No Arabic abstract
We present a spectral analysis of 35 GRBs detected with the HETE-2 gamma-ray detectors (the FREGATE instrument) in the energy range 7-400 keV. The GRB sample analyzed is made of GRBs localized with the Wide Field X-ray Monitor onboard HETE-2 or with the GRB Interplanetary Network. We derive the spectral parameters of the time-integrated spectra, and present the distribution of the low-energy photon index, alpha, and of the peak energy, e_peak . We then discuss the existence and nature of the recently discovered X-Ray Flashes and their relationship with classical GRBs.
We present a detailed analysis of a 3.5 s long burst from SGR1900+14 which occurred on 2001 July 2. The 2-150 keV time-integrated energy spectrum is well described by the sum of two blackbodies whose temperatures are approximately 4.3 and 9.8 keV. The time-resolved energy spectra are similarly well fit by the sum of two blackbodies. The higher temperature blackbody evolves with time in a manner consistent with a shrinking emitting surface. The interpretation of these results in the context of the magnetar model suggests that the two blackbody fit is an approximation of an absorbed, multi-temperature spectrum expected on theoretical grounds rather than a physical description of the emission. If this is indeed the case, our data provide further evidence for a strong magnetic field, and indicate that the entire neutron was radiating during most of the burst duration.
We describe and discuss the global properties of 45 gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) observed by HETE-2 during the first three years of its mission, focusing on the properties of X-Ray Flashes (XRFs) and X-ray-rich GRBs (XRRs). We find that the numbers of XRFs, XRRs, and GRBs are comparable. We find that the durations and the sky distributions of XRFs and XRRs are similar to those of GRBs. We also find that the spectral properties of XRFs and XRRs are similar to those of GRBs, except that the values of the peak energy $E^{rm obs}_{rm peak}$ of the burst spectrum in $ u F_ u$, the peak energy flux $Fp$, and the energy fluence $S_E$ of XRFs are much smaller -- and those of XRRs are smaller -- than those of GRBs. Finally, we find that the distributions of all three kinds of bursts form a continuum in the [$S_E$(2-30 keV),$S_E$(30-400) keV]-plane, the [$S_E$(2-400 keV), $E_{rm peak}$]-plane, and the [$F_{rm peak}$(50-300 keV), $E_{rm peak}$]-plane. These results provide strong evidence that all three kinds of bursts arise from the same phenomenon.
Using a pulse-fit method, we investigate the spectral lags between the traditional gamma-ray band (50-400 keV) and the X-ray band (6-25 keV) for 8 GRBs with known redshifts (GRB 010921, GRB 020124, GRB 020127, GRB 021211, GRB 030528, GRB 040924, GRB 041006, GRB 050408) detected with the WXM and FREGATE instruments aboard the HETE-2 satellite. We find several relations for the individual GRB pulses between the spectral lag and other observables, such as the luminosity, pulse duration, and peak energy (Epeak). The obtained results are consistent with those for BATSE, indicating that the BATSE correlations are still valid at lower energies (6-25 keV). Furthermore, we find that the photon energy dependence for the spectral lags can reconcile the simple curvature effect model. We discuss the implication of these results from various points of view.
GRB 051022 was detected at 13:07:58 on 22 October 2005 by HETE-2. The location of GRB 051022 was determined immediately by the flight localization system. This burst contains multiple pulses and has a rather long duration of about 190 seconds. The detections of candidate X-ray and radio afterglows were reported, whereas no optical afterglow was found. The optical spectroscopic observations of the host galaxy revealed the redshift z = 0.8. Using the data derived by HETE-2 observation of the prompt emission, we found the absorption N_H = 8.8 -2.9/+3.1 x 10^22 cm^-2 and the visual extinction A_V = 49 -16/+17 mag in the host galaxy. If this is the case, no detection of any optical transient would be quite reasonable. The absorption derived by the Swift XRT observations of the afterglow is fully consistent with those obtained from the early HETE-2 observation of the prompt emission. Our analysis implies an interpretation that the absorbing medium could be outside external shock at R ~ 10^16 cm, which may be a dusty molecular cloud.
We present the first results of the in-flight validation of the spectral response of the FREGATE X/gamma detectors on-board the HETE-2 satellite. This validation uses the Crab pulsar and nebula as reference spectra.