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Gamma-Ray Bursts pp 331–384Cite as

Early afterglows: the Swift revolution

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Abstract

In Chapter 4 we presented the discovery and characterization of GRB early afterglows by Swift. As we have seen, this was a major breakthrough, which contributed to a better knowledge of GRBs. In particular, these observations contributed to a better appreciation of the connection between the GRB prompt emission and the afterglow. Swift has brought various surprises: the complex behavior of the early X-ray afterglow (Nousek et al. 2006, O’Brien et al. 2006), the frequent faintness of the early optical afterglow (Roming et al. 2006), and a general lack of synchronism of X-ray breaks and optical breaks challenging the jet break interpretation (e.g. Panaitescu et al. 2006a, Panaitescu 2007a, b).

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(2009). Early afterglows: the Swift revolution. In: Gamma-Ray Bursts. Springer Praxis Books. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-39088-6_7

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