Multiwavelength Analysis of GRB 250101A: From Gamma-ray Prompt Emission to Optical Afterglow

Authors: Guowang Du, Yehao Cheng, Yuan-Pei Yang, Jun Yang, Jinghua Zhang, Dan Zhu, Yu Pan, Yuan Fang, Xingzhu Zou, Brajesh Kumar, Helong Guo, Xufeng Zhu, Yangwei Zhang, Fanchuan Kong, Chenxi Shang, Xinlei Chen, Xiangkun Liu, Xiaowei Liu

arXiv: 2503.15805v1 - DOI (astro-ph.HE)
20 pages, 9 figures, 3 tables. Comments welcome!
License: CC BY 4.0

Abstract: Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are the most luminous transients in the universe. The interaction between the relativistic jet and the circumburst medium produces a multiwavelength afterglow through synchrotron radiation. In this work, we present multiwavelength properties of GRB~250101A based on the observations of Swift, Fermi, and Multi-channel Photometric Survey Telescope (Mephisto). The spectral analysis of Swift/BAT and Fermi/GBM reveals a soft prompt spectrum with a low-energy photon index of $-1.18$ and a peak energy of 33 keV, and the isotropic energy is $1.4\times10^{52}~{\rm erg}$. The prompt emission of GRB 250101A aligns with Type II GRBs in the Amati relation. Meanwhile, our analysis indicates that GRB 250101A is an X-ray-rich or X-ray-dominated GRB, with intrinsic properties suggesting that it is relatively softer than most classical GRBs. Optical observation with Mephisto, beginning 197 s post-trigger, shows a single power-law decay in $uvgriz$ bands, with $F_{\nu,\mathrm{obs}} \propto t^{-0.76} \nu^{-1.20}$. The observed spectral index significantly exceeds theoretical predictions under standard afterglow models, suggesting a color excess of $\sim0.21$ mag. However, combining X-ray and optical afterglow, we find that GRB 250101A is more likely a ``normal burst'' rather than an ``optical-dark burst'', and the dust extinction effect plays an important role in the optical blue bands. Furthermore, there is a structural change at $T_0+2924$ s in the optical light curve, indicating a density drop of $\sim50$ \% in the interstellar medium at a distance of $\sim0.05~{\rm pc}$.

Submitted to arXiv on 20 Mar. 2025

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