Swift observations of GRB 070110: an extraordinary X-ray afterglow powered by the central engine

Abstract

We present a detailed analysis of Swift multi-wavelength observations of GRB 070110 and its remarkable afterglow. The early X-ray light curve, interpreted as the tail of the prompt emission, displays a spectral evolution already seen in other gamma-ray bursts. The optical afterglow shows a shallow decay up to ~2 d after the burst, which is not consistent with standard afterglow models. The most intriguing feature is a very steep decay in the X-ray flux at ~20 ks after the burst, ending an apparent plateau. The abrupt drop of the X-ray light curve rules out an external shock as the origin of the plateau in this burst and implies long-lasting activity of the central engine. The temporal and spectral properties of the plateau phase point towards a continuous central engine emission rather than the episodic emission of X-ray flares. We suggest that the observed X-ray plateau is powered by a spinning down central engine, possibly a millisecond pulsar, which dissipates energy at an internal radius before depositing energy into the external shock.

10 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ. Main change: refined analysis of optical data

References in corpus (46)

• Maps of Dust IR Emission for Use in Estimation of Reddening and CMBR Foregrounds
• Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) Three Year Results: Implications for Cosmology
• The Physics of Neutron Stars
• Optical and Long Wavelength Afterglow from Gamma-Ray Bursts
• Physical processes shaping GRB X-ray afterglow lightcurves: theoretical implications from the Swift XRT observations
• Jets in GRBs
• Evidence for a Canonical GRB Afterglow Light Curve in the Swift/XRT Data
• Gamma-Ray Bursts: Progress, Problems & Prospects
• The Dynamics and Light Curves of Beamed Gamma Ray Burst Afterglows
• Gamma-ray Burst Afterglow with Continuous Energy Injection: Signature of a Highly-Magnetized Millisecond Pulsar
• Bright X-ray Flares in Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglows
• Afterglow Emission from Naked Gamma-Ray Bursts
• Efficient acceleration and radiation in Poynting flux powered GRB outflows
• The early X-ray emission from GRBs
• X-Ray Flares from Postmerger Millisecond Pulsars
• Refreshed Shocks and Afterglow Longevity in GRB
• An origin for short g-ray bursts unassociated with current star formation
• Large scale magnetic fields and their dissipation in GRB fireballs
• Dust sublimation by GRBs and its implications
• Testing the standard fireball model of GRBs using late X-ray afterglows measured by Swift
• Flares in long and short Gamma-Ray Bursts: a common origin in a hyperaccreting accretion disk
• An analysis of gamma-ray burst spectral break models
• An unexpectedly rapid decline in the X-ray afterglow emission of long gamma-ray bursts
• Panchromatic study of GRB 060124: from precursor to afterglow
• Signatures of Extragalactic Dust in pre-Swift GRB Afterglows
• Testing the Curvature Effect and Internal Origin of Gamma-Ray Burst Prompt Emissions and X-ray Flares with Swift Data
• High column densities and low extinctions of gamma-ray bursts: Evidence for hypernovae and dust destruction
• Late internal shock model for bright X-ray flares in Gamma-ray Burst afterglows and GRB 011121
• On the Nature of Nonthermal Radiation from Cosmological Gamma-Ray Bursters
• The late time evolution of Gamma-Ray Bursts: ending hyperaccretion and producing flares
• Fallback accretion in the aftermath of a compact binary merger
• The Giant X-ray Flare of GRB 050502B: Evidence for Late-Time Internal Engine Activity
• Gamma-ray bursts with continuous energy injection and their afterglow signature
• Gamma-ray bursts: Restarting the Engine
• A log N(HI) = 22.6 DLA in a dark gamma-ray burst: the environment of GRB 050401
• Time-Dependent Photoionization in a Dusty Medium II: Evolution of Dust Distributions and Optical Opacities
• Distribution of Gamma-ray Burst Ejecta Energy with Lorentz Factor
• The X-ray afterglow of the short gamma ray burst 050724
• The Onset of Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglow
• Gamma-Ray Burst afterglows as probes of environment and blastwave physics I: absorption by host galaxy gas and dust
• Detection of a huge explosion in the early Universe
• Thick fireballs and the steep decay in the early X-ray afterglow of gamma-ray bursts
• Swift observations of GRB050904: the most distant cosmic explosion ever observed
• Swift XRT Observations of the Afterglow of XRF 050416A
• Swift multi-wavelength observations of the bright flaring burst GRB051117A
• GRB 050117: Simultaneous Gamma-ray and X-ray Observations with the Swift Satellite

Cited by in corpus (206)

• The Physics of Gamma-Ray Bursts and Relativistic Jets
• The Proto-Magnetar Model for Gamma-Ray Bursts
• Signatures of magnetar central engines in short GRB lightcurves
• Magnetars: the physics behind observations
• The Afterglows of Swift-era Gamma-Ray Bursts. I. Comparing pre-Swift and Swift era Long/Soft (Type II) GRB Optical Afterglows
• A nearby long gamma-ray burst from a merger of compact objects
• A Comprehensive Analysis of the Swift/XRT Data: II. Diverse Physical Origins of the Shallow Decay Segment
• A possible connection between Fast Radio Bursts and Gamma-Ray Bursts
• A Complete Reference of the Analytical Synchrotron External Shock Models of Gamma-Ray Bursts
• Constraining GRB Initial Lorentz Factor with the Afterglow Onset Feature and Discovery of a Tight Gamma_0-E_iso Correlation
• The Millisecond Magnetar Central Engine in short GRBs
• A long-duration gamma-ray burst with a peculiar origin
• The unusual X-ray emission of the short Swift GRB 090515: Evidence for the formation of a magnetar?
• Mass Fall-back and Accretion in the Central Engine of Gamma-Ray Bursts
• A Comprehensive Analysis of Swift/XRT Data: III. Jet Break Candidates in X-ray and Optical Afterglow Lightcurves
• Early X-ray and optical afterglow of gravitational wave bursts from mergers of binary neutron stars
• The ultra-long Gamma-Ray Burst 111209A: the collapse of a blue supergiant?
• The optically unbiased GRB host (TOUGH) survey. I. Survey design and catalogs
• A test of the millisecond magnetar central engine model of GRBs with Swift data
• GRB Afterglows with Energy Injection from a spinning down NS
• The prompt-afterglow connection in Gamma-Ray Bursts: a comprehensive statistical analysis of Swift X-ray light-curves
• Can X-ray emission powered by a spinning-down magnetar explain some GRB light curve features?
• A comprehensive analysis of Swift/XRT data: I. Apparent spectral evolution of GRB X-ray tails
• How Bad/Good Are the External Forward Shock Afterglow Models of Gamma-Ray Bursts?
• Magnetar powered GRBs: Explaining the extended emission and X-ray plateau of short GRB light curves
• Nuclear Equation of State from Observations of Short Gamma-Ray Burst Remnants
• A long-lived neutron star merger remnant in GW170817: constraints and clues from X-ray observations
• The Collimation and Energetics of the Brightest Swift Gamma-Ray Bursts
• A Comprehensive Study of Gamma-Ray Burst Optical Emission: I. Flares and Early Shallow Decay Component
• Constraining properties of GRB magnetar central engines using the observed plateau luminosity and duration correlation
• Open Questions in GRB Physics
• High energy neutrino early afterglows from gamma-ray bursts revisited
• High Energy Afterglow from Gamma-ray Bursts
• Observationally constraining gravitational wave emission from short gamma-ray burst remnants
• A long-lived remnant neutron star after GW170817 inferred from its associated kilonova
• How Long does a Burst Burst?
• A thousand days after the merger: continued X-ray emission from GW170817
• Lorentz Factor-Isotropic Luminosity/Energy Correlations of GRBS and Their Interpretation
• A fundamental plane for long gamma-ray bursts with X-ray plateaus
• Taxonomy of GRB optical light-curves: identification of a salient class of early afterglows
• Internal X-ray plateau in short GRBs: Signature of supramassive fast-rotating quark stars?
• The evolution of binary neutron star post-merger remnants: a review
• A unifying view of Gamma Ray Burst Afterglows
• An achromatic break in the afterglow of the short GRB 140903A: evidence for a narrow jet
• Statistical Study of Gamma-Ray Bursts with a Plateau Phase in the X-ray Afterglow
• Radio Counterparts of Compact Binary Mergers detectable in Gravitational Waves: A Simulation for an Optimized Survey
• X-ray Plateaus in Gamma Ray Bursts' light-curves from jets viewed slightly off-axis
• Science objectives of the Einstein Probe mission
• A study of gamma ray bursts with afterglow plateau phases associated with supernovae
• A Study of the Gamma-Ray Burst Fundamental Plane
• Constraining the GRB-magnetar model by means of the Galactic pulsar population
• Prior Emission Model for X-ray Plateau Phase of Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglows
• Toward a standard Gamma Ray Burst: tight correlations between the prompt and the afterglow plateau phase emission
• High energy gamma-ray emission from Gamma-Ray Bursts -- before GLAST
• Constraining the Type of Central Engine of GRBs with Swift Data
• Gamma-ray burst prompt correlations: selection and instrumental effects
• A statistical study of super-luminous supernovae in the magnetar engine model and implications for their connection with gamma-ray bursts and hypernovae
• The braking index of millisecond magnetars
• Gamma Ray Burst afterglow and prompt-afterglow relations: an overview
• Hyperaccreting Black Hole as Gamma-Ray Burst Central Engine. II. Temporal evolution of central engine parameters during Prompt and Afterglow Phases
• Structured Jets and X-ray Plateaus in Gamma-Ray Burst Phenomena
• X-ray counterpart of gravitational waves due to binary neutron star mergers: light curves, luminosity functions, and event rate densities
• Neutron Star Mergers and How to Study Them
• The role of newly born magnetars in gamma-ray burst X-ray afterglow emission: Energy injection and internal emission
• Gamma-ray burst optical light-curve zoo: comparison with X-ray observations
• Measuring cosmological parameters with a luminosity-time correlation of gamma-ray bursts
• Fall-Back Disks in Long and Short GRBs
• Rise and fall of the X-ray flash 080330: an off-axis jet?
• On the investigation of the closure relations for Gamma-Ray Bursts observed by Swift in the post-plateau phase and the GRB fundamental plane
• Prompt, early, and afterglow optical observations of five gamma-ray bursts (GRBs 100901A, 100902A, 100905A, 100906A, and 101020A)
• A Comprehensive Analysis of Swift/XRT Data: IV. Single Power-Law Decaying Lightcurves vs. Canonical Lightcurves and Implications for a Unified Origin of X-rays
• Spin Evolution of Millisecond Magnetars with Hyperaccreting Fallback Disks: Implications for Early Afterglows of Gamma-Ray Bursts
• Constraints on millisecond magnetars as the engines of prompt emission in gamma-ray bursts
• On the Implications of Late Internal Dissipation for Shallow-Decay Afterglow Emission and Associated High-Energy Gamma-Ray Signals
• Extragalactic fast X-ray transient candidates discovered by Chandra (2000-2014)
• Self-similar relativistic blast waves with energy injection
• Gravitational waves or deconfined quarks: what causes the premature collapse of neutron stars born in short gamma-ray bursts?
• Magnetar central engine and possible gravitational wave emission of nearby short GRB 160821B
• The Optical Two and Three-Dimensional Fundamental Plane Correlations for Nearly 180 Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglows with Swift/UVOT, RATIR, and the SUBARU Telescope
• Highly Luminous Supernovae associated with Gamma-Ray Bursts I.: GRB 111209A/SN 2011kl in the Context of Stripped-Envelope and Superluminous Supernovae
• Capturing the electromagnetic counterparts of binary neutron star mergers through low latency gravitational wave triggers
• Unusual Central Engine Activity in the Double Burst GRB 110709B
• Signature of a New-Born Black Hole from the Collapse of a Supra-massive Millisecond Magnetar
• Gravitational waves within the magnetar model of superluminous supernovae and gamma-ray bursts
• On the Existence of the Plateau Emission in High-Energy Gamma-Ray Burst LightCurves observed byFermi-LAT
• Constraints on the circumburst environments of short gamma-ray bursts
• A Correlated Study of Optical and X-ray Afterglows of GRBs
• Electromagnetic Emission from newly-born Magnetar Spin-Down by Gravitational-Wave and Magnetic Dipole Radiations
• The shallow decay segment of GRB X-ray afterglow revisited
• X-ray flares, plateaus, and chromatic breaks of GRB afterglows from up-scattered forward-shock emission
• Gamma-Ray Bursts as Sources of Strong Magnetic Fields
• Constraining the energy budget of GRB 080721
• Extragalactic FXT Candidates Discovered by Chandra (2014-2022)
• Multi-wavelength afterglows of fast radio bursts
• How Much Can ${}^{56}$Ni Be Synthesized by Magnetar Model for Long Gamma-ray Bursts and Hypernovae?
• Determining the efficiency of converting magnetar spin-down energy into gamma-ray burst X-ray afterglow emission and its possible implications
• Broadband modelling of short gamma-ray bursts with energy injection from magnetar spin-down and its implications for radio detectability
• Precursors in Short Gamma-ray Bursts as a Possible Probe of Progenitors
• Closure relations during the plateau emission of Swift GRBs and the fundamental plane
• What can we learn from "internal plateaus"? The peculiar afterglow of GRB 070110
• Coasting external shock in wind medium: an origin for the X-ray plateau decay component in Swift GRB afterglows
• New equation of states for postmerger supramassive quark stars
• Brightening X-ray/Optical/Radio Emission of GW170817/SGRB 170817A: Results of an Electron-Positron Wind from the Central Engine?
• Magnetic Fields and Afterglows of BdHNe: Inferences from GRB 130427A, GRB 160509A, GRB 160625B, GRB 180728A and GRB 190114C
• Multiwavelength observations of Fast Radio Bursts
• The central engine of GRB 130831A and the energy breakdown of a relativistic explosion
• The Host Galaxies of Long-Duration Gamma-Ray Bursts
• Black hole central engine for ultra-long gamma-ray burst 111209A and its associated supernova 2011kl
• Is GRB afterglow emission intrinsically anisotropic ?
• A multi-wavelength analysis of a collection of short-duration GRBs observed between 2012-2015
• Gamma-Ray Burst/Supernova Associations: Energy partition and the case of a magnetar central engine
• Characteristics of Two-episode Emission Patterns in {\em Fermi} Long Gamma-Ray Bursts
• Gamma-ray burst afterglow blast waves
• Outflows from black hole hyperaccretion systems: short and long-short gamma-ray bursts and "quasi-supernovae"
• Swift and Fermi observations of X-ray flares: the case of Late Internal Shock
• Testing the External Shock Model of Gamma-Ray Bursts using the Late-Time Simultaneous Optical and X-ray Afterglows
• Interpreting the X-ray afterglows of gamma-ray bursts with radiative losses and millisecond magnetars
• Swift captures the spectrally evolving prompt emission of GRB 070616
• X-ray light curve in GRB 170714A: evidence for quark star?
• Fermi-LAT Detection of a GeV Afterglow from a Compact Stellar Merger
• Non-detection of fast radio bursts from six gamma-ray burst remnants with possible magnetar engines
• Two populations of gamma-ray burst radio afterglows
• Testing a new view of Gamma Ray Burst Afterglows
• Optical afterglow luminosities in the Swift epoch: confirming clustering and bimodality
• A Stochastic Approach To Reconstruct Gamma Ray Burst Lightcurves
• Constraining the Braking Index and Energy Partition of Magnetar spindown with {\em Swift}/XRT data
• Gamma Ray Burst reverse shock emission in early radio afterglows
• Relation between the intrinsic and observed central engine activity time: implications for ultra-long GRBs
• GRB Observational Properties
• Magnetic-distortion-induced ellipticity and gravitational wave radiation of neutron stars: millisecond magnetars in short GRBs, Galactic pulsars, and magnetars
• Late-time accretion in neutron star mergers: implications for short gamma-ray bursts and kilonovae
• Statistical studies of optically dark gamma-ray bursts in the Swift era
• The curious case of EP241021a: Unraveling the mystery of its exceptional rebrightening
• The Second Plateau in X-ray Afterglow Providing Additional Evidence for Rapidly Spinning Magnetars as the GRB Central Engine
• Electromagnetic Counterparts of Compact Binary Mergers
• Magnetar as Central Engine of Gamma-Ray Bursts: Central Engine-Jet Connection, Wind-Jet Energy Partition, and Origin of Some Ultra-Long Bursts
• Gamma-Ray Bursts
• Energy injection driven by precessing jets in gamma-ray burst afterglows
• The evolution of a newborn millisecond magnetar with a propeller-recycling disk
• Revisiting the dispersion measure of fast radio bursts associated with gamma-ray burst afterglows
• Giant X-ray and optical Bump in GRBs: evidence for fall-back accretion model
• Long-duration Gamma-ray Burst Progenitors and Magnetar Formation
• The closure relations in optical afterglow of Gamma-Ray Bursts
• The effects of a magnetar engine on the gamma-ray burst-associated supernovae: Application to double-peaked SN 2006aj
• The radiative efficiency of relativistic jet and wind: A case study of GRB 070110
• Evidence for gravitational-wave dominated emission in the central engine of short GRB 200219A
• Detectability of "Merger-nova" emission from a long-lived magnetar in short gamma-ray bursts
• Polarization evolution accompanying the very early sharp decline of GRB X-ray afterglows
• Comparison of the Characteristics of Magnetars Born in Death of Massive Stars and Merger of Compact Objects With {\em Swift} Gamma-Ray Burst Data
• Early Evolution of a Newborn Magnetar with Strong Precession Motion in GRB 180620A
• Detecting Radio Afterglows of Gamma-Ray Bursts with FAST
• Modeling the Multi-Band Afterglow of GRB 130831A: Evidence for a Spinning-Down Magnetar Dominated by Gravitational Wave Losses?
• A deceleration search for magnetar pulsations in the X-ray plateaus of Short GRBs
• Interpretation of Radio Afterglows in the framework of the Standard Fireball and Energy Injection models
• Relativistic simulations of long-lived reverse shocks in stratified ejecta: the origin of flares in GRB afterglows
• Fires in the deep: The luminosity distribution of early-time gamma-ray-burst afterglows in light of the Gamow Explorer sensitivity requirements
• Constraining Properties of GRB Central Engines with X-ray flares
• The newly born magnetars powering gamma-ray burst internal-plateau emission: are there strange stars?
• Signature of a spin-up magnetar from multi-band afterglow rebrightening of GRB 100814A
• Optical/infrared flares of GRB 080129 from late internal shocks
• Gamma Ray Burst engine activity within the quark nova scenario: Prompt emission, X-ray Plateau, and sharp drop-off
• Gravitational Waves from Newborn Accreting Millisecond Magnetars
• GRB 111209A/SN 2011kl: Collapse of a supramassive magnetar with r-mode oscillation and fall-back accretion onto a newborn black hole
• Neutrino search from γ-ray bursts during the prompt and X-ray afterglow phases using 10 years of IceCube public data
• Early Optical Observations of GRB 150910A: Bright Jet Optical Afterglow and X-ray Dipole Radiation from a Magnetar Central Engine
• Evidence of X-ray plateaus driven by the magnetar spindown winds in gamma-ray burst afterglows
• Multiwavelength observations of GRB 140629A. A long burst with an achromatic jet break in the optical and X-ray afterglow
• A further study of $t_{\mathrm{burst}}$ of GRBs: rest frame properties, external plateau contributions and multiple parameter analysis
• Hunting Gravitational Waves with Multi-Messenger Counterparts: Australia's Role
• To power the X-ray plateaus of gamma-ray bursts through larger amplitude electromagnetic waves
• Neutrinos and gravitational waves from magnetized neutrino-dominated accretion discs with magnetic coupling
• Multi-Peaked Non-Thermal Light Curves from Magnetar-Powered Gamma-Ray Bursts
• Early GRB afterglows from reverse shocks in ultra-relativistic long-lasting winds
• Ultra-relativistic double explosions
• The peculiar physics of GRB 170817A and their implications for short GRBs
• FRB131104 Swift BAT data revisited: No evidence of a gamma-ray counterpart
• The unusual X-ray light-curve of GRB 080307: the onset of the afterglow?
• Dynamics and emission of wind-powered afterglows of gamma-ray bursts: flares, plateaus and steep decays
• External Shock in a Multi-Bursting Gamma-ray Burst: Energy Injection Phase induced by the Later Launched Ejecta
• A Possible kilonova powered by magnetic wind from a newborn black hole
• Gamma Ray Bursts Cook Book I: Formulation
• Jitter radiation images, spectra, and light curves from a relativistic spherical blastwave
• Multipolar Electromagnetic Emission of Newborn Magnetar
• X-ray Flares Raising upon Magnetar Plateau as an Implication of a Surrounding Disk of Newborn Magnetized Neutron Star
• High time resolution search for prompt radio emission from the long GRB 210419A with the Murchison Widefield Array
• X-ray plateaus followed by sharp drops in GRBs 060413, 060522, 060607A and 080330: Further evidences for central engine afterglow from Gamma-ray Bursts
• Deciphering the properties of the central engine in GRB collapsars
• Magnetar as Central Engine of Gamma-Ray Bursts: Quasi-Universal Jet, Event Rate and X-ray Luminosity Function of Dipole Radiations
• The evolution effects of radius and moment of inertia for rapidly rotating neutron stars
• Investigating magnetically-induced distortions of neutron stars through gamma-ray burst X-ray plateaus
• Towards the Properties of Long Gamma-Ray Burst Progenitors with Swift Data
• Three-stage Collapse of the Long Gamma-Ray Burst from GRB 160625B Prompt Multiwavelength Observations
• The origin of the coherent radio flash potentially associated with GRB 201006A
• Thermal Emission in Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglows
• ALMA and RATIR observations of GRB131030A
• GRB X-ray plateaus as evidence that the afterglow begins before the prompt gamma-ray emission
• Accurate flux calibration of GW170817: is the X-ray counterpart on the rise?
• Multi-Model Framework for Reconstructing Gamma-Ray Burst Light Curves
• Studying newborn neutron stars by the transient emission after stellar collapses and compact binary mergers
• Exploring the connection between compact object mergers and fast X-ray transients: The cases of LXT 240402A and EP250207b
• Constraining the Equation of State of Neutron Stars through GRB X-Ray Plateaus
• Probing millisecond magnetar formation in binary neutron star mergers through X-ray follow-up of gravitational wave alerts
• Swift highlights and flares (Back to the drawing board?)
• A three stage model for the inner engine of GRBs: Prompt emission and early afterglow
• GRB160203A: an exploration of lumpy space
• Gamma-Ray Burst Light Curve Reconstruction: A Comparative Machine and Deep Learning Analysis