Broad-band Spectral Modeling of Prompt Emission from Gamma-Ray Bursts Observed by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite

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Main Authors: Jayaraman, Rahul, Fausnaugh, Michael, Ricker, George, Vanderspek, Roland
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Jayaraman, Rahul
Fausnaugh, Michael
Ricker, George
Vanderspek, Roland
author_facet Jayaraman, Rahul
Fausnaugh, Michael
Ricker, George
Vanderspek, Roland
contents Optical observations of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) contemporaneous with their prompt high-energy emission are rare, but they can provide insights into the physical processes underlying these explosive events. The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite's (TESS) large field of view and continuous observation capabilities make it uniquely positioned to detect and characterize prompt optical flashes from GRBs. In this work, we fit phenomenological models to the gamma-ray through optical spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of 24 bursts with arcsecond-level localizations that fell within the TESS field of view between 2018 July and 2024 December. In four cases, the extrapolation of the high-energy SED agrees with the observed optical flux to within 1-$σ$. In one case, there is a significant excess of optical flux relative to the extrapolation. In two cases, upper limits from TESS did not constrain the optical portion of the SED. In the remaining 17 cases, the optical flux is overpredicted by the extrapolation from high energies. This discrepancy could be explained by dust extinction in the host galaxy.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2507_06285
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Broad-band Spectral Modeling of Prompt Emission from Gamma-Ray Bursts Observed by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite
Jayaraman, Rahul
Fausnaugh, Michael
Ricker, George
Vanderspek, Roland
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Optical observations of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) contemporaneous with their prompt high-energy emission are rare, but they can provide insights into the physical processes underlying these explosive events. The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite's (TESS) large field of view and continuous observation capabilities make it uniquely positioned to detect and characterize prompt optical flashes from GRBs. In this work, we fit phenomenological models to the gamma-ray through optical spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of 24 bursts with arcsecond-level localizations that fell within the TESS field of view between 2018 July and 2024 December. In four cases, the extrapolation of the high-energy SED agrees with the observed optical flux to within 1-$σ$. In one case, there is a significant excess of optical flux relative to the extrapolation. In two cases, upper limits from TESS did not constrain the optical portion of the SED. In the remaining 17 cases, the optical flux is overpredicted by the extrapolation from high energies. This discrepancy could be explained by dust extinction in the host galaxy.
title Broad-band Spectral Modeling of Prompt Emission from Gamma-Ray Bursts Observed by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite
topic High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.06285