A comprehensive view of blackbody components in the X-ray spectra of GRBs

TL;DR

This study investigates the presence and properties of blackbody emission in the X-ray spectra of 116 GRBs, revealing diverse origins and correlations with jet parameters, and expanding understanding of thermal components in GRB emissions.

Contribution

It provides the first comprehensive search for blackbody components in a large GRB sample, confirming previous detections and identifying new cases, with detailed analysis of their properties and origins.

Findings

19 GRBs with significant blackbody emission identified

Blackbody luminosity correlates with temperature and Lorentz factor

Diverse origins for blackbody emission, including jet, cocoon, and high-latitude emission

Abstract

A small fraction of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) exhibit blackbody emission in the X-ray spectra, the origin of which is debated. In order to gain a more complete understanding of this phenomenon, we present a search for blackbody components in 116 GRBs with known redshifts observed by {\it Swift}~XRT. A time-resolved spectral analysis is carried out and the significance of the blackbody is assessed with respect to an absorbed power-law model. We report nine new detections and confirm the previously reported blackbody in GRB~171205A. Together with our previous results, there are a total of 19 GRBs with significant blackbody emission in a sample of 199 GRBs observed by {\it Swift} over 13 years. The detections include one short GRB and two low-luminosity GRBs. We estimate fireball parameters from the blackbody components and note that the blackbody luminosity is correlated with the temperature and inferred Lorentz factor. There is a large spread in the properties of the blackbody components and the light curves, which points to different origins for the emission. In about a third of the GRBs, the blackbody is clearly associated with late prompt emission from the jet. The rest of the sample includes cases that are fully consistent with the expectations from a cocoon, as well cases that may be explained by high-latitude emission or more energetic cocoons. These results indicate that thermal emission is associated with all parts of the jet.