GRB Afterglow Light Curves from a Hydrodynamic Model

TL;DR

This paper presents a hydrodynamic model of GRB afterglow light curves, using synchrotron radiation calculations to match observed X-ray and optical data, confirming the model's validity.

Contribution

It introduces a computational hydrodynamic simulation for GRB afterglows based on a specific electron distribution and synchrotron emission, aligning well with observational data.

Findings

Good agreement with observed X-ray and optical afterglow light curves

Validation of the hydrodynamic model for GRB afterglows

Confirmation of the synchrotron radiation mechanism in afterglow emissions

Abstract

In this work, we have modeled the hydrodynamic evolution of the GRBs fireball in violent interaction with the external medium (the ISM) surrounding the burst source by assuming a power law distribution of the accelerated relativistic electrons. For this purpose, a computer code based only on the contribution of the predominant synchrotron radiation mechanism was developed. Light curves for the afterglow emissions following several GRBs over the X-ray and the visible R frequency bands were calculated. Their comparison to observed data by the XRT/Swift satellite and Earth telescopes, respectively, points out fair overall agreements, thus confirming the validity of our hydrodynamic simulation based on the model of Feng et al. (2002).