Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are highly variable and exhibit strong spectral evolution. In particular, the emission properties vary from pulse to pulse in multipulse bursts. Here we present a time-resolved Bayesian spectral analysis of a compilation of GRB pulses observed by the Fermi/Gamma-ray Burst Monitor. The pulses are selected to have at least four time bins with a high statistical significance, which ensures that the spectral fits are well determined and spectral correlations can be established. The sample consists of 39 bursts, 117 pulses, and 1228 spectra. We confirm the general trend that pulses become softer over time, with mainly the low-energy power-law index α becoming smaller. A few exceptions to this trend exist, with the hardest pulse occurring at late times. The first pulse in a burst is clearly different from the later pulses; three-fourths of them violate the synchrotron line of death, while around half of them significantly prefer photospheric emission. These fractions decrease for subsequent pulses. We also find that in two-thirds of the pulses, the spectral parameters (α and peak energy) track the light-curve variations. This is a larger fraction compared to what is found in previous samples. In conclusion, emission compatible with the GRB photosphere is typically found close to the trigger time, while the chance of detecting synchrotron emission is greatest at late times. This allows for the coexistence of emission mechanisms at late times.

The spectrum of gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglows can be studied with color indices. Here we present a large comprehensive catalogue of 70 GRBs with multi-wavelength optical transient data on which we perform a systematic study to find the temporal evolution of color indices. We categorize them into two samples based on how well the color indices are evaluated. The Golden sample includes 25 bursts mostly observed by GROND, and the Silver sample includes 45 bursts observed by other telescopes. For the Golden sample, we find that 95\% of the color indices do not vary over time. However, the color indices do vary during short periods in most bursts. The observed variations are consistent with effects of (i) the cooling frequency crossing the studied energy bands in a wind medium (43\%) and in a constant density medium (30\%), (ii) early dust extinction (12\%), (iii) transition from reverse shock to forward shock emission (5\%), or (iv) an emergent supernova emission (10\%). We also study the evolutionary properties of the mean color indices for different emission episodes. We find that 86\% of the color indices in the 70 bursts show constancy between consecutive ones. The color index variations occur mainly during the late GRB-SN bump, the flare and early reversed-shock emission components. We further perform a statistical analysis of various observational properties and model parameters (spectral index β CI o, electron spectral indices p CI, etc.) using color indices. Overall, we conclude that ∼  90\% of colors are constant in time and can be accounted for by the simplest external forward shock model, while the varying color indices call for more detailed modeling.

The central engine of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) is poorly constrained. There exist two main candidates: a fast-rotating black hole and a rapidly spinning magnetar. Furthermore, X-ray plateaus are widely accepted to be the energy injection into the external shock. In this paper, we systematically analyze the Swift/XRT light curves of 101 GRBs having plateau phases and known redshifts (before 2017 May). Since a maximum energy budget (similar to 2 x 10(52) erg) exists for magnetars but not for black holes, this provides a good clue to identifying the type of GRB central engine. We calculate the isotropic kinetic energy E-K,(iso) and the isotropic X-ray energy release E-X,E-iso for individual GRBs. We identify three categories based on how likely a black hole harbors a central engine: Gold (9 out of 101; both E-X,E-iso and E-K,E-iso exceed the energy budget), Silver (69 out of 101; E-X,E-iso less than the limit but E-K,E-iso greater than the limit), and Bronze (23 out of 101; the energies are not above the limit). We then derive and test the black hole parameters with the Blandford-Znajek mechanism, and find that the observations of the black hole candidate (Gold + Silver) samples are consistent with the expectations of the black hole model. Furthermore, we also test the magnetar candidate (Bronze) sample with the magnetar model, and find that the magnetar surface magnetic field (B-p) and initial spin period (P-0) fall into reasonable ranges. Our analysis indicates that if the magnetar wind is isotropic, a magnetar central engine is possible for 20% of the analyzed GRBs. For most GRBs, a black hole is most likely operating.

We analyze the early X-ray flares in the GRB flare-plateau-afterglow (FPA) phase observed by Swift-XRT. The FPA occurs only in one of the seven GRB subclasses: the binary-driven hypernovae (BdHNe). This subclass consists of long GRBs with a carbon-oxygen core and a neutron star (NS) binary companion as progenitors. The hypercritical accretion of the supernova (SN) ejecta onto the NS can lead to the gravitational collapse of the NS into a black hole. Consequently, one can observe a GRB emission with isotropic energy E-iso greater than or similar to 10(52) erg, as well as the associated GeV emission and the FPA phase. Previous work had shown that gamma-ray spikes in the prompt emission occur at similar to 10(15)-10(17) cm with Lorentz Gamma factors Gamma similar to 10(2)-10(3). Using a novel data analysis, we show that the time of occurrence, duration, luminosity, and total energy of the X-ray flares correlate with E-iso. A crucial feature is the observation of thermal emission in the X-ray flares that we show occurs at radii similar to 10(12) cm with Gamma less than or similar to 4. These model-independent observations cannot be explained by the fireball model, which postulates synchrotron and inverse-Compton radiation from a single ultrarelativistic jetted emission extending from the prompt to the late afterglow and GeV emission phases. We show that in BdHNe a collision between the GRB and the SN ejecta occurs at similar or equal to 10(10) cm, reaching transparency at similar to 10(12) cm with Gamma less than or similar to 4. The agreement between the thermal emission observations and these theoretically derived values validates our model and opens the possibility of testing each BdHN episode with the corresponding Lorentz Gamma factor.

Gamma-ray bursts are the largest electromagnetic explosions known to happen in the Universe and are associated with the collapse of stellar progenitors into blackholes. After an energetic prompt emission phase, lasting typically less than a minute and emitted in the gamma-rays, a long-lived afterglow phase starts. During this phase strong emission is observed at longer wavelengths, e.g., in the X-ray and optical bands. This phase can last several weeks and carries important information about the energetics and structure of the burst as well as about  the circumburst medium (CBM) and its density profile. The standard afterglow model includes a single emission component which comes from synchrotron emission in a blast wave moving into the CBM. Additional factors that could give observable features include prolonged energy injection from the central engine, effects of the jet geometry, and viewing angle effects, which thus constitute an extended standard model.

In this thesis, I study the afterglow emission in a global approach by analysing large samples of bursts in search for general trends and characteristics. In paper I, I compare the light curves in the X-rays and in the optical bands in a sample of 87 bursts. I find that 62% are consistent with the standard afterglow model. Among these, only 9 cases have a pure single power law flux decay in all bands, and are therefore fully described by the model within the observed time window. Including the additional factors described above, I find that 91% are consistent with the extended standard model. An interesting finding is that in nearly half of all cases the plateau phase (energy injection phase) changes directly into the jet decay phase.  In paper II, I study the afterglow by analysing the temporal evolution of color indices (CI), defined as the magnitude difference between two filters. They can be used to study the energy spectrum with a good temporal resolution, even when high-resolution spectra are not available. I find that a majority of the CI do not vary with time, which means that the spectral slope does not change, even between different emission episodes. For the other cases, the variation is found to occur during limited periods. We suggest that they are due to the cooling frequency passing over the observed filter bands and, in other cases, due to the emergence of the underlying supernova emission. In paper III, I study the energetics of the GRBs that can be inferred from the afterglow observations. Using this information I analyse the limits it sets on what the central engine can be, if it is a magnetar or a spinning black hole. Assuming that the magnetar energy is emitted isotropically, I find that most bursts are consistent with a BH central engine and only around 20% are consistent with a magnetar central engine. As a consistency check, we derive the rotational energy and the spin period of the blackhole sample and the initial spin period and surface polar cap magnetic field for the magnetar sample and find them to be consistent to the expected values. We find that 4 of 5 of the short burst belong to the magnetar sample which supports the hypothesis that short GRB come from neutron star mergers.

Context. The nearby Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) provides a rare opportunity of a spatially resolved view of an external star-forming galaxy in gamma-rays. The LMC was detected at 0.1-100 GeV as an extended source with CGRO/EGRET and using early observations with the Fermi-LAT. The emission was found to correlate with massive star-forming regions and to be particularly bright towards 30 Doradus. Aims. Studies of the origin and transport of cosmic rays (CRs) in the Milky Way are frequently hampered by line-of-sight confusion and poor distance determination. The LMC offers a complementary way to address these questions by revealing whether and how the gamma-ray emission is connected to specific objects, populations of objects, and structures in the galaxy. Methods. We revisited the gamma-ray emission from the LMC using about 73 months of Fermi-LAT P7REP data in the 0.2-100 GeV range. We developed a complete spatial and spectral model of the LMC emission, for which we tested several approaches: a simple geometrical description, template-fitting, and a physically driven model for CR-induced interstellar emission. Results. In addition to identifying PSR J0540-6919 through its pulsations, we find two hard sources positionally coincident with plerion N 157B and supernova remnant N 132D, which were also detected at TeV energies with H.E.S.S. We detect an additional soft source that is currently unidentified. Extended emission dominates the total flux from the LMC. It consists of an extended component of about the size of the galaxy and additional emission from three to four regions with degree-scale sizes. If it is interpreted as CRs interacting with interstellar gas, the large-scale emission implies a large-scale population of similar to 1-100 GeV CRs with a density of similar to 30% of the local Galactic value. On top of that, the three to four small-scale emission regions would correspond to enhancements of the CR density by factors 2 to 6 or higher, possibly more energetic and younger populations of CRs compared to the large-scale population. An alternative explanation is that this is emission from an unresolved population of at least two dozen objects, such as pulsars and their nebulae or supernova remnants. This small-scale extended emission has a spatial distribution that does not clearly correlate with known components of the LMC, except for a possible relation to cavities and supergiant shells. Conclusions. The Fermi-LAT GeV observations allowed us to detect individual sources in the LMC. Three of the newly discovered sources are associated with rare and extreme objects. The 30 Doradus region is prominent in GeV gamma-rays because PSR J0540-6919 and N 157B are strong emitters. The extended emission from the galaxy has an unexpected spatial distribution, and observations at higher energies and in radio may help to clarify its origin.

Optical rebrightenings in the afterglows of some gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are unexpected within the framework of the simple external shock model. While it has been suggested that the central engines of some GRBs are newly born magnetars, we aim to relate the behaviors of magnetars to the optical rebrightenings. A newly born magnetar will lose its rotational energy in the form of Poynting-flux, which may be converted into a wind of electron-positron pairs through some magnetic dissipation processes. As proposed by Dai, this wind will catch up with the GRB outflow and a long-lasting reverse shock (RS) would form. By applying this scenario to GRB afterglows, we find that the RS propagating back into the electron-positron wind can lead to an observable optical rebrightening and a simultaneous X-ray plateau (or X-ray shallow decay). In our study, we select four GRBs (i.e., GRB 080413B, GRB 090426, GRB 091029, and GRB 100814A), of which the optical afterglows are well observed and show clear rebrightenings. We find that they can be well interpreted. In our scenario, the spin-down timescale of the magnetar should be slightly smaller than the peak time of the rebrightening, which can provide a clue to the characteristics of the magnetar.

We study an extensive sample of 87 gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) for which there are well-sampled and simultaneous optical and X-ray light curves. We extract the cleanest possible signal of the afterglow component. and compare the temporal behaviors of the X-ray light. curve, observed by Swift XRT, and optical data, observed by UVOT and ground-based telescopes for each individual burst. Overall we find that 62% of the GRBs. are consistent with the standard afterglow model. When more advanced modeling is invoked, up to 91% of the bursts in our sample may be consistent with the external-shock model. A large fraction of these bursts are consistent with occurring in a constant interstellar density medium (61%) while only 39% of them occur in a wind-like medium. Only nine cases have afterglow light curves that exactly match the standard fireball model prediction, having a single power-law decay in both energy bands that are observed during their entire duration. In particular, for the bursts with chromatic behavior, additional model assumptions must be made over limited segments of the light curves in order for these bursts to fully agree with the external-shock model. Interestingly, for 54% of the X-ray and 40% of the optical band observations, the end of the shallow decay (t(similar to-0.5)) period coincides with the jet-break (t(similar to-p)) time, causing an abrupt change in decay slope. The fraction of the burst that is consistent with the external-shock model is independent of the observational epochs in the rest frame of GRBs. Moreover, no cases can be explained by the cooling frequency crossing the X-ray or optical band.

The external forward shock models have been the standard paradigm to interpret the broadband afterglow data of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). One prediction of the models is that some afterglow temporal breaks at different energy bands should be achromatic; that is, the break times should be the same in different frequencies. Multiwavelength observations in the Swift era have revealed chromatic afterglow behaviors at least in some GRBs, casting doubts on the external forward shock origin of GRB afterglows. In this paper, using a large sample of GRBs with both X-ray and optical afterglow data, we perform a systematic study to address the question: how bad or good are the external forward shock models? Our sample includes 85 GRBs up to 2014 March with well-monitored X-ray and optical light curves. Based on how well the data abide by the external forward shock models, we categorize them into five grades and three samples. The first two grades (Grade I and II) include 45 of 85 GRBs. They show evidence of, or are consistent with having, an achromatic break. The temporal and spectral behaviors in each afterglow segment are consistent with the predictions (the closure relations) of the forward shock models. These GRBs are included in the Gold sample. The next two grades (Grade III and IV) include 37 of 85 GRBs. They are also consistent with having an achromatic break, even though one or more afterglow segments do not comply with the closure relations. These GRBs are included in the Silver sample. Finally, Grade V (3/85) shows direct evidence of chromatic behaviors, suggesting that the external shock models are inconsistent with the data. These are included in the Bad sample. We further perform statistical analyses of various observational properties (temporal index alpha, spectral index beta, break time t(b)) and model parameters (energy injection index q, electron spectral index p, jet opening angle theta(j), radiative efficiency eta(gamma), and so on) of the GRBs in the Gold sample, and derive constraints on the magnetization parameter epsilon(B) in the forward shock. Overall, we conclude that the simplest external forward shock models can account for the multiwavelength afterglow data of at least half of the GRBs. When more advanced modeling (e.g., long-lasting reverse shock, structured jets, arbitrary circumburst medium density profile) is invoked, up to >90% of the afterglows may be interpreted within the framework of the external shock models.

Re-brightening bumps are frequently observed in gamma-ray burst afterglows. Many scenarios have been proposed to interpret the origin of these bumps, of which a blast wave encountering a density-jump in the circumburst environment has been questioned by recent works. We develop a set of differential equations to calculate the relativistic outflow encountering the density-jump by extending the work of Huang et al. This approach is a semi-analytic method and is very convenient. Our results show that late high-amplitude bumps cannot be produced under common conditions, rather only a short plateau may emerge even when the encounter occurs at an early time (< 10(4) s). In general, our results disfavor the density-jump origin for those observed bumps, which is consistent with the conclusion drawn from full hydrodynamics studies. The bumps thus should be caused by other scenarios.