A very-high-energy component deep in the γ-ray burst afterglow

A delayed 400 GeV photon from GRB 221009A and implication on the intergalactic magnetic field

Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory has detected 0.2 - 13 TeV emission of GRB 221009A within 2000 s since the trigger. Here we report the detection of a 400 GeV photon, without accompanying prominent low-energy emission, by Fermi Large Area Telescope in this direction with a 0.4 days' delay. Given an intergalactic magnetic field strength of about 4 × 10-17 G, which is comparable to limits from TeV blazars, the delayed 400 GeV photon can be explained as the cascade emission of about 10 TeV gamma rays. We estimate the probabilities of the cascade emission that can result in one detectable photon beyond 100 GeV by Fermi Large Area Telescope within 0.3 - 1 days is about 2% whereas it is about 20.5% within 0.3 - 250 days. Our results show that Synchrotron Self-Compton explanation is less favored with probabilities lower by a factor of about 3 - 30 than the cascade scenario.

Very high-energy gamma-ray emission beyond 10 TeV from GRB 221009A

The highest-energy gamma-rays from gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have important implications for their radiation mechanism. Here we report the detection of gamma-rays up to 13 teraelectronvolts from the brightest GRB 221009A by the Large High Altitude Air-shower Observatory (LHAASO). The LHAASO-KM2A detector registered more than 140 gamma-rays with energies above 3 teraelectronvolts during 230 to 900 seconds after the trigger. The intrinsic energy spectrum of gamma-rays can be described by a power-law after correcting for extragalactic background light absorption. Such a hard spectrum challenges the synchrotron self-Compton scenario of relativistic electrons for the afterglow emission above several teraelectronvolts. Observations of gamma-rays up to 13 teraelectronvolts from a source with a measured redshift of z = 0.151 hints more transparency in intergalactic space than previously expected. Alternatively, one may invoke new physics such as Lorentz invariance violation or an axion origin of very high-energy signals.

GRB 221009A Gamma Rays from the Radiative Decay of Heavy Neutrinos?

We consider a mechanism that causes a decrease in the attenuation of high energy gamma-ray flux from gamma ray burst GRB 221009A. The mechanism is based on the existence of a heavy m_{N}∼(0.1-1)  MeV mostly sterile neutrino N which mixes with active neutrinos. N's are produced in the gamma-ray burst (GRB) in π and K decays via mixing with ν_{μ}. They undergo the radiative decay N→νγ on the way to Earth. The usual exponential attenuation of gamma rays is lifted to an attenuation inverse in the optical depth. Various restrictions on this scenario are discussed. We find that the high energy γ events at 18 TeV can be explained if (i) the GRB active neutrino fluence is close to the observed limit, (ii) the branching ratio of N→νγ is at least of the order 10%.

A tera-electron volt afterglow from a narrow jet in an extremely bright gamma-ray burst

Some gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have a tera-electron volt (TeV) afterglow, but the early onset of this has not been observed. We report observations with the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory of the bright GRB 221009A, which serendipitously occurred within the instrument field of view. More than 64,000 photons >0.2 TeV were detected within the first 3000 seconds. The TeV flux began several minutes after the GRB trigger, then rose to a peak about 10 seconds later. This was followed by a decay phase, which became more rapid ~650 seconds after the peak. We interpret the emission using a model of a relativistic jet with half-opening angle ~0.8°. This is consistent with the core of a structured jet and could explain the high isotropic energy of this GRB.

Gigaelectronvolt emission from a compact binary merger

An energetic γ-ray burst (GRB), GRB 211211A, was observed on 11 December 20211,2. Despite its long duration, typically associated with bursts produced by the collapse of massive stars, the observation of an optical-infrared kilonova points to a compact binary merger origin3. Here we report observations of a significant (more than five sigma) transient-like emission in the high-energy γ-rays of GRB 211211A (more than 0.1 gigaelectronvolts) starting 103 seconds after the burst. After an initial phase with a roughly constant flux (about 5 × 10-10 erg per second per square centimetre) lasting about 2 × 104 seconds, the flux started decreasing and soon went undetected. Our detailed modelling of public and dedicated multi-wavelength observations demonstrates that gigaelectronvolt emission from GRB 211211A is in excess with respect to the flux predicted by the state-of-the-art afterglow model at such late time. We explore the possibility that the gigaelectronvolt excess is inverse Compton emission owing to the interaction of a late-time, low-power jet with an external source of photons, and find that kilonova emission can provide the seed photons. Our results open perspectives for observing binary neutron star mergers.

Gamma-Ray Bursts at TeV Energies: Theoretical Considerations

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are the most luminous explosions in the Universe and are powered by ultra-relativistic jets. Their prompt γ-ray emission briefly outshines the rest of the γ-ray sky, making them detectable from cosmological distances. A burst is followed by, and sometimes partially overlaps with, a similarly energetic but very broadband and longer-lasting afterglow emission. While most GRBs are detected below a few MeV, over 100 have been detected at high (≳0.1 GeV) energies, and several have now been observed up to tens of GeV with the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT). A new electromagnetic window in the very-high-energy (VHE) domain (≳0.1 TeV) was recently opened with the detection of an afterglow emission in the (0.1–1)TeV energy band by ground-based imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes. The emission mechanism for the VHE spectral component is not fully understood, and its detection offers important constraints for GRB physics. This review provides a brief overview of the different leptonic and hadronic mechanisms capable of producing a VHE emission in GRBs. The same mechanisms possibly give rise to the high-energy spectral component seen during the prompt emission of many Fermi-LAT GRBs. Possible origins of its delayed onset and long duration well into the afterglow phase, with implications for the emission region and relativistic collisionless shock physics, are discussed. Key results for using GRBs as ideal probes for constraining models of extra-galactic background light and intergalactic magnetic fields, as well as for testing Lorentz invariance violation, are presented.

The Detection of GRBs at VHE: A Challenge Lasting for More than Two Decades, What Is Next?

Unveiling the mystery of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) has been the target of many multi-waveband observational and theoretical efforts during the last decades. The results collected by current and past space-based instruments have provided important insights into the mechanisms at the origin of their prompt and afterglow phases. On the other hand, many questions, such as the the origin of the multi-GeV signal observed in a large number of events, remained unanswered. Within this framework, the first firm detections of a very-high-energy (VHE, E≳100 GeV) emission component by MAGIC and H.E.S.S. collaborations represented an important, long-awaited result for the VHE astrophysics community. However, while such discoveries opened a new era in the study of GRBs, they also provided an unexpected complexity due to the differences between the phenomenology of the observed events. This revealed that we still have an incomplete comprehension of GRB physics. In the nearby future, observations by the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO), with unprecedented sensitivity in the VHE band, will have a key role in the study of these enigmatic objects and their interactions with the surrounding environment. In this review we will cover the recent GRB history, highlighting the efforts of follow-up campaigns by the VHE community that led to the first VHE GRB detection, and outlining what we can expect from future facilities in the next decades.

Gamma-Ray Bursts Afterglow Physics and the VHE Domain

Afterglow radiation in gamma-ray bursts (GRB), extending from the radio band to GeV energies, is produced as a result of the interaction between the relativistic jet and the ambient medium. Although in general the origin of the emission is robustly identified as synchrotron radiation from the shock-accelerated electrons, many aspects remain poorly constrained, such as the role of inverse Compton emission, the particle acceleration mechanism, the properties of the environment and of the GRB jet itself. The extension of the afterglow emission into the TeV band has been discussed and theorized for years, but has eluded for a long time the observations. Recently, the Cherenkov telescopes, MAGIC and H.E.S.S., have unequivocally proven that afterglow radiation is also produced above 100 GeV, up to at least a few TeV. The accessibility of the TeV spectral window will largely improve with the upcoming facility CTA (the Cherenkov Telescope Array). In this review article, we first revise the current model for afterglow emission in GRBs, its limitations and open issues. Then, we describe the recent detections of very high energy emission from GRBs and the origin of this radiation. Implications on the understanding of afterglow radiation and constraints on the physics of the involved processes will be deeply investigated, demonstrating how future observations, especially by the CTA Observatory, are expected to give a key contribution in improving our comprehension of such elusive sources.

The GRB Prompt Emission: An Unsolved Puzzle

The recent multi-messenger and multi-wavelength observations of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have encouraged renewed interest in these energetic events. In spite of the substantial amount of data accumulated during the past few decades, the nature of the prompt emission remains an unsolved puzzle. We present an overview of the leading models for their prompt emission phase, focusing on the perspective opened by future missions.

Gamma-Ray Bursts at TeV Energies: Observational Status

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are some of the most energetic events in the Universe and are potential sites of cosmic ray acceleration up to the highest energies. GRBs have therefore been a target of interest for very high energy gamma-ray observatories for many years, leading to the recent discovery of a number of bursts with photons reaching energies above 100 GeV. We summarize the GRB observational campaigns of the current generation of very high energy gamma-ray observatories as well as describing the observations and properties of the GRBs discovered so far. We compare the properties of the very high energy bursts to the total GRB distribution and make predictions for the next generation of very high energy gamma-ray observations.

Gamma-ray Bursts at the Highest Energies

Emission from Gamma-ray bursts is thought to be powered mainly by synchrotron radiation from energetic electrons. The same electrons might scatter these synchrotron seed photons to higher (>10 GeV) energies, building a distinct spectral component (synchrotron self-Compton, SSC). This process is expected to take place, but its relevance (e.g., the ratio between the SSC and synchrotron emitted power) is difficult to predict on the basis of current knowledge of physical conditions at GRB emission sites. Very high-energy radiation in GRBs can be produced also by other mechanisms, such as synchrotron itself (if PeV electrons are produced at the source), inverse Compton on external seed photons, and hadronic processes. Recently, after years of efforts, very high-energy radiation has been finally detected from at least four confirmed long GRBs by the Cherenkov telescopes H.E.S.S. and MAGIC. In all four cases, the emission has been recorded during the afterglow phase, well after the end of the prompt emission. In this work, I give an overview, accessible also to non-experts of the field, of the recent detections, theoretical implications, and future challenges, with a special focus on why very high-energy observations are relevant for our understanding of Gamma-ray bursts and which long-standing questions can be finally answered with the help of these observations.

Probing Gamma-Ray Burst VHE Emission with the Southern Wide-Field-of-View Gamma-Ray Observatory

Recent observations have confirmed that Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) afterglows produce Very High-Energy radiation (VHE, E>100GeV). This highly anticipated discovery opens new scenarios in the interpretation of GRBs and in their role as probes of Extragalactic Background Light (EBL) and Lorentz Invariance Violation (LIV). However, some fundamental questions about the actual nature of VHE emission in GRBs and its evolution during the burst are still unsolved. These questions will be difficult to address, even with future imaging Cherenkov telescopes, such as the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA). Here we investigate the prospects of gamma-ray sky monitoring with Extensive Air Showers arrays (EAS) to address these problems. We discuss the theoretical aspects connected with VHE radiation emission and the implications that its temporal evolution properties have on the interpretation of GRBs. By revisiting the high-energy properties of some Fermi-LAT detected GRBs, we estimate the typical fluxes expected in the VHE band and compare them with a range of foreseeable instrument performances, based on the Southern Wide Field-of-view Gamma-ray Observatory concept (SWGO). We focus our analysis on how different instrument capabilities affect the chances to explore the burst onset and early evolution in VHE, providing invaluable complementary information with respect to Cherenkov telescope observations. We show that under the assumption of conditions already observed in historical events, the next-generation ground monitoring detectors can actually contribute to answer several key questions.

High-Energy Alerts in the Multi-Messenger Era

The observation of electromagnetic counterparts to both high energy neutrinos and gravitational waves marked the beginning of a new era in astrophysics. The multi-messenger approach allows us to gain new insights into the most energetic events in the Universe such as gamma-ray bursts, supernovas, and black hole mergers. Real-time multi-messenger alerts are the key component of the observational strategies to unravel the transient signals expected from astrophysical sources. Focusing on the high-energy regime, we present a historical perspective of multi-messenger observations, the detectors and observational techniques used to study them, the status of the multi-messenger alerts and the most significant results, together with an overview of the future prospects in the field.

Probing Quantum Gravity with Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes

High energy photons from astrophysical sources are unique probes for some predictions of candidate theories of Quantum Gravity (QG). In particular, Imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescope (IACTs) are instruments optimised for astronomical observations in the energy range spanning from a few tens of GeV to ∼100 TeV, which makes them excellent instruments to search for effects of QG. In this article, we will review QG effects which can be tested with IACTs, most notably the Lorentz invariance violation (LIV) and its consequences. It is often represented and modelled with photon dispersion relation modified by introducing energy-dependent terms. We will describe the analysis methods employed in the different studies, allowing for careful discussion and comparison of the results obtained with IACTs for more than two decades. Loosely following historical development of the field, we will observe how the analysis methods were refined and improved over time, and analyse why some studies were more sensitive than others. Finally, we will discuss the future of the field, presenting ideas for improving the analysis sensitivity and directions in which the research could develop.

Synergies of THESEUS with the large facilities of the 2030s and guest observer opportunities

The proposed THESEUS mission will vastly expand the capabilities to monitor the high-energy sky. It will specifically exploit large samples of gamma-ray bursts to probe the early universe back to the first generation of stars, and to advance multi-messenger astrophysics by detecting and localizing the counterparts of gravitational waves and cosmic neutrino sources. The combination and coordination of these activities with multi-wavelength, multi-messenger facilities expected to be operating in the 2030s will open new avenues of exploration in many areas of astrophysics, cosmology and fundamental physics, thus adding considerable strength to the overall scientific impact of THESEUS and these facilities. We discuss here a number of these powerful synergies and guest observer opportunities.

Revealing x-ray and gamma ray temporal and spectral similarities in the GRB 190829A afterglow

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), which are bright flashes of gamma rays from extragalactic sources followed by fading afterglow emission, are associated with stellar core collapse events. We report the detection of very-high-energy (VHE) gamma rays from the afterglow of GRB 190829A, between 4 and 56 hours after the trigger, using the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.). The low luminosity and redshift of GRB 190829A reduce both internal and external absorption, allowing determination of its intrinsic energy spectrum. Between energies of 0.18 and 3.3 tera-electron volts, this spectrum is described by a power law with photon index of 2.07 ± 0.09, similar to the x-ray spectrum. The x-ray and VHE gamma-ray light curves also show similar decay profiles. These similar characteristics in the x-ray and gamma-ray bands challenge GRB afterglow emission scenarios.