Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2002-01-17
AIP Conf.Proc. 662 (2003) 411-414
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
4 pages, 6 postscript figures, to appear in "Gamma-Ray Burst and Afterglow Astronomy 2001", Woods Hole; 5-9 Nov, 2001
Scientific paper
10.1063/1.1579389
Despite great observational and theoretical effort, the burst progenitor is still a mysterious object. It is generally accepted that one of the best ways to unveil its nature is the study of the properties of the close environment in which the explosion takes place. We discuss the potentiality and feasibility of time resolved X-ray spectroscopy, focusing on the prompt gamma-ray phase. We show that the study of absorption features (or continuum absorption) can reveal the radial structure of the close environment, unaccessible with different techniques. We discuss the detection of absorption in the prompt and afterglow spectra of several bursts, showing how these are consistent with gamma-ray bursts taking place in dense regions. In particular, we show that the radius and density of the surrounding cloud can be measured through the evolution of the column density in the prompt burst phase. The derived cloud properties are similar to those of the star forming cocoons and globules within molecular clouds. We conclude that the burst are likely associated with the final evolutionary stages of massive stars.
Ghisellini Gabriele
Lazzati Davide
Perna Rosalba
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