Broadband Observations of the Afterglow of GRB 000926: Observing the Effect of Inverse Compton Scattering and Evidence for a High-Density Environment

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dc.creatorHarrison, F. A.
dc.creatorYost, S. A.
dc.creatorSari, R.
dc.creatorBerger, E.
dc.creatorHoltzmann, T. J. Galama J.
dc.creatorAxelrod, T.
dc.creatorBloom, J. S.
dc.creatorChevalier, R.
dc.creatorCosta, E.
dc.creatorDiercks, A.
dc.creatorDjorgovski, S. G.
dc.creatorFrail, D. A.
dc.creatorFrontera, F.
dc.creatorHurley, K.
dc.creatorKulkarni, S. R.
dc.creatorMcCarthy, P.
dc.creatorPiro, L.
dc.creatorPooley, G. G.
dc.creatorPrice, P. A.
dc.creatorReichart, D.
dc.creatorShepard, G. R. Ricker D.
dc.creatorSchmidt, B.
dc.creatorWalter, F.
dc.creatorWheeler, C.
dc.date2001-03-22
dc.date2001-05-31
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-07T01:57:59Z
dc.date.available2026-07-07T01:57:59Z
dc.descriptionGRB 000926 has one of the best-studied afterglows to-date, with multiple X-ray observations, as well as extensive multi-frequency optical and radio coverage. Broadband afterglow observations, spanning from X-ray to radio frequencies, provide a probe of the density structure of the circumburst medium, as well as of the ejecta energetics, geometry, and the physical parameters of the relativistic blastwave resulting from the explosion. We present an analysis of {\em Chandra X-ray Observatory} observations of this event, along with {\em Hubble Space Telescope} and radio monitoring. We combine these data with ground-based optical and IR observations and fit the synthesized afterglow lightcurve using models where collimated ejecta expand into a surrounding medium. We find that we can explain the broadband lightcurve with reasonable physical parameters only if the cooling is dominated by inverse Compton scattering. Excess X-ray emission in the broadband spectrum indicates that we are directly observing a contribution from inverse Compton scattering. It is the first time this has been observed in a GRB afterglow, and it implies that the GRB exploded in a reasonably dense (n~30 cm^{-3}) medium, consistent with a diffuse interstellar cloud environment.
dc.description16 pages, 5 figures Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal
dc.identifierhttps://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0103377
dc.identifierhttp://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0103377
dc.identifier.urihttp://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/2600
dc.subjectAstrophysics
dc.titleBroadband Observations of the Afterglow of GRB 000926: Observing the Effect of Inverse Compton Scattering and Evidence for a High-Density Environment
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