Speaker
Asaf Pe'er
(Bar Ilan University)
Description
Since its discovery in 2005, the plateau phase seen in the early x-ray afterglow of a significant fraction (10's of %) of GRBs confuse theoreticians. A close look reveals that "plateau" bursts nearly never show evidence for LAT emission, neither a thermal component. Using this a hint, I argue that the plateau is due to the coasting of GRB jets in a "wind"-like medius. I will provide the theoretical arguments for the evolution of the lightcurve, and show how both the X-ray and optical lightcurves naturally fitted within the framework of this model. The end of the plateau thus marks the transition between the coasting and the self-similar motion phases.
Primary author
Asaf Pe'er
(Bar Ilan University)
