Multi-Wavelength Observations of Short-Duration Gamma-Ray Bursts: Recent Results

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent multi-wavelength observations of short-duration gamma-ray bursts, focusing on their optical/NIR afterglow luminosities, jet break evidence, and dark burst discoveries, to better understand their properties and differences from long-duration GRBs.

Contribution

It provides new statistical insights into the luminosity distribution, jet break presence, and dark burst occurrence in Type I GRBs, enhancing understanding of their nature.

Findings

Type I GRB afterglows have a distinct luminosity distribution compared to Type II.

Evidence for jet breaks in some Type I GRB afterglows.

Discovery of dark Type I GRBs with no optical/NIR afterglow detection.

Abstract

The number of detections as well as significantly deep non-detections of optical/NIR afterglows of Type I (short-duration population) Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) has become large enough that statistically meaningful samples can now be constructed. I present within some recent results on the luminosity distribution of Type I GRB afterglows in comparison to those of Type II GRBs (collapsar population), the issue of the existence of jet breaks in Type I GRB afterglows, and the discovery of dark Type I GRBs.