Surprise in simplicity: an unusual spectral evolution of a single pulse GRB 151006A

TL;DR

This paper reports an unusual spectral evolution in a single pulse gamma-ray burst, with a sudden spectral peak increase and potential energy injection, supported by multi-instrument observations and polarization measurements.

Contribution

It presents the first detailed analysis of spectral evolution in GRB 151006A, revealing a dramatic change in spectral behavior and polarization, with implications for understanding GRB emission mechanisms.

Findings

Unusual spectral evolution with a sudden peak increase.

Detection of first >100 MeV photon during the event.

High polarization levels (77-94%) in early epochs.

Abstract

We present a detailed analysis of GRB 151006A, the first GRB detected by Astrosat CZT Imager (CZTI). We study the long term spectral evolution by exploiting the capabilities of \emph{Fermi} and \emph{Swift} satellites at different phases, which is complemented by the polarization measurement with the CZTI. While the light curve of the GRB in different energy bands show a simple pulse profile, the spectrum shows an unusual evolution. The first phase exhibits a hard-to-soft (HTS) evolution until $\sim16-20$\,s, followed by a sudden increase in the spectral peak reaching a few MeV. Such a dramatic change in the spectral evolution in case of a single pulse burst is reported for the first time. This is captured by all models we used namely, Band function, Blackbody+Band and two blackbodies+power law. Interestingly, the \emph{Fermi} Large Area Telescope (LAT) also detects its first photon ($>100$\,MeV) during this time. This new injection of energy may be associated with either the beginning of afterglow phase, or a second hard pulse of the prompt emission itself which, however, is not seen in the otherwise smooth pulse profile. By constructing Bayesian blocks and studying the hardness evolution we find a good evidence for a second hard pulse. The \emph{Swift} data at late epochs ($>T_{90}$ of the GRB) also shows a significant spectral evolution consistent with the early second phase. The CZTI data (100--350\,keV), though having low significance ($1\sigma$), show high values of polarization in the two epochs ($77\%$ to $94\%$), in agreement with our interpretation.