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Register a new userThe Intensity Distribution of Faint Gamma-ray Bursts Detected with BATSE
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We have recently completed a search of 6 years of archival BATSE data for gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) that were too faint to activate the real-time burst detection system running onboard the spacecraft. These non-triggered bursts can be combined with the triggered bursts detected onboard to produce a GRB intensity distribution that reaches peak fluxes a factor of 2 lower than could be studied previously. The value of the V/Vmax statistic (in Euclidean space) for the bursts we detect is 0.177 +/- 0.006. This surprisingly low value is obtained because we detected very few bursts on the 4.096 s and 8.192 s time scales (where most bursts have their highest signal-to-noise ratio) that were not already detected on the 1.024 s time scale. If allowance is made for a power-law distribution of intrinsic peak luminosities, the extended peak flux distribution is consistent with models in which the redshift distribution of the gamma-ray burst rate approximately traces the star formation history of the Universe. We argue that this class of models is preferred over those in which the burst rate is independent of redshift. We use the peak flux distribution to derive a limit of 10% (99% confidence) on the fraction of the total burst rate that could be contributed by a spatially homogeneous (in Euclidean space) subpopulation of burst sources, such as type Ib/c supernovae. These results lend support to the conclusions of previous studies predicting that relatively few faint classical GRBs will be found below the BATSE onboard detection threshold.
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Six intensity groups with ~150 BATSE gamma-ray bursts each are compared using average emissivity curves. Time-stretch factors for each of the dimmer groups are estimated with respect to the brightest group, which serves as the reference, taking into account the systematics of counts-produced noise effects and choice statistics. A stretching/intensity anti-correlation is found with good statistical significance during the average back slopes of bursts. A stretch factor ~2 is found between the 150 dimmest bursts, with peak flux <0.45ph cm^{-2} s^{-1}, and the 147 brightest bursts, with peak flux >4.1 ph cm^{-2} s^{-1}. On the other hand, while a trend of increasing stretching factor may exist for rise fronts for burst with decreasing peak flux from >4.1 ph cm^{-2} s^{-1} down to 0.7 ph cm^{-2} s^{-1}, the magnitude of the stretching factor is less than ~ 1.4 and is therefore inconsistent with stretching factor of back slope.
We examined the properties of a sample of BATSE Gamma--Ray Bursts (GRBs) comprising events which have indications of association with a supernova (SN), some on the basis of indications of re--brightening in the optical afterglow light curve, but in most cases based only on the `loose temporal and directional coincidence inferred from the cross correlation of catalogs. Despite of the large uncertainties in the latter selection method, the temporal and spectral analysis reveal three interesting statistical results when the sample is compared with that of all the BATSE GRBs: the GRBs tentatively associated with SNe are found to predominantly (in $sim$ 80% of the cases) have single-peaked light curves, a softer spectrum (i.e. low energy power law index $alpha sim$ --1.5) and tend not to follow the Lag-Luminosity and Isotropic Energy--Peak Energy correlations. These three independent statistical properties point toward the existence of a significant number of under-luminous,GRB 980425-like events constituting -- at least from an observational point of view -- a tail or a separate class with respect to the whole of the BATSE GRB events. The unusually high percentage of SN Ibc among those identified by the catalog cross--correlation (factor $sim 4$ higher than expected from SN catalog statistics) reinforces the non-randomness of (some of) the selected events.
The emission process responsible for the so-called prompt emission of gamma-ray bursts is still unknown. A number of empirical models fitting the typical spectrum still lack a satisfactory interpretation. A few GRB spectral catalogues derived from past and present experiments are known in the literature and allow to tackle the issue of spectral properties of gamma-ray bursts on a statistical ground. We extracted and studied the time-integrated photon spectra of the 200 brightest GRBs observed with the Gamma-Ray Burst Monitor which flew aboard the BeppoSAX mission (1996-2002) to provide an independent statistical characterisation of GRB spectra. The spectra were fit with three models: a simple power-law, a cut-off power law or a Band function. The typical photon spectrum of a bright GRB consists of a low-energy index around 1.0 and a peak energy of the nuFnu spectrum E_p~240 keV in agreement with previous results on a sample of bright CGRO/BATSE bursts. Spectra of ~35% of GRBs can be fit with a power-law with a photon index around 2, indicative of peak energies either close to or outside the GRBM energy boundaries. We confirm the correlation between E_p and fluence, with a logarithmic dispersion of 0.13 around the power-law with index 0.21+-0.06. The low-energy and peak energy distributions are not yet explained in the current literature. The capability of measuring time-resolved spectra over a broadband energy range, ensuring precise measurements of parameters such as E_p, will be crucial for future experiments (abridged).
Assuming that the observed gamma-ray burst (GRB) rate as a function of redshift is proportional to a corrected star formation rate, we derive the empirical distribution of the viewing angles of long BATSE GRBs, $P^{rm em}(theta)$, and the distribution of these bursts in the plane of $theta$ against redshift, $P^{rm em}(theta, z)$, by using a tight correlation between $E_{gamma}$) and $E_{rm p}^{}$). Our results show that $P^{rm em}(theta)$ is well fitted by a log-normal distribution centering at $log theta/{rm rad}=-0.76$ with a width of $sigma_{log theta}=0.57$. We test different universal structured jet models by comparing model predictions with our empirical results. To make the comparisons reasonable, an effective threshold, which corresponds to the sample selection criteria of the long GRB sample, is used. We find that the predictions of a two-Gaussian jet model are roughly consistent with our empirical results. A brief discussion shows that cosmological effect on the $E_{gamma}-E_{rm p}^{}$ relation does not significantly affect our results, but sample selection effects on this relationship might significantly influence our results.
The statistical properties of a complete, flux limited sample of 197 long gamma--ray bursts (GRBs) detected by BATSE are studied. In order to bring forth their main characteristics, care was taken to define a representative set of ten parameters. A multivariate analysis gives that ~70% of the total variation in parameter values is driven by only three principal components. The variation of the temporal parameters is clearly distinct from that of the spectral ones. A close correlation is found between the half-width of the autocorrelation function (tau) and the emission time (Tem); most importantly, this correlation is self-similar in the sense that the mean values and dispersions of both tau and Tem scale with the duration of the burst (T90). It is shown that the Amati-relation can be derived from the sample and that the scatter around this relation is correlated with the value of tau. Hence, tau has a role similar to that of the break in the afterglow light curve (Tb) in the Ghirlanda-relation. In the standard GRB-scenario, the close relation between a global parameter (Tb) and a local one (tau) indicates that some of the jet-properties do not vary much for different lines of sight. Finally, it is argued that the basic temporal and spectral properties are associated with individual pulses, while the overall properties of a burst is determined mainly by the number of pulses.
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