Temporal Analysis of GRB Precursors in the Third Swift-BAT Catalog

We select 52 long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) that have precursor activity in the third Swift-BAT catalog. Each episode shown in both the precursors and the main bursts is fitted by the Norris function. We systematically analyze the temporal properties for both the precursors and the main bursts. We do not find any significant difference between the temporal profile of the precursor and that of the main burst. The photon count of the precursor is related to that of the main burst. It is indicated that the precursor and the main burst might have the same physical origin, as the precursor and the main burst follow the same tau ( p )-omega relation. However, we do not find the explicit relation between the energy release of the precursor and the quiescent time. Some theoretical models, such as the fallback collapsar scenario and the jet-cocoon scenario, may be helpful to explain the GRB-precursor phenomena.

Automated summary

The researchers selected 52 long gamma-ray bursts with precursor activity for systematic analysis and found no significant difference in the temporal properties between the precursors and the main bursts, indicating that they might have the same physical origin.