Gamma-Ray Bursts Observed by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite: Prompt Optical Counterparts and Afterglows of Swift-XRT Localized GRBs

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Main Authors: Jayaraman, Rahul, Fausnaugh, Michael, Ricker, George R., Vanderspek, Roland
Format: Preprint
Published: 2023
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author Jayaraman, Rahul
Fausnaugh, Michael
Ricker, George R.
Vanderspek, Roland
author_facet Jayaraman, Rahul
Fausnaugh, Michael
Ricker, George R.
Vanderspek, Roland
contents Very few detections have been made of optical flashes contemporaneous with prompt high-energy emission from a gamma-ray burst (GRB). In this work, we present and analyze light curves of GRB-associated optical flashes and afterglows from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). Our sample consists of eight GRBs with arcsecond-level localizations from the X-Ray Telescope on board the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory. For each burst, we characterize the prompt optical emission and any observed afterglow, and constrain physical parameters for four of these bursts using their TESS light curves. This work also presents a straightforward method to correct for TESS's cosmic ray mitigation on 20-second timescales, which allows us to estimate the "true" brightness of optical flashes associated with prompt GRB emission. We also highlight TESS's continuous wide-field monitoring capability, which provides an efficient means of identifying optical emission from GRBs and characterizing early-time afterglow light curves. Based on empirical detection rates from Swift and the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope, up to 10 GRBs per year may fall within the contemporaneous TESS field of view.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2308_05148
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Gamma-Ray Bursts Observed by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite: Prompt Optical Counterparts and Afterglows of Swift-XRT Localized GRBs
Jayaraman, Rahul
Fausnaugh, Michael
Ricker, George R.
Vanderspek, Roland
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Very few detections have been made of optical flashes contemporaneous with prompt high-energy emission from a gamma-ray burst (GRB). In this work, we present and analyze light curves of GRB-associated optical flashes and afterglows from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). Our sample consists of eight GRBs with arcsecond-level localizations from the X-Ray Telescope on board the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory. For each burst, we characterize the prompt optical emission and any observed afterglow, and constrain physical parameters for four of these bursts using their TESS light curves. This work also presents a straightforward method to correct for TESS's cosmic ray mitigation on 20-second timescales, which allows us to estimate the "true" brightness of optical flashes associated with prompt GRB emission. We also highlight TESS's continuous wide-field monitoring capability, which provides an efficient means of identifying optical emission from GRBs and characterizing early-time afterglow light curves. Based on empirical detection rates from Swift and the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope, up to 10 GRBs per year may fall within the contemporaneous TESS field of view.
title Gamma-Ray Bursts Observed by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite: Prompt Optical Counterparts and Afterglows of Swift-XRT Localized GRBs
topic High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2308.05148