Diversity of multiwavelength emission bumps in the GRB 100219A afterglow

¹ Space Science DivisionKorea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, 776, Daedeokdae-ro, Yuseong-gu, 305-348 Daejeon, Republic of Korea
e-mail: jirongmao@mail.ynao.ac.cn
² Yunnan Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650011 Yunnan Province, PR China
³ Key Laboratory for the Structure and Evolution of Celestial Objects, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650011 Yunnan Province, PR China
⁴ INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera, via Bianchi 46, 23807 Merate (LC), Italy
⁵ Dark Cosmology Centre, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Juliane Maries Vej 30, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
⁶ Centre for Astrophysics and Cosmology, Science Institute, University of Iceland, Dunhagi 5, 107 Reykjavik, Iceland

Received: 27 July 2011
Accepted: 6 November 2011

Abstract

Context. Multi-wavelength observations of gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglows provide important information about the activity of their central engines and their environments. In particular, the short timescale variability, such as bumps and/or rebrightening features visible in the multi-wavelength light curves, is still poorly understood.

Aims. We analyze the multi-wavelength observations of the GRB 100219A afterglow at redshift 4.7. In particular, we attempt to identify the physical origin of the late achromatic flares/bumps detected in the X-ray and optical bands.

Methods. We present ground-based optical photometric data and Swift X-ray observations on GRB 100219A. We analyzed the temporal behavior of the X-ray and optical light curves, as well as the X-ray spectra.

Results. The early flares in the X-ray and optical light curves peak simultaneously at about 1000 s after the burst trigger, while late achromatic bumps in the X-ray and optical bands appear at about 2 × 10⁴ s after the burst trigger. These are uncommon features in the afterglow phenomenology. Considering the temporal and spectral properties, we argue that both optical and X-ray emissions come from the same mechanism. The late flares/bumps may be produced by late internal shocks from long-lasting activity of the central engine. An off-axis origin for a structured jet model is also discussed to interpret the bump shapes. The early optical bump can be interpreted as the afterglow onset, while the early X-ray flare could be caused by the internal activity. GRB 100219A exploded in a dense environment as revealed by the strong attenuation of X-ray emission and the optical-to-X-ray spectral energy distribution.