Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-4-2021
Publication Title
Monthly Notices
Volume
510
Issue
2
First page number:
1902
Last page number:
1909
Abstract
X-ray emission from the gravitational wave transient GW170817 is well described as non-thermal afterglow radiation produced by a structured relativistic jet viewed off-axis. We show that the X-ray counterpart continues to be detected at 3.3 years after the merger. Such long-lasting signal is not a prediction of the earlier jet models characterized by a narrow jet core and a viewing angle ≈20 deg, and is spurring a renewed interest in the origin of the X-ray emission. We present a comprehensive analysis of the X-ray dataset aimed at clarifying existing discrepancies in the literature, and in particular the presence of an X-ray rebrightening at late times. Our analysis does not find evidence for an increase in the X-ray flux, but confirms a growing tension between the observations and the jet model. Further observations at radio and X-ray wavelengths would be critical to break the degeneracy between models.
Keywords
Stars; neutron; gravitational waves; gamma-ray burst
Disciplines
Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics
File Format
File Size
941 KB
Language
English
Rights
IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Repository Citation
Troja, E.,
O'Connor, B.,
Ryan, G.,
Piro, L.,
Ricci, R.,
Zhang, B.,
Piran, T.,
Bruni, G.,
Cenko, S. B.,
Van Eerten, H.
(2021).
Accurate Flux Calibration of GW170817: Is the X-Ray Counterpart on the Rise?.
Monthly Notices, 510(2),
1902-1909.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stab3533