Black Hole Activity Imprints on the Internal Plateau and the Subsequent Sharp Decay
A stellar-mass black hole (BH) or a millisecond magnetar is believed to be born as the central engine of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). The presence of plateaus in the X-ray extended emission or afterglow of GRBs is widely accepted as an indicator of a magnetar central engine, particularly those with a sh...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2024-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad234c |
| _version_ | 1797236875674517504 |
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| author | Tian-Ci Zheng Da-Ming Wei Yun Wang Hao Zhou Long Li |
| author_facet | Tian-Ci Zheng Da-Ming Wei Yun Wang Hao Zhou Long Li |
| author_sort | Tian-Ci Zheng |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A stellar-mass black hole (BH) or a millisecond magnetar is believed to be born as the central engine of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). The presence of plateaus in the X-ray extended emission or afterglow of GRBs is widely accepted as an indicator of a magnetar central engine, particularly those with a sharp decay (faster than t ^−3 ), the so-called internal plateau. However, an alternative model, by taking the evolution of the magnetic flux at the BH horizon into account, suggests that an internal plateau can also arise from a jet powered by the Blandford–Znajek (BZ) mechanism (hereafter, a BZ jet). In this study, we propose that a precessional BZ jet would manifest a quasiperiodic oscillation (QPO) signature on the internal plateau and the subsequent sharp decay. Such lightcurves cannot be readily explained by the activity of a short-lived, supermassive magnetar, thus favoring a Kerr BH as the central engine. The X-ray afterglow of GRB 050904, comprising nine flares, is characterized by a QPO-modulated plateau and sharp decay, which can be well reproduced by a precessional BZ jet model. Therefore, one potential clue for distinguishing between these two engines lies in whether the QPO signature is present throughout the entire plateau and the subsequent sharp decay, as the magnetar scenario suggests a collapse at the end of the plateau. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T17:10:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9d248f7468294ba396b4e30e7ee8870f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1538-4357 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T17:10:48Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astrophysical Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-9d248f7468294ba396b4e30e7ee8870f2024-03-28T11:59:48ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572024-01-01964216910.3847/1538-4357/ad234cBlack Hole Activity Imprints on the Internal Plateau and the Subsequent Sharp DecayTian-Ci Zheng0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6076-9522Da-Ming Wei1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9758-5476Yun Wang2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8385-7848Hao Zhou3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2915-7434Long Li4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8391-5980Key Laboratory of Dark Matter and Space Astronomy, Purple Mountain Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Nanjing 210034, People's Republic of China ; dmwei@pmo.ac.cn; School of Astronomy and Space Science, University of Science and Technology of China , Hefei 230026, People's Republic of ChinaKey Laboratory of Dark Matter and Space Astronomy, Purple Mountain Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Nanjing 210034, People's Republic of China ; dmwei@pmo.ac.cn; School of Astronomy and Space Science, University of Science and Technology of China , Hefei 230026, People's Republic of ChinaKey Laboratory of Dark Matter and Space Astronomy, Purple Mountain Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Nanjing 210034, People's Republic of China ; dmwei@pmo.ac.cnKey Laboratory of Dark Matter and Space Astronomy, Purple Mountain Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Nanjing 210034, People's Republic of China ; dmwei@pmo.ac.cn; School of Astronomy and Space Science, University of Science and Technology of China , Hefei 230026, People's Republic of ChinaSchool of Astronomy and Space Science, University of Science and Technology of China , Hefei 230026, People's Republic of China; Deep Space Exploration Laboratory/Department of Astronomy, University of Science and Technology of China , Hefei 230026, People's Republic of ChinaA stellar-mass black hole (BH) or a millisecond magnetar is believed to be born as the central engine of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). The presence of plateaus in the X-ray extended emission or afterglow of GRBs is widely accepted as an indicator of a magnetar central engine, particularly those with a sharp decay (faster than t ^−3 ), the so-called internal plateau. However, an alternative model, by taking the evolution of the magnetic flux at the BH horizon into account, suggests that an internal plateau can also arise from a jet powered by the Blandford–Znajek (BZ) mechanism (hereafter, a BZ jet). In this study, we propose that a precessional BZ jet would manifest a quasiperiodic oscillation (QPO) signature on the internal plateau and the subsequent sharp decay. Such lightcurves cannot be readily explained by the activity of a short-lived, supermassive magnetar, thus favoring a Kerr BH as the central engine. The X-ray afterglow of GRB 050904, comprising nine flares, is characterized by a QPO-modulated plateau and sharp decay, which can be well reproduced by a precessional BZ jet model. Therefore, one potential clue for distinguishing between these two engines lies in whether the QPO signature is present throughout the entire plateau and the subsequent sharp decay, as the magnetar scenario suggests a collapse at the end of the plateau.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad234cGamma-ray burstsBlack hole physicsStellar accretion disksRelativistic jets |
| spellingShingle | Tian-Ci Zheng Da-Ming Wei Yun Wang Hao Zhou Long Li Black Hole Activity Imprints on the Internal Plateau and the Subsequent Sharp Decay The Astrophysical Journal Gamma-ray bursts Black hole physics Stellar accretion disks Relativistic jets |
| title | Black Hole Activity Imprints on the Internal Plateau and the Subsequent Sharp Decay |
| title_full | Black Hole Activity Imprints on the Internal Plateau and the Subsequent Sharp Decay |
| title_fullStr | Black Hole Activity Imprints on the Internal Plateau and the Subsequent Sharp Decay |
| title_full_unstemmed | Black Hole Activity Imprints on the Internal Plateau and the Subsequent Sharp Decay |
| title_short | Black Hole Activity Imprints on the Internal Plateau and the Subsequent Sharp Decay |
| title_sort | black hole activity imprints on the internal plateau and the subsequent sharp decay |
| topic | Gamma-ray bursts Black hole physics Stellar accretion disks Relativistic jets |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad234c |
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