Analysis of Two Models for the Angular Structure of the Outflows Producing the Swift/XRT “Larger-angle Emission” of Gamma-Ray Bursts
The quasi-instantaneous emission from a relativistic surface endowed with a Lorentz factor that decreases away from the outflow symmetry axis can naturally explain the three phases observed by Swift X-Ray Telescope (XRT) in gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and their afterglows (GRB tail, afterglow plateau, and postplateau) based only on the angular change of the relativistic Doppler boost across the outflow surface. We develop further the analytical formalism of the “larger-angle emission” model for the case of “n-exponential” outflows (where the Lorentz factor Γ dependence of the angular location θ is Γ ~ exp{-(θ/θ c ) n }), and compare its ability to account for the X-ray emission of XRT afterglows relative to that of “power-law” outflows (Γ ∼ θ −g ). Power-law outflows yield longer afterglow plateaus, followed by slower postplateau flux decays than n-exponential outflows, features which may be used in identifying which type of angular structure is at work in a given afterglow. Identifying the Γ(θ) angular structure that accommodates XRT light curves is slightly complicated by the fact that the afterglow X-ray light curve is also determined by how two characteristics of the comoving-frame emission spectrum (peak energy $E'_p$ and peak intensity $i'_p$) change with the angular location or, equivalently, with the Lorentz factor. Here, we assume power-law Γ dependences of those spectral characteristics and find that, unlike power-law outflows, n-exponential outflows cannot account for plateaus with a temporal dynamical range larger than 100 (2 dex in logarithmic space). To capture all the information contained in XRT afterglow measurements (0.3–10 keV unabsorbed flux and effective spectral slope), we calculate 0.3 and 10 keV light curves using a broken-power-law emission spectrum of peak energy and low- and high-energy slopes that are derived from the effective slope measured by XRT. This economical peak energy determination is found to be consistent with the results of more expensive spectral fits. The angular distributions of the Lorentz factor, comoving frame peak energy, and peak intensity (Γ(θ), $E'_p$(θ), $i'_p$(θ)) constrain the (yet-to-be determined) convolution of various features of the production of relativistic jets by solar-mass black holes and of their propagation through the progenitor/circumburst medium, while the $E'_p$(Γ) and $i'_p$(Γ) dependences may constrain the GRB dissipation mechanism and the GRB emission process.