Beaming in Gamma-Ray Bursts: Evidence for a Standard Energy Reservoir

By D. Frail, Shrinivas R. Kulkarni, R. Sari, S. George Djorgovski, Joshua S. Bloom, T. Galama, D. Reichart, E. Berger, F. Harrison, P. Price and 4 more. 2001

935 citations recorded by the source corpus.

We present a comprehensive sample of all gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglows with known distances, and we derive their conical opening angles based on observed broadband breaks in their light curves. Within the framework of this conical jet model, we correct for the geometry and we find that the gamma-ray energy release is narrowly clustered around 5 × 1050 ergs. We draw three conclusions. First, the central engines of GRBs release energies that are comparable to ordinary supernovae. Second, the broad distribution in fluence and luminosity for GRBs is largely the result of a wide variation of opening angles. Third, only a small fraction of GRBs are visible to a given observer, and the true GRB rate is several hundred times larger than the observed rate.

Subfields: Astronomy and Astrophysics

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/67f6f6e1973b0e8d639292d540f8d8a7cab1b68a

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In Astronomy and Astrophysics

1. Bing Zhang
2. E. Berger
3. B. Metzger
4. Pawan Kumar
5. E. Nakar
6. E. Quataert
7. T. Piran
8. E. Liang

Citations in the corpus

• Discovery of the short γ-ray burst GRB 050709 (2005, background): “The time history and spectral parameters of GRB 050709 are similar to those of the BATSE bursts GRBs 921022, 990516, and 990712.(17,18)”
• Model-independent Multivariable Gamma-Ray Burst Luminosity Indicator and Its Possible Cosmological Implications (2005, background): “Frail et al. (2001) found that the geometricallycorrected gamma-ray energy Ejet for long GRBs is narrowly clustered around 5×1050 ergs, suggesting that GRBs can be potentially a standard candle.”
• Gamma-Ray Bursts in the Swift Era (2009, background): “…luminosity distribution was very narrow (Horack et al. 1994) to discounting all standardcandle claims, to accepting a standard total GRB energy of ∼ 1051 ergs (Frail et al. 2001), and to diversifying GRBs into normal and sub-energetic classes (Soderberg et al. 2008, Ramirez-Ruiz et al. 2005a).”
• Gamma-Ray Bursts in the Swift Era (2007, background): “The lower limits of the beaming-corrected gamma-ray energy of many bursts have already greatly exceeded the standard ene gy reservoir value suggested by Frail et al. (2001) and Bloom et al. (2003) (Burrows 2006).”
• General relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations of the jet formation and large-scale propagation from black hole accretion systems (2006, background): “They tuned the injected energy to have their results agree with observations (Frail et al. 2001).”
• Short-Duration Gamma-Ray Bursts (2013, background): “Harrison FA, Bloom JS, Frail DA, Sari R, Kulkarni SR, et al. 1999.”
• A NEW POPULATION OF ULTRA-LONG DURATION GAMMA-RAY BURSTS (2013, background): “Nonetheless, for canonical jet parameters in simple models (e.g., Frail et al. 2001) it is possible to place limits on the jet opening angle of θj > 12 degrees (111209A) and θj > 10 degrees (121027A).”
• Relativistic Magnetohydrodynamics with Application to Gamma-Ray Burst Outflows. I. Theory and Semianalytic Trans-Alfvénic Solutions (2003, background): “With a radiative efficiency of& 10% (e.g., Kobayashi, Piran, & Sari 1997; Nakar & Piran 2002b), this implies a radiatedγray energy of a few times 1050 ergs, as inferred observationally (Frail et al. 2001).”
• A Comprehensive Analysis of Swift XRT Data. III. Jet Break Candidates in X-Ray and Optical Afterglow Light Curves (2007, methodology): “Assuming that these are real jet breaks, we revisit the GRB jet energy budget (Frail et al. 2001; Bloom et al. 2003; Berger et al. 2003) with conventional jet models (x 5).”
• On the Collapsar Model of Long Gamma-Ray Bursts:Constraints from Cosmic Metallicity Evolution (2005, background): “It is the current understanding that the ratio of gamma-ray bursts to supernovae is about 1/1000, based on about 1 - 2 10−6 observed bursts per supernova in the BATSE sample (Porciani & Madau 2001), and a beaming factor of ∼ 500 (Frail et al. 2001; Yonetoku et al. 2005).”
• X-Ray-rich Gamma-Ray Bursts, Photospheres, and Variability (2002, background): “…a uniform jet cross section (independent of angle out to a jet edge h), in which case the variety of break times indicates a variety of jet opening angles and the data indicate an isotropic equivalent fluence anticorrelation with jet opening angle h (Frail et al. 2001), of the form L ; iso / 2.”
• Dynamical Evolution of Neutrino-cooled Accretion Disks: Detailed Microphysics, Lepton-driven Convection, and Global Energetics (2005, background): “Apparent collimation inferred from achromatic breaks in the afterglow light curve may reduce this to 1050 erg, depending on the particular event (Frail et al. 2001; Panaitescu & Kumar 2001; Berger, Kulkarni & Frail 2003).”
• A Reconnection Switch to Trigger gamma-Ray Burst Jet Dissipation (2010, background): “The prompt emission from standard cosmological longduration GRBs has an energy of about 1051 erg over a few seconds that is beamed into a jet with an opening half-angle of a few degrees (Frail et al. 2001; Bloom, Frail & Kulkarni 2003).”
• A Standard Kinetic Energy Reservoir in Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglows (2003, methodology): “Given the diversity in j (Frail et al. 2001) and the apparent narrowness in FX (above), it would then follow that Eb should be very tightly clustered.”
• A DECADE OF SHORT-DURATION GAMMA-RAY BURST BROADBAND AFTERGLOWS: ENERGETICS, CIRCUMBURST DENSITIES, AND JET OPENING ANGLES (2015, methodology): “…al. 2008; Nysewander et al. 2009; Laskar et al. 2014), circumburst densities of≈ 0.1 − 100 cm−3 (Panaitescu & Kumar 2002; Yost et al. 2003), and opening angles of≈ 2 − 20◦ (Bloom et al. 2003; Frail et al. 2001; Friedman & Bloom 2005; Kocevski & Butler 2008; Racusin et al. 2009; Ryan et al. 2015).”
• Gamma-Ray Burst Formation Rate Inferred from the Spectral Peak Energy-Peak Luminosity Relation (2003, background): “Using geometrical corrections of collimated jets, Frail et al. (2001) and Bloom et al. (2003) revealed that the bolometric energies released in prompt emission cluster tightly around the standard energy of 1 1051 ergs.”
• Millisecond Magnetar Birth Connects FRB 121102 to Superluminous Supernovae and Long-duration Gamma-Ray Bursts (2017, background): “LGRB jets produce ultrarelativistic ejections in tightly collimated jets with opening angles θj 1 (Frail et al. 2001).”