radiation from Adaptive Mesh Refinement, Special Relativistic Hydrodynamic Simulations
• A Spectacular Radio Flare from XRF 050416a at 40 days and Implications for the Nature of X-ray Flashes
• Production of magnetic energy by macroscopic turbulence in GRB afterglows
• Magnetic Field Amplification and Saturation in Turbulence Behind a Relativistic Shock
• Off-axis afterglow light curves and images from 2D hydrodynamic simulations of double-sided GRB jets in a stratified external medium
• Variation of microphysics in wind bubbles: an alternative mechanism for explaining the rebrightenings in GRB afterglows
• On the absence of Wind Signatures in GRB Afterglow Spectra: Constraints on the Wolf-Rayet Winds of GRB Progenitors
• The signature of a wind reverse shock in Gamma-ray bursts afterglows
• The Environments around Long-Duration Gamma-Ray Burst Progenitors
• The circumstellar medium around a rapidly rotating, chemically homogeneously evolving, possible gamma-ray burst progenitor
• Constraints on gamma-ray burst and supernova progenitors through circumstellar absorption lines. (II): Post-LBV Wolf-Rayet stars
• Temporal Variation in Excited Fe^+ Near a GRB Afterglow
• Coasting external shock in wind medium: an origin for the X-ray plateau decay component in Swift GRB afterglows
• The Morphology and Dynamics of Jet-Driven Supernova Remnants: the Case of W49B
• GRB 060206 and the quandary of achromatic breaks in afterglow light curves
• No flares from Gamma-Ray Burst afterglow blast waves encountering sudden circumburst density change
• No visible optical variability from a relativistic blast wave encountering a wind-termination shock
• Gamma-Ray Bursts in Circumstellar Shells: A Possible Explanation for Flares
• Gamma-ray burst afterglow blast waves
• Practical flux-prescriptions for gamma-ray burst afterglows, from early to late times
• GRB afterglow light curves from realistic density profiles
• An external-shock model for GRB afterglow 130427A
• The Hydrodynamics of Gamma-Ray Burst Remnants
• VLBI and Archival VLA and WSRT Observations of the GRB 030329 Radio Afterglow
• Weibel-Mediated Shocks Propagating into Inhomogeneous Electron-Positron Plasmas
• Modeling Gamma-ray burst Afterglow observations with an Off-axis Jet emission
• Afterglow light curves of the non-relativistic ejecta mass in a stratified circumstellar medium
• Relativistic simulations of long-lived reverse shocks in stratified ejecta: the origin of flares in GRB afterglows
• Observational Constraints on Late-Time Radio Rebrightening of GRB-Supernovae
• Diversity Of Short Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglows From Compact Binary Mergers Hosting Pulsars
• The possible ubiquity of energy injection in Gamma-Ray Burst afterglows
• Observational signature of a wind bubble environment for double neutron star mergers
• Outside the Wall: Hydrodynamics of Type I Supernovae Interacting with a Partially Swept-Up Circumstellar Medium