Observations of X-ray Afterglows

Abstract

Discussion of X-ray studies of the environs of Gamma Ray Burst (GRB) associated Supernovae using the Chandra and XMM X-Ray Observatories, in particular the long term evolution of their X-ray afterglow lightcurves. For SN 1998bw, we have combined all available observations and derived a smooth X-ray light curve spanning -1300 days, assuming that GRB 980425 and SN 1998bw were coincident at 35.6 Mpc. Perform comparison of this X-ray light curve with those of the X-ray afterglows of ordinary GRBs, X-ray Flashes, and ordinary supernovae, and discuss the emerging evidence for at least two classes of lightcurves, perhaps bounding a continuum. By three to ten years, all these phenomena seem to converge on a common X-ray luminosity, possibly indicative of the supernova underlying them all. One possible explanation for the two classes is a (nearly) standard GRB observed at different angles. If this interpretation is correct, X-ray afterglows with intermediate luminosities should eventually be discovered; GRB 03 1203 maybe just such a case.