Long GRB 250916A: an Off-axis Powerlaw Jet with Thermal Cocoon
Utkarsh Pathak (Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400076, India), Sameer K. Patil (Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400076, India), Hitesh Tanenia (Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400076, India), Tanishk Mohan (Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400076, India), Xander J. Hall (McWilliams Center for Cosmology and Astrophysics, Department of Physics, Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA), Yogesh Wagh (Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400076, India), Viswajeet Swain (Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400076, India), Aditya Pawan Saikia (Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400076, India), Varun Bhalerao (Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400076, India), Tomas Ahumada (Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory/NSF NOIRLab, Casilla 603, La Serena, Chile), G. C. Anupama (Indian Institute of Astrophysics, II Block Koramangala, Bengaluru 560034, India), Sudhanshu Barway (Indian Institute of Astrophysics, II Block Koramangala, Bengaluru 560034, India), Malte Busmann (University Observatory, Faculty of Physics, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universit"at, Scheinerstr. 1, 81679 Munich, Germany, Excellence Cluster ORIGINS, Boltzmannstr. 2, 85748 Garching, Germany), Michael W. Coughlin (School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA), Matthew J. Graham (Division of Physics, Maths and Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E. California Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA), Daniel Gruen (University Observatory, Faculty of Physics, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universit"at, Scheinerstr. 1, 81679 Munich, Germany, Excellence Cluster ORIGINS, Boltzmannstr. 2, 85748 Garching, Germany), Assaf Horesh (Racah Institute of Physics, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel), Mansi M. Kasliwal (Division of Physics, Mathematics, and Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA), Russ R. Laher (IPAC, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E. California Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA), Frank J. Masci (IPAC, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E. California Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA), Antonella Palmese (McWilliams Center for Cosmology and Astrophysics, Department of Physics, Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA), Josiah Purdum (Caltech Optical Observatories, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E. California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA), Argyro Sasli (School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA, NSF Institute on Accelerated AI Algorithms for Data-Driven Discovery), Roger Smith (Caltech Optical Observatories, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E. California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA), Xiaoxiong Zuo (University Observatory, Faculty of Physics, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universit"at, Scheinerstr. 1, 81679 Munich, Germany)
arXiv:2603.11170v1 Announce Type: new
Abstract: Some gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) exhibit precursor emission episodes preceding the main emission, with a quiescent period in between. The properties of the precursor emission and the duration of the quiescent interval are related to the central engine activity and jet formation processes, thus providing insights into the physics of GRBs.
We present a comprehensive analysis of the prompt emission and multi-wavelength afterglow of GRB 250916A. Using detailed afterglow modeling, we find that the broadband data are best described by a powerlaw structured jet with a relatively narrow core ($theta_c approx 0.8^circ$), viewed moderately off-axis at a viewing angle $theta_v approx 2.7^circ$. The isotropic-equivalent kinetic energy of the jet ($E_{k,iso} approx 2.4 times 10^{54}$ erg) is on the higher side for typical GRBs. The precursor emission is well described by a blackbody spectrum with a temperature of kT $approx$ 13.2 keV and is separated from the main emission by a long quiescent interval of 150 s.
Put together, our results indicate that the precursor is likely to be a shock breakout from a cocoon formed by the interaction of the relativistic jet with the progenitor star. The resulting cocoon pressure and shock collimation naturally lead to the launch of a narrowly collimated jet, consistent with the jet geometry inferred from afterglow observations. The long quiescent interval may imply the central engine turn-off in addition to the effect of the off-axis geometry.arXiv:2603.11170v1 Announce Type: new
Abstract: Some gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) exhibit precursor emission episodes preceding the main emission, with a quiescent period in between. The properties of the precursor emission and the duration of the quiescent interval are related to the central engine activity and jet formation processes, thus providing insights into the physics of GRBs.
We present a comprehensive analysis of the prompt emission and multi-wavelength afterglow of GRB 250916A. Using detailed afterglow modeling, we find that the broadband data are best described by a powerlaw structured jet with a relatively narrow core ($theta_c approx 0.8^circ$), viewed moderately off-axis at a viewing angle $theta_v approx 2.7^circ$. The isotropic-equivalent kinetic energy of the jet ($E_{k,iso} approx 2.4 times 10^{54}$ erg) is on the higher side for typical GRBs. The precursor emission is well described by a blackbody spectrum with a temperature of kT $approx$ 13.2 keV and is separated from the main emission by a long quiescent interval of 150 s.
Put together, our results indicate that the precursor is likely to be a shock breakout from a cocoon formed by the interaction of the relativistic jet with the progenitor star. The resulting cocoon pressure and shock collimation naturally lead to the launch of a narrowly collimated jet, consistent with the jet geometry inferred from afterglow observations. The long quiescent interval may imply the central engine turn-off in addition to the effect of the off-axis geometry.