Gamma-ray Burst Luminosity Relations: Two-dimensional versus Three-dimensional Correlations

TL;DR

This study explores three-dimensional luminosity relations for gamma-ray bursts, finding they have smaller intrinsic scatter than traditional two-dimensional relations, which could improve their use in cosmology.

Contribution

The paper introduces 3D luminosity relations for GRBs, reducing scatter compared to 2D relations, enhancing potential for cosmological applications.

Findings

3D relations have smaller intrinsic scatter than 2D relations.

Energy and time scales are key to tighter correlations.

Results suggest better luminosity indicators for GRBs.

Abstract

The large scatters of luminosity relations of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have been one of the most important reasons that prevent the extensive applications of GRBs in cosmology. In this paper, we extend the two-dimensional (2D) luminosity relations with $\tau_{\mathrm{lag}}$, $V$, $E_{\mathrm{peak}}$, and $\tau_{\mathrm{RT}}$ as the luminosity indicators to three dimensions (3D) using the same set of luminosity indicators to explore the possibility of decreasing the intrinsic scatters. We find that, for the 3D luminosity relations between the luminosity and an energy scale ($E_{\mathrm{peak}}$) and a time scale ($\tau_{\mathrm{lag}}$ or $\tau_{\mathrm{RT}}$), their intrinsic scatters are considerably smaller than those of corresponding 2D luminosity relations. Enlightened by the result and the definition of the luminosity (energy released in units of time), we discussed possible reasons behind, which may give us helpful suggestions on seeking more precise luminosity relations for GRBs in the future.