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Physical Processes Shaping Gamma‐Ray Burst X‐Ray Afterglow Light Curves: Theoretical Implications from the Swift X‐Ray Telescope Observations
Open accessAbstract
With the successful launch of the Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Explorer, a rich trove of early X-ray afterglow data has been collected by its onboard X-Ray Telescope (XRT). Some interesting features are emerging, including a distinct rapidly decaying component preceding the conventional afterglow component in many sources, a shallow decay component before the more "normal" decay component observed in a good fraction of GRBs, and X-ray flares in nearly half of the afterglows. In this paper we systematically analyze the possible physical processes that shape the properties of the early X-ray afterglow light curves and use the data to constrain various models. We suggest that the steep decay component is consistent with the tail emission of the prompt gamma-ray bursts and/or the X-ray flares. This provides strong evidence that the prompt emission and afterglow emission are likely two distinct components, supporting the internal origin of the GRB prompt emission. The shallow decay segment observed in a group of GRBs suggests that very likely the forward shock keeps being refreshed for some time. This might be caused by either a long-lived central engine, or a wide distribution of the shell Lorentz factors, or else possibly the deceleration of a Poynting flux-dominated flow. X-ray flares suggest that the GRB central engine is very likely still active after the prompt gamma-ray emission is over, but with a reduced activity at later times. In some cases, the central engine activity even extends to days after the burst triggers. Analyses of early X-ray afterglow data reveal that GRBs are indeed highly relativistic events and that early afterglow data of many bursts, starting from the beginning of the XRT observations, are consistent with the afterglow emission from an ISM environment.
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“Detection and measurement of gamma-ray burst afterglows and transients ( e.g., Zhang & Mészáros 2004; Zhang et al. 2006; Kann et al. 2010 ) to high redshift ( ∼ 7.5 )”
From LSST: From Science Drivers to Reference Design and Anticipated Data Products (2019) · cites this paper as Zhang et al. 2006
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BackgroundInfluentialSelf-citation
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Very Early Optical Afterglows for Geometric Models of X-ray Flashes and X-ray Rich GRBs
Yan, T., Wei, D.-M., & Fan, Y.-Z. (2007) · 天文和天体物理学研究：英文版 · doi:10.1088/1009-9271/7/6/05 · Cited by 11
Self-citationMultipolar Electromagnetic Emission of Newborn Magnetars
Wang, Y., Moradi, R., & Li, L. (2024) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ad6845 · Cited by 10
“We do not consider the radiation from the fi rst few hundred seconds, as this early radiation, with a very steep decay shape, is considered the tail of the prompt emission ( Yamazaki et al. 2006; Zhang et al. 2006 ) .”
Reverse and forward shock afterglow emission from steep jets viewed off-axis
Abdikamalov, E. B., & Beniamini, P. (2025) · Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society · doi:10.1093/mnras/staf649 · Cited by 10
Evolution of the Three Spectral Components in the Prompt Emission of GRB 240825A
Wang, C.-W., Tan, W.-J., Xiong, S. L., Moradi, R., Zhang, Y.-Q., Zheng, C., Li, B., Li, X., Li, C.-K., Liu, J.-C., et al. (2025) · The Astrophysical Journal Letters · doi:10.3847/2041-8213/add522 · Cited by 10
“The lightcurve of the GRB X-ray afterglow follows a multisegment broken power law, including a steep decay phase ( tail emission ) , a shallow decay phase ( or plateau ) , a steeper decay phase ( pre-and post-jet-break phase ) , and X-ray flares ( B. Zhang et al. 2006 ) .”
Gao, H., Ren, A.-B., Lei, W.-H., Zhang, B.-B., Lü, H.-J., & Li, Y. (2017) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/aa7e30 · Cited by 10
Self-citationXiao, D., Peng, Z.-K., Zhang, B.-B., & Dai, Z.-G. (2018) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/aae52f · Cited by 10
“Second, a bunch of GRB X-ray afterglows exhibit plateau or flare features that can be well explained by the long-term energy injection from central engines (e.g. Zhang et al. 2006).”
BackgroundSelf-citationEvidence of X-Ray Plateaus Driven by the Magnetar Spindown Winds in Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglows
Hou, S.-J., Du, S. X., Liu, T., Mu, H.-J., & Xu, R. (2021) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ac2c74 · Cited by 10
“…the different circumstances and conditions, the slope range of the lightcurve from the external shock model could be 0−1.5 (e.g., Sari et al. 1998; Zhang et al. 2006), so we reasonably believe that these components come from GRB jets and further the central engines of these three GRBs should be…”
BackgroundInfluentialRadio data challenge the broadband modelling of GRB 160131A afterglow
Marongiu, M., Guidorzi, C., Stratta, G., Gomboc, A., Jordana-Mitjans, N., Dichiara, S., Kobayashi, S., Kopač, D., & Mundell, C. G. (2021) · Astronomy and Astrophysics · doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202140403 · Cited by 10
Self-citationStatistical Properties of X-Ray Flares from the Supergiant Fast X-Ray Transients
Zhang, W.-L., Yi, S.-X., Yang, Y., & Qin, Y. (2022) · Research in Astronomy and Astrophysics · doi:10.1088/1674-4527/ac6aac · Cited by 10
Wang, Y.-Y., Tang, S.-P., Li, X.-Y., Jin, Z.-P., & Fan, Y.-Z. (2022) · Physical review. D/Physical review. D. · doi:10.1103/physrevd.106.023011 · Cited by 10
Self-citationBright Gamma-Ray Flares Observed in GRB 131108A
Ajello, M., Arimoto, M., Asano, K., Axelsson, M., Baldini, L., Barbiellini, G., Bastieri, D., Bellazzini, R., Berretta, A., Bissaldi, E., et al. (2019) · The Astrophysical Journal Letters · doi:10.3847/2041-8213/ab564f · Cited by 10
“Before testing the relation, we should remove the so-called t0 effect (Zhang et al. 2006; Kobayashi & Zhang 2007).”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialMicrophysics and dynamics of the gamma-ray burst 121024A
Varela, K., van Eerten, H., Greiner, J., Schady, P., Elliott, J., Sudilovsky, V., Kruehler, T., van der Horst, A. J., Bolmer, J., Knust, F., et al. (2016) · Springer Link (Chiba Institute of Technology) · doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201526260/pdf · Cited by 10
GRB 191016A: The onset of the forward shock and evidence of late energy injection
Pereyra, M., Fraija, N. I., Watson, A. M., Becerra, R. L., Butler, N., Colle, F. D., Troja, E., Dichiara, S., Fraire-Bonilla, E., Lee, W. H., et al. (2022) · Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society · doi:10.1093/mnras/stac389 · Cited by 10
Orphan optical flare as SOSS emission afterglow, localization in time
Lipunov, V., Корнилов, В. Г., Zhirkov, K., Tyurina, N., Gorbovskoy, E. S., Vlasenko, D., Simakov, S., Topolev, V., Francile, C., Podesta, R. C., et al. (2022) · Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society · doi:10.1093/mnras/stac1906 · Cited by 10
Very-high-energy Gamma-Ray Afterglows of GRB 201015A and GRB 201216C
Zhang, L.-L., Ren, J., Wang, Y., & Liang, E. (2023) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/acd190 · Cited by 10
“…emcee is a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithm (Foreman-Mackey et al. 2013), and the ultranest is implemented by the nested sampling Monte Carlo algorithm MLFriends (Buchner 2016, 2019) available at https://johannesbuchner.github.io/UltraNest/ (Buchner 2021). p= 2βX (e.g., Zhang et al. 2006).”
MethodA Simple Two‐Parameter Characterization of Gamma‐Ray Burst Time Histories
Hakkila, J., & Giblin, T. W. (2006) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.1086/505072 · Cited by 10
Swift and Suzaku Observations of the X-Ray Afterglow from the GRB 060105
Tashiro, M., Abe, K., Angelini, L., Barthelmy, S. D., Gehrels, N., Ishikawa, N., Kaluzienski, L. J., Kawai, N., Kelley, R. L., Kinugasa, K., et al. (2007) · Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan · doi:10.1093/pasj/59.sp1.s361 · Cited by 10
Self-citationThe nature of the late achromatic bump in GRB 120326A
Melandri, A., Virgili, F. J., Guidorzi, C., Bernardini, M. G., Kobayashi, S., Mundell, C. G., Gomboc, A., Dintinjana, B., Hentunen, V. P., Japelj, J., et al. (2014) · Springer Link (Chiba Institute of Technology) · doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201424338/pdf · Cited by 10
Self-citationMultiwavelength observations of GRB 140629A
Hu, Y. D., Oates, S. R., Lipunov, V., Zhang, B., Castro-Tirado, A. J., Jeong, S., Sánchez-Ramírez, R., Tello, J. C., Cunniffe, R., Gorbovskoy, E. S., et al. (2019) · Astronomy and Astrophysics · doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201834959 · Cited by 10
Self-citationKnust, F., Greiner, J., van Eerten, H., Schady, P., Kann, D. A., Chen, T. W., Delvaux, C., Graham, J. F., Klose, S., Kruehler, T., et al. (2017) · arXiv (Cornell University) · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1707.01329 · Cited by 10
Long-term continuous energy injection in the afterglow of GRB060729Preprint
Xu, M., 黄永锋, & Lu, T. (2009) · Cited by 10
Multiwavelength Analysis of the Supernova-associated Low-luminosity GRB 171205A
Li, X.-J., Zhang, Z.-B., Huang, Y.-F., & Xu, F. (2024) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ad18a8 · Cited by 9
Meng, Y.-Z., Wang, X., & Liu, Z.-K. (2024) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ad1bd7 · Cited by 9
Probing Thermal Electrons in Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglows
Gao, H.-X., Geng, J.-J., Sun, T.-R., Li, L., Huang, Y.-F., & Wu, X.-F. (2024) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ad5443 · Cited by 9
GRB Redshift Classifier to Follow up High-redshift GRBs Using Supervised Machine Learning
Dainotti, M. G., Bhardwaj, S., Cook, C., Ange, J., Lamichhane, N., Bogdan, M., McGee, M., Nadolsky, P., Sarkar, M., Pollo, A., et al. (2025) · The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series · doi:10.3847/1538-4365/adafa9 · Cited by 11
“O ’ Brien et al. 2006; B. Zhang et al. 2006; J. A. Nousek et al. 2006; T. Sakamoto et al. 2007; E.-W. Liang et al. 2007; M. G. Dainotti et al. 2008; E. Zaninoni et al. 2013; A. Rowlinson et al. 2014 ) .”
Multipeaked non-thermal light curves from magnetar-powered gamma-ray bursts
Omand, C. M. B., Sarin, N., & Lamb, G. P. (2025) · Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society · doi:10.1093/mnras/staf565 · Cited by 9
Song, C.-Y., Liu, T., & Wei, Y.-F. (2020) · Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society · doi:10.1093/mnras/staa932 · Cited by 9
“Observations with the Swift and Fermi satellites show that following the steep decline, many GRBs exhibit flares (e.g., Burrows et al. 2005; Zhang et al. 2006; Chincarini et al. 2007; Falcone et al. 2007; Yi et al. 2016, 2017), giant bumps (e.g., Wu, Hou & Lei 2013; Hou et al. 2014) or plateaus…”
BackgroundInfrared/optical – X-ray simultaneous observations of X-ray flares in GRB 071112C and GRB 080506
Uehara, T., Uemura, M., Kawabata, K. S., Fukazawa, Y., Yamazaki, R., Arai, A., Sasada, M., Ohsugi, T., Mizuno, T., TAKAHASHI, H., et al. (2010) · Springer Link (Chiba Institute of Technology) · doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201014272/pdf · Cited by 9
Polarimetry and photometry of gamma-ray bursts afterglows with RINGO3
Shrestha, M., Steele, I. A., Kobayashi, S., Smith, R. J., Guidorzi, C., Jordana-Mitjans, N., Jermak, H. E., Arnold, D., Mundell, C. G., & Gomboc, A. (2022) · Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society · doi:10.1093/mnras/stac2211 · Cited by 9
Self-citationGamma-ray burst prompt emission variability in synchrotron and synchrotron self-Compton light curves
Resmi, L., & Zhang, B. (2012) · Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2012.21531.x · Cited by 9
Self-citationSPECTRAL LAG FEATURES OF GRB 060814 FROMSWIFTBAT ANDSUZAKUOBSERVATIONS
Roychoudhury, A., Sarkar, S. K., & Bhadra, A. (2014) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.1088/0004-637x/782/2/105 · Cited by 9
Lan, M.-X., Wu, X.-F., & Dai, Z.-G. (2016) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/0004-637x/826/2/128 · Cited by 9
“…injected energy can be either in the form of Poynting flux and/or electron-positron pairs (Dai & Lu 1998a 1998b; Zhang & Mészáros 2001; Dai 2004; Zhang et al. 2006; Yu & Dai 2007; Dai & Liu 2012) or in the form of baryons (Rees & Mészáros 1998; Sari & Mészáros 2000; Nousek et al. 2006),…”
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Scale invariance in x-ray flares of gamma-ray bursts
Wei, J.-J. (2023) · Physical Review Research · doi:10.1103/physrevresearch.5.013019 · Cited by 9
SRG/eROSITAprospects for the detection of GRB afterglows
Khabibullin, I. I., Sazonov, S. Y., & Sunyaev, R. (2012) · Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2012.21807.x · Cited by 9
DIVERSITY OF SHORT GAMMA-RAY BURST AFTERGLOWS FROM COMPACT BINARY MERGERS HOSTING PULSARS
Holcomb, C., Ramirez-Ruiz, E., Colle, F. D., & Montes, G. (2014) · The Astrophysical Journal Letters · doi:10.1088/2041-8205/790/1/l3 · Cited by 9
Takami, K., Yamazaki, R., Sakamoto, T., & Sato, G. (2007) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.1086/518763 · Cited by 9
“As can be seen in Figure 3 of Zhang et al. (2006), the emission seems to decay rapidly, so that the decay index becomes large.”
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The Science Case for PILOT II: the Distant Universe
Lawrence, J. S., Ashley, M. C. B., Bunker, A. J., Bouwens, R. J., Burgarella, D., Burton, M., Gehrels, N., Glazebrook, K., Pimbblet, K. A., Quimby, R., et al. (2009) · Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia · doi:10.1071/as08049 · Cited by 9
Self-citationXiao, D., Dai, Z.-G., & Mészáros, P. (2017) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/aa76e5 · Cited by 9
“One possible explanation for this plateau is that there is continued injection of energy at a lower bulk Lorentz factor (e.g. Zhang et al. 2006), which would lead to continuous addition of energy to the cocoon for ∼ 500 − 1000 seconds.”
BackgroundSystematic Study of the Peak Energy of Broadband Gamma-Ray Burst Spectra
Katsukura, D., Sakamoto, T., Tashiro, M., & Terada, Y. (2020) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ab6167 · Cited by 9
“In some GRBs, X-ray flares (Zhang et al. 2006) occurred during the shallow decay phase in X-ray afterglow, which were excluded by visual inspection from our sample.”
BackgroundTo Power the X-Ray Plateaus of Gamma-Ray Bursts through Larger Amplitude Electromagnetic Waves
Du, S. X. (2020) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/abaf4d · Cited by 9
Gamma‐Ray Bursts in the Era of Rapid Followup
Mundell, C. G., Guidorzi, C., & Steele, I. A. (2010) · Advances in Astronomy · doi:10.1155/2010/718468 · Cited by 9
THE ORIGIN OF THE PLATEAU AND LATE REBRIGHTENING IN THE AFTERGLOW OF GRB 120326APreprint
Hou, S., Geng, J.-J., Wang, K., Wu, X.-F., Huang, Y.-F., Dai, Z.-G., & Lu, J. F. (2016) · Cited by 9
Induced gravitational collapse in the BATSE era: the case of GRB 970828
RUFFINI, R. J., Izzo, L., Bianco, C. L., Rueda, J. A., Barbarino, C., Dereli, H., Enderli, M., Muccino, M., Penacchioni, A. V., Pisani, G. B., et al. (n.d.) · Biblioteca Digital da Memória Científica do INPE (National Institute for Space Research) · Cited by 9
Knust, F., Greiner, J., van Eerten, H., Schady, P., Kann, D. A., Chen, T. W., Delvaux, C., Graham, J. F., Klose, S., Kruehler, T., et al. (2017) · DIGITAL.CSIC (Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)) · doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201730578 · Cited by 8
Incidence of afterglow plateaus in gamma-ray bursts associated with binary neutron star mergers
Guglielmi, L., Stratta, G., Dall’Osso, S., Singh, P., Brusa, M., & Perna, R. (2024) · Astronomy and Astrophysics · doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202451877 · Cited by 8
Gamma-Ray Bursts: What Do We Know Today That We Did Not Know 10 Years Ago?
Pe’er, A. (2024) · Galaxies · doi:10.3390/galaxies13010002 · Cited by 8
Wang, H., Zhou, H., Fan, Y.-Z., & Wei, D.-M. (2025) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/adf1a2 · Cited by 8
“This effect may account for the early shallow decay phase (e.g., Zhang et al. 2006; Uhm & Beloborodov 2007; Beniamini & Kumar 2016) or the late time rebrightening observed in some afterglows (e.g., Granot et al. 2003; Laskar et al. 2015, 2018; Lamb et al. 2019b; Moss et al. 2023).”
Self-citationDiversity of multiwavelength emission bumps in the GRB 100219A afterglow
Mao, J., Malesani, D. B., D’Avanzo, P., Covino, S., Li, S., Jakobsson, P., & Bai, J. M. (2012) · Springer Link (Chiba Institute of Technology) · doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201117770/pdf · Cited by 8
Multi-messenger detection prospects of gamma-ray burst afterglows with optical jumps
Guarini, E., Tamborra, I., Bégué, D., Pitik, T., & Greiner, J. (2022) · Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics · doi:10.1088/1475-7516/2022/06/034 · Cited by 8
GRB Afterglows with Energy Injections in AGN Accretion Disks
Huang, B.-Q., Liu, T., Li, X.-Y., & Wei, Y.-F. (2024) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ad3d54 · Cited by 8
“In general, after the prompt γ -ray emission, enduring multiband afterglows arise from synchrotron radiation, which stems from electrons accelerated by ex-ternal forward shocks (EFSs) formed as the jets inter-play with the circumburst material (e.g., Zhang et al. 2006).”
BackgroundJayaraman, R., Fausnaugh, M., Ricker, G. R., Vanderspek, R. K., & Mo, G. (2024) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ad5e7b · Cited by 8
Signature of Triaxially Precessing Magnetars in Gamma-Ray Burst X-Ray Afterglows
Zhang, B., Zhong, S.-Q., Li, L., & Dai, Z.-G. (2024) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ad9005 · Cited by 8
“…afterglows from both long and short GRBs detected by Swift/XRT showed a stable and long-duration X-ray plateau, which is considered as evidence for a magnetar providing sustained energy injection as the central engine (Zhang et al. 2006; Rowlinson et al. 2013; L¨u & Zhang 2014; L¨u et al. 2015).”
Self-citationGamma-Ray Burst Timing: Decoding the Hidden Slow Jets in GRB 060729
Geng, J.-J., Hu, D.-F., Gao, H.-X., Liang, Y. F., Hua, Y.-L., Zhang, G.-R., Sun, T.-R., Li, B., Liu, Y., Xu, F., et al. (2025) · The Astrophysical Journal Letters · doi:10.3847/2041-8213/add00e · Cited by 8
“Phenomena such as flares, plateaus, and re-brightenings in the X-ray (Gehrels et al. 2004; Burrows et al. 2005; Zhang et al. 2006; Tang et al. 2019) and optical bands (Li et al. 2012; Kann et al. 2024) suggest the involvement of complex physical processes, including multiple jet components (Berger…”
HOT ELECTROMAGNETIC OUTFLOWS. I. ACCELERATION AND SPECTRA
Russo, M., & Thompson, C. (2013) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.1088/0004-637x/767/2/142 · Cited by 8
“4 Early claims of measurements of jet opening angles based on temporal breaks in GRB afterglow light curve (e.g., Rhoads 1999) have been revealed to be somewhat ambiguous based on more complicated behavior seen in the Swift data (e.g., Zhang et al. 2006).”
The possible ubiquity of energy injection in gamma-ray burst afterglows
Panaitescu, A., & Vestrand, W. T. (2012) · Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2012.21595.x · Cited by 8
Diverse Features of the Multiwavelength Afterglows of Gamma-Ray Bursts: Natural or Special?
Geng, J.-J., & Huang, Y.-F. (2016) · Advances in Astronomy · doi:10.1155/2016/1592148 · Cited by 8
“the Swift satellite [13{15] and other optical telescopes (e.g., GROND telescope, see [16]). Early ares and shallow decay phase (or the so called X-ray plateau) are common in the X-ray afterglow data [17]. This indicates that the central engines of GRBs are still active after the burst, giving us a useful clue to inves…”
BackgroundSteep Decay Phase Shaped by the Curvature Effect. I. Flux Evolution
Lin, D.-B., Mu, H.-J., Lu, R.-J., Liu, T., Gu, W.-M., Liang, Y.-F., Wang, X.-G., & Liang, E.-W. (2017) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/aa6d61 · Cited by 8
“The observations of the Swift satellite reveal that the light curve of X-ray afterglow emission is composed of five components (Nousek et al. 2006; O’Brien et al. 2006; Zhang et al. 2006, 2007).”
BackgroundMethodTHE SUPERCRITICAL PILE GAMMA-RAY BURST MODEL: THE GRB AFTERGLOW STEEP DECLINE AND PLATEAU PHASE
Sultana, J., Kazanas, D., & Mastichiadis, A. (2016) · Cited by 8
Polarization in Early Optical Afterglows of Gamma-Ray Bursts Driven by Precessing Jets
Huang, B.-Q., & Liu, T. (2022) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ac752a · Cited by 8
“…is usually detected after the short-lived prompt γ-ray emission originates from the synchrotron radiation of electrons accelerated by forward and reverse shocks (FS and RS, respectively), produced when the jets interact with the circumburst medium (e.g., Zhang et al. 2006, and references therein).”
BackgroundStandard GRB Spectral Models “Misused”?
Li, L. (2022) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ac3d89 · Cited by 8
“…investigation of spectral parameters, and therefore, will shed light on our understanding of GRB physics (e.g., Dai et al. 2006; Kaneko et al. 2006; Zhang et al. 2006; Gruber et al. 2014; Yu et al. 2016; Ruffini et al. 2018; Li 2019a, 2019b; Li et al. 2019; Li & Zhang 2021; Moradi et al. 2021; Xue…”
Zhang, L.-L., Xin, L. P., Wang, J., Han, X. H., Xu, D., Zhu, Z.-P., Wu, C., Wei, J., & Liang, E. (2022) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/aca08f · Cited by 8
“The flux decay slope of the synchrotron emission depends on the spectral regime (e.g., Sari et al. 1998; Zhang et al. 2006).”
MethodBecerra, R. L., Klotz, A., Atteia, J. L., Guetta, D., Watson, A. M., Colle, F. D., Angulo-Valdez, C., Butler, N., Dichiara, S., Fraija, N. I., et al. (2023) · Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society · doi:10.1093/mnras/stad2513 · Cited by 8
Anisotropic energy injection from magnetar central engines in short GRBs
Wang, Y., Zhang, B., & Zhu, Z. (2024) · Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society · doi:10.1093/mnras/stae136 · Cited by 8
Self-citationGamma-ray burst afterglow plateaus and gravitational waves
Corsi, A., & Mészáros, P. (2009) · Classical and Quantum Gravity · doi:10.1088/0264-9381/26/20/204016 · Cited by 8
“Swift observations (Nousek et al 2006, Zhang et al 2006) have shown that long gamma-ray burst (GRB) x-ray light curves are often shaped in an initial steep decay, F(t) ∝ tα with α ∼ −3 (where F(t) is the observed flux and t is the observer’s time), followed by a shallow decay (α −0.5; see figure 1)…”
BackgroundInfluentialSWIFT J164449.3+573451: A PLUNGING EVENT WITH A POYNTING-FLUX-DOMINATED OUTFLOW
Gao, W.-H. (2012) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.1088/0004-637x/761/2/113 · Cited by 8
Relationship between pulse width and energy in GRB 060124: from X-ray to γ-ray bands
Zhang, F.-W., & Qin, Y.-P. (2008) · New Astronomy · doi:10.1016/j.newast.2008.01.005 · Cited by 8
GRB 110530A: PECULIAR BROAD BUMP AND DELAYED PLATEAU IN EARLY OPTICAL AFTERGLOWS
Zhong, S.-Q., Xin, L.-P., Liang, E.-W., Wei, J.-Y., Urata, Y., Huang, K.-Y., Qiu, Y.-L., Deng, C.-M., Wang, Y.-Z., & Deng, J.-S. (2016) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/0004-637x/831/1/5 · Cited by 8
“…gamma-rays and erratic flares from the canonical XRT light curves (Nousek et al. 2006; Zhang et al. 2006), the X-ray afterglow light curves are generally consistent with the predictions of the external shock model when an extra energy injection is added (Zhang et al. 2006; Liang et al. 2007).”
BackgroundLong-term monitoring of the X-ray afterglow of GRB 050408 with Swift/XRT
Capalbi, M., Malesani, D., Perri, M., Paolo Giommi, B., Covino, S., Cusumano, G., Mangano, V., Mineo, T., Campana, S., Chincarini, G., et al. (2006) · Astronomy and Astrophysics · doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20065388 · Cited by 8
Self-citationGRB 191016A: a highly collimated gamma-ray burst jet with magnetized energy injection
Shrestha, M., Steele, I. A., Kobayashi, S., Jordana-Mitjans, N., Smith, R. J., Jermak, H. E., Arnold, D. M., Mundell, C. G., Gomboc, A., & Guidorzi, C. (2021) · Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society · doi:10.1093/mnras/stab3368 · Cited by 8
Self-citationMultiple Components in the Broadband γ-Ray Emission of the Short GRB 160709A
Tak, D., Guiriec, S., Uhm, Z. L., Yassine, M., Omodei, N., & McEnery, J. (2019) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ab0e72 · Cited by 8
“…spectra, modified internal shock models as well as alternative models have been introduced: a decaying magnetic field behind the shock front (Pe’er & Zhang 2006; Derishev 2007), globally decreasing magnetic fields (Uhm & Zhang 2014), slow heating (Asano et al. 2009), synchrotron self-Compton…”
MethodThe unusual X-ray light curve of GRB 080307: the onset of the afterglow?
Page, K. L., Willingale, R., O'Brien, P. T., Tanvir, N. R., Osborne, J. P., Zhang, B., Holland, S. T., Levan, A. J., Melandri, A., Starling, R. L. C., et al. (2009) · Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2009.14509.x · Cited by 8
Self-citationOptical/infrared flares of GRB 080129 from late internal shocksPreprint
Gao, W.-H. (2012) · Cited by 8
Gamma Ray Burst origin and their afterglow: story of a discovery and morePreprint
Costa, E., & Frontera, F. (2011) · arXiv (Cornell University) · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1107.1661 · Cited by 8
Xu, H., Dai, Y., Xue, S., Sun, Z., Hu, H., Lai, T., & Guan, C. (2025) · Journal of Manufacturing Processes · doi:10.1016/j.jmapro.2025.06.109 · Cited by 7
Statistical Properties of X-Ray Bursts from SGR J1935+2154 Detected by Insight-HXMT
Zhang, W., Li, X.-J., Yang, Y., Yi, S.-X., Li, C.-K., Tang, Q.-W., Qin, Y., & Wang, F. Y. (2023) · Research in Astronomy and Astrophysics · doi:10.1088/1674-4527/acf979 · Cited by 7
Yu, W., Lü, H.-J., Yang, X., Lan, L., & Yang, Z. (2024) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ad1756 · Cited by 7
Zhang, L.-L., Zhong, S.-Q., Xin, L. P., & Liang, E. (2024) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ad5f92 · Cited by 7
“…of the central engine, an X-ray plateau (X-ray shallow-decayed segment) from the late energy injection of the remnant, and/or a very steep decaying segment being due to the curvature effect of the high-latitude prompt gamma rays from the emitting fireball (Zhang et al. 2006; Nousek et al. 2006).”
BackgroundTak, D., Uhm, Z. L., Paek, G. S. H., Im, M., Arimoto, M., Choi, H., Kim, S., Omodei, N., Racusin, J. L., Urata, Y., et al. (2024) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ad94f4 · Cited by 7
“Since a temporal index is highly dependent on the selection of the trigger time (the so-called t 0 effect; Zhang et al. 2006), we need to take the t 0 effect into account to get a proper temporal index.”
Self-citationAnalysis of Gamma-Ray Burst Closure Relationship in Multiple Wavelengths
Dainotti, M. G., Bhardwaj, S., Bissaldi, E., Fraija, N. I., Sourav, S., & Galván-Gaméz, A. (2024) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ad93b5 · Cited by 7
“Indeed, B. Zhang et al. ( 2006 ) , J. A. Nousek et al. ( 2006 ) , and B.-B. Zhang et al. ( 2007 ) explored Swift-XRT LCs and proposed energy injection as a potential scenario to account for the plateau phase or shallow decay phase in GRB afterglows ( B. Zhang et al. 2006; Figure 10.”
InfluentialProspects for time-domain and multi-messenger science with eXTP
Yi, S.-X., Zhao, W. K., Xu, R., Wu, X.-F., Stratta, G., Dall’Osso, S., Xu, Y.-J., Santangelo, A. E., Zane, S., Zhang, S., et al. (2025) · Science China Physics Mechanics and Astronomy · doi:10.1007/s11433-025-2782-2 · Cited by 7
Self-citationSowell, E., Corsi, A., & Coyne, R. (2019) · Physical review. D/Physical review. D. · doi:10.1103/physrevd.100.124041 · Cited by 7
“[10] B.”
BackgroundInduced gravitational collapse in the BATSE era: The case of GRB 970828
RUFFINI, R. J., Izzo, L., Bianco, C. L., Rueda, J. A., Barbarino, C., Dereli, H., Enderli, M., Muccino, M., Penacchioni, A. V., Pisani, G. B., et al. (2015) · Astronomy Reports · doi:10.1134/s1063772915070094 · Cited by 7
“However, while in Pisani et al. (2013) the analysis is based on the available X-ray data (0.3–10 keV) from the Swift-XRT detector, GRB 970828 occurred in the pre-Swift era.”
BackgroundInfluentialConstraining the Circumburst Medium of Gamma-Ray Bursts with X-Ray Afterglows
Tian, X., Qin, Y., Du, M., Yi, S.-X., & Tang, Y.-K. (2022) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ac3de4 · Cited by 7
“Furthermore, the X-ray afterglow is simpler when compared with the optical afterglow, and it can be clearly described in five different segments (Zhang et al. 2006; Nousek et al. 2006).”
BackgroundGRB 110213A: A Study of Afterglow Electromagnetic Cascade Radiation
Wang, X.-G., Chen, Y., Huang, X.-L., Chen, L., Zheng, W., D'Elia, V., de Pasquale, M., Pozanenko, A. S., Xin, L. P., Stratta, G., et al. (2022) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ac937c · Cited by 7
“Combining the results of our temporal analysis and spectral analysis, we use the closure relation (α–β) of the fireball external-shock model (e.g., Sari et al. 1998; Zhang et al. 2006; Gao et al. 2013; Wang et al. 2015) to test the late-time afterglow (after ∼5.6 ks, Phases IV–VI) of GRB 110213A.”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialSelf-citationRapid radio brightening of GRB 210702A
Anderson, G. E., Russell, T. D., Fausey, H., van der Horst, A. J., Hancock, P. J., Bahramian, A., Bell, M. E., Miller-Jones, J. C. A., Rowell, G. P., Sammons, M. W., et al. (2023) · Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society · doi:10.1093/mnras/stad1635 · Cited by 7
“At such early times, we are likely observing the GRB afterglow emission before any jet break, and thus the break in the X-ray light curve at 4416 s is due to the cessation of an energy injection process (Zhang et al. 2006).”
BackgroundThe triple-peaked afterglow of GRB 210731A from X-ray to radio frequencies
de Wet, S., Laskar, T., Groot, P., Cavallaro, F., Guelbenzu, A. N., Chastain, S. I., Izzo, L., Levan, A. J., Malesani, D. B., Monageng, I. M., et al. (2023) · Astronomy and Astrophysics · doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202244917 · Cited by 7
GRB 090423: Marking the death of a massive star at z=8.2
Lın, L., Liang, E., & Zhang, S. (2010) · Science in China. Series G, Physics, mechanics & astronomy/Science in China. Series G, Physics, Mechanics & Astronomy · doi:10.1007/s11433-010-0027-z · Cited by 7
Where are the prompt emitting regions of long GRBs?
Zhang, Z.-B., Zhao, Y., & Zhang, Y. (2011) · Astrophysics and Space Science · doi:10.1007/s10509-011-0620-2 · Cited by 7
A systematic description of shocks in gamma-ray bursts - I. Formulation
Ziaeepour, H. (2009) · Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2009.14927.x · Cited by 8
Xin, L. P., Pozanenko, A. S., Kann, D. A., Xu, D., Gorosabel, J., Leloudas, G., Wei, J., Andreev, M., Qin, S., Ibrahimov, M., et al. (2012) · Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2012.20681.x · Cited by 7
The updated Bulk Lorentz Factors of Gamma-Ray Burst X-Ray Flares
Xi, S.-Q., Yi, S.-X., Zou, Y.-C., & Wang, F. Y. (2017) · Research in Astronomy and Astrophysics · doi:10.1088/1674-4527/17/6/53 · Cited by 7
Lin, D.-B., Huang, B.-Q., Liu, T., Gu, W.-M., Mu, H.-J., & Liang, E.-W. (2018) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/aa9f15 · Cited by 7
“However, the decay may become shallow during the continuous energy injection into the external shock (Zhang et al. 2006; Nousek et al. 2006; Panaitescu et al. 2006).”
BackgroundEvidence of Photosphere Emission Origin for Gamma-Ray Burst Prompt Emission
Meng, Y.-Z. (2022) · The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series · doi:10.3847/1538-4365/ac98b1 · Cited by 7
“We find that all the X-ray afterglow light curves appear as simple power-law shapes,6 without any plateaus, steep decays (Zhang et al. 2006), or significant flares (with weak flares in the early times).”
BackgroundInfluentialGeV EMISSION DURING X-RAY FLARES FROM LATE INTERNAL SHOCKS: APPLICATION TO GRB 100728A
Wang, K., & Dai, Z. G. (2013) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.1088/0004-637x/772/2/152 · Cited by 7
“This model was suggested by Fan & Wei (2005) and Zhang et al. (2006), and its motivations are based on two following facts.”
The Redshift Dependence of the Radio Flux of Gamma-Ray Bursts and Their Host Galaxies
Zhang, Z.-B., Chandra, P., Huang, Y.-F., & Li, D. (2018) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/aadc62 · Cited by 7
Πετροπούλου, Μ., Mastichiadis, A., & Piran, T. (2011) · Springer Link (Chiba Institute of Technology) · doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201016088/pdf · Cited by 7
Swift observations of GRB 050712
de Pasquale, M., Grupe, D., Poole, T., Breeveld, A. A., Zane, S., Rosen, S. R., Page, M. J., Mason, K. O., Burrows, D. N., Krimm, H. A., et al. (2006) · Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2006.10609.x · Cited by 7
Self-citationObservational constraints on the external shock prior emission hypothesis of gamma-ray bursts
Birnbaum, T., Zhang, B., Zhang, B., & Liang, E. (2012) · Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2012.20611.x · Cited by 6
Self-citation
Metadata
- Authors
- Zhang, B., Fan, Y. Z., Dyks, J., Kobayashi, S., Meszaros, P., Burrows, D. N., Nousek, J. A., & Gehrels, N.
- Affiliations
- University of Nevada, Las Vegas (US)
- Pennsylvania State University (US)
- Goddard Space Flight Center (US)
- Venue
- The Astrophysical Journal
- Publisher
- American Astronomical Society
- Published
- 2006-05
- Volume
- 642
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 354-370
- ISSN
- 0004-637X (ISSN-L)
- 1538-4357
- OpenAlex
- W2078391322
- Cited by
- 1,079
- References
- 155
- Citations by year
- 2026: 46 · 2025: 67 · 2024: 52 · 2023: 48 · 2022: 51 · 2021: 35 · 2020: 47 · 2019: 40 · 2018: 36 · 2017: 38 · 2016: 52 · 2015: 51 · 2014: 50 · 2013: 52 · 2012: 47
- FWCI
- 51.93
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- The Astrophysical Journal (publishedVersion)
- arXiv (Cornell University) (submittedVersion)
- CERN Document Server (European Organization for Nuclear Research) (submittedVersion)
- arXiv (Cornell University)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation (0114375, 0307376)
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NAS5-00136)
- University of Pennsylvania
- Pennsylvania State University (NAS5-00136)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Nuclear and High Energy Physics › Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations
- Keywords
- gamma-ray bursts, X-ray afterglow, afterglow light curves, Swift X-ray Telescope, X-ray flares, prompt gamma-ray emission, central engine, forward shock, relativistic outflows, Poynting flux, interstellar medium, afterglow decay
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