A semi-analytical solution to the forward-reverse shock hydrodynamics of the gamma-ray burst afterglow

TL;DR

This paper develops a semi-analytical model for the hydrodynamics of forward-reverse shocks in gamma-ray burst afterglows, extending standard models to more general cases and ensuring energy conservation.

Contribution

It derives analytical solutions for shock hydrodynamics in limiting cases and constructs a semi-analytical model for the intermediate regime, improving upon standard models.

Findings

Semi-analytical solutions match numerical results across parameters.

The model accounts for energy conservation, unlike standard models.

Differences from standard models are minimal in ultra-relativistic and early Newtonian regimes.

Abstract

We extend the standard model of forward-reverse shock (FS-RS) for gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglow to more general cases. On one hand, we derive the analytical solution to the hydrodynamics of the shocks in two limiting cases, i.e., an ultra-relativistic reverse shock case and a Newtonian reverse shock case. Based on the asymptotic solutions in these two limiting cases, we constitute a semi-analytical solution for the hydrodynamics of the shocks in the generic case, covering the mildly-relativistic reverse shock case. On the other hand, we derive the evolution of the system taking into account the condition of energy conservation which is not satisfied in the standard FS-RS model. A generic solution of semi-analytical expressions is also given. In both the extended standard FS-RS model (satisfying pressure balance condition) and the model satisfying energy conservation, we find that the results in the ultra-relativistic reverse shock case and in the early stage of the Newtonian reverse shock case are different from those in the standard FS-RS model by only a factor that close to one while the same initial conditions adopted. However, the asymptotic solutions in the limiting cases are not good approximations to those in the intermediate case. Our semi-analytical results agree well with the numerical results for a large range of model parameters, and hence can be easily employed to diagnose the physical quantities of the GRB shell and circumburst environment.