We present the statistics of the ratio, ${mathrm R}$, between the prompt and afterglow plateau fluxes of GRB. This we define as the ratio between the mean prompt energy flux in the {em Swift} BAT and the {em Swift} XRT, immediately following the stee
p transition between these two states and the beginning of the afterglow stage referred to as the plateau. Like the distribution of other GRB observables, the histogram of ${mathrm R}$ is close to log-normal, with maximum at ${mathrm R = R}_{rm m} simeq 2,000$, FWHM of about 2 decades and with the entire distribution spanning about 6 decades in the value of ${mathrm R}$. We note that the peak of the distribution is close to the proton-to-electron mass ratio $({mathrm R}_{rm m} simeq m_p/m_e = 1836)$, as proposed by us earlier, on the basis of a specific model for the conversion of the GRB blast wave kinetic energy into radiation, before any similar analysis were made. It therefore appears that, in addition to the values of the energy of peak luminosity ${E_{rm pk}sim m_{e} c^2}$, GRB present us with one more quantity with an apparently characteristic value. The fact that the values of both these quantities (i.e. $E_{rm pk}$ and ${mathrm R}$) comply with those implied by the same specific model devised to account for an altogether different issue, namely the efficient conversion of the GRB blast wave kinetic energy into radiation, argues favorably for its underlying assumptions.
Neutron-star and black-hole X-ray binaries (XRBs) exhibit radio jets, whose properties depend on the X-ray spectral state and history of the source. In particular, black-hole XRBs emit compact, steady radio jets when they are in the so-called hard st
ate, the jets become eruptive as the sources move toward the soft state, disappear in the soft state, and re-appear when the sources return to the hard state. On the other hand, jets from neutron-star X-ray binaries are typically weaker radio emitters than the black-hole ones at the same X-ray luminosity and in some cases radio emission is detected in the soft state. Significant phenomenology has been accumulated so far regarding the spectral states of neutron-star and black-hole XRBs, and there is general agreement about the type of the accretion disk around the compact object in the various spectral states. Our aim is to investigate whether the phenomenology regarding the X-ray emission on one hand and the jet appearance and disappearance on the other can be put together in a consistent physical picture. It has been shown that the so-called Poynting-Robertson Cosmic Battery (PRCB) explains in a natural way the formation of magnetic fields in the disks of AGN and the ejection of jets. We investigate whether the PRCB can also explain the formation, destruction, and variability of jets in XRBs. We find excellent agreement between the conditions under which the PRCB is efficient (i.e., the type of the accretion disk) and the emission or destruction of the radio jet. The disk-jet connection in XRBs is explained in a natural way using the PRCB.
The Supercritical Pile is a very economical GRB model that provides for the efficient conversion of the energy stored in the protons of a Relativistic Blast Wave (RBW) into radiation and at the same time produces - in the prompt GRB phase, even in th
e absence of any particle acceleration - a spectral peak at energy $sim 1$ MeV. We extend this model to include the evolution of the RBW Lorentz factor $Gamma$ and thus follow its spectral and temporal features into the early GRB afterglow stage. One of the novel features of the present treatment is the inclusion of the feedback of the GRB produced radiation on the evolution of $Gamma$ with radius. This feedback and the presence of kinematic and dynamic thresholds in the model are sources of potentially very rich time evolution which we have began to explore. In particular, one can this way obtain afterglow light curves with steep decays followed by the more conventional flatter afterglow slopes, while at the same time preserving the desirable features of the model, i.e. the well defined relativistic electron source and radiative processes that produce the proper peak in the $ u F_{ u}$ spectra. In this note we present the results of a specific set of parameters of this model with emphasis on the multiwavelength prompt emission and transition to the early afterglow.
We examine the prompt and afterglow emission within the context of the Supercritical Pile model for GRBs. For this we have performed self-consistent calculations, by solving three time-dependent kinetic equations for protons, electrons and photons in
addition to the usual mass and energy conservation equations. We follow the evolution of the RBW as it sweeps up circumstellar matter and assume that the swept-up electrons and protons have energies equal to the Lorentz factor of the flow. While the electrons radiate their energies through synchrotron and inverse Compton radiation on short timescales, the protons, at least initially, start accumulating without any dissipation. As the accumulated mass of relativistic protons increases, however, they can become supercritical to the `proton-photon pair-production - synchrotron radiation network, and, as a consequence, they transfer explosively their stored energy to secondary electron-positron pairs and radiation. This results in a burst which has many features similar to the ones observed in GRB prompt emission. We have included in our calculations the radiation drag force exerted on the flow from the scattered radiation of the prompt emission on the circumstellar material. We find that this can decelerate the flow on timescales which are much faster than the ones related to the usual adiabatic/radiative ones. As a result the emission exhibits a steep drop just after the prompt phase, in agreement with the Swift afterglow observations.
