No Arabic abstract
As a backend to the first station of the Long Wavelength Array (LWA1) the Prototype All Sky Imager (PASI) has been imaging the sky $>$ -26$^{circ}$ declination during 34 Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) between January 2012 and May 2013. Using this data we were able to put the most stringent limits to date on prompt low frequency emission from GRBs. While our limits depend on the zenith angle of the observed GRB, we estimate a 1$sigma$ RMS sensitivity of 68, 65 and 70 Jy for 5 second integrations at 37.9, 52.0, and 74.0 MHz at zenith. These limits are relevant for pulses $geq$ 5 s and are limited by dispersion smearing. For pulses of length 5 s we are limited to dispersion measures ($DM$s) $leq$ 220, 570, and 1,600 pc cm$^{-3}$ for the frequencies above. For pulses lasting longer than 5s, the $DM$ limits increase linearly with the duration of the pulse. We also report two interesting transients, which are, as of yet, of unknown origin, and are not coincident with any known GRBs. For general transients, we give rate density limits of $leq$ $7.5times10^{-3}$, $2.9times10^{-2}$, and $1.4times10^{-2}$ yr$^{-1}$ deg$^{-2}$ with pulse energy densities $>1.3times 10^{-22}$, $1.1times 10^{-22}$, and $1.4times 10^{-22}$ J m$^{-2}$ Hz$^{-1}$ and pulse widths of 5 s at the frequencies given above.
Gamma-ray burst GRB 140430A was detected by the Swift satellite and observed promptly with the imaging polarimeter RINGO3 mounted on the Liverpool Telescope, with observations beginning while the prompt $gamma$-ray emission was still ongoing. In this paper, we present densely sampled (10-second temporal resolution) early optical light curves in 3 optical bands and limits to the degree of optical polarization. We compare optical, X-ray and gamma-ray properties and present an analysis of the optical emission during a period of high-energy flaring. The complex optical light curve cannot be explained merely with a combination of forward and reverse shock emission from a standard external shock, implying additional contribution of emission from internal shock dissipation. We estimate an upper limit for time averaged optical polarization during the prompt phase to be as low as P < 12% (1$sigma$). This suggests that the optical flares and early afterglow emission in this GRB are not highly polarized. Alternatively, time averaging could mask the presence of otherwise polarized components of distinct origin at different polarization position angles.
After more than 40 years from their discovery, the long-lasting tension between predictions and observations of GRBs prompt emission spectra starts to be solved. We found that the observed spectra can be produced by the synchrotron process, if the emitting particles do not completely cool. Evidence for incomplete cooling was recently found in Swift GRBs spectra with prompt observations down to 0.5 keV (Oganesyan et al. 2017, 2018), characterized by an additional low-energy break. In order to search for this break at higher energies, we analysed the 10 long and 10 short brightest GRBs detected by the Fermi satellite in over 10 years of activity. We found that in 8/10 long GRBs there is compelling evidence of a low energy break (below the peak energy) and the photon indices below and above that break are remarkably consistent with the values predicted by the synchrotron spectrum (-2/3 and -3/2, respectively). None of the ten short GRBs analysed shows a break, but the low energy spectral slope is consistent with -2/3. Within the framework of the GRB standard model, these results imply a very low magnetic field in the emission region, at odds with expectations. I also present the spectral evolution of GRB 190114C, the first GRB detected with high significance by the MAGIC Telescopes, which shows the compresence (in the keV-MeV energy range) of the prompt and of the afterglow emission, the latter rising and dominating the high energy part of the spectral energy range.
Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) are short lived ($sim$ msec), energetic transients (having a peak flux density of $sim$ Jy) with no known prompt emission in other energy bands. We present results of a search for prompt X-ray emissions from 41 FRBs using the Cadmium Zinc Telluride Imager (CZTI) on AstroSat which continuously monitors $sim70%$ of the sky. Our searches on various timescales in the 20-200 keV range, did not yield any counterparts in this hard X-ray band. We calculate upper limits on hard X-ray flux, in the same energy range and convert them to upper bounds for $eta$: the ratio X-ray to radio fluence of FRBs. We find $eta leq 10^{8-10}$ for hard X-ray emission. Our results will help constrain the theoretical models of FRBs as the models become more quantitative and nearer, brighter FRBs are discovered.
Recently, low frequency, broadband radio emission has been observed accompanying bright meteors by the Long Wavelength Array (LWA). The broadband spectra between 20 and 60 MHz were captured for several events, while the spectral index (dependence of flux density on frequency, with $S_ u propto u^alpha$) was estimated to be $-4pm1$ during the peak of meteor afterglows. Here we present a survey of meteor emission and other transient events using the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) at 72-103 MHz. In our 322-hour survey, down to a $5sigma$ detection threshold of 3.5 Jy/beam, no transient candidates were identified as intrinsic emission from meteors. We derived an upper limit of -3.7 (95% confidence limit) on the spectral index in our frequency range. We also report detections of other transient events, like reflected FM broadcast signals from small satellites, conclusively demonstrating the ability of the MWA to detect and track space debris on scales as small as 0.1 m in low Earth orbits.
We present a search for prompt radio emission associated with the short-duration gamma-ray burst (GRB) 150424A using the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) at frequencies from 80-133 MHz. Our observations span delays of 23 s-30 min after the GRB, corresponding to dispersion measures of 100-7700 pc/cm^3. We see no excess flux in images with timescales of 4 s, 2 min, or 30 min, and set a 3 sigma flux density limit of 3.0 Jy at 132 MHz on the shortest timescales: some of the most stringent limits to date on prompt radio emission from any type of GRB. We use these limits to constrain a number of proposed models for coherent emission from short-duration GRBs, although we show that our limits are not particularly constraining for fast radio bursts because of reduced sensitivity for this pointing. Finally, we discuss the prospects for using the MWA to search for prompt radio emission from gravitational wave transients and find that while the flux density and luminosity limits are likely to be very constraining, the latency of the gravitational wave alert may limit the robustness of any conclusions.