Early X-ray/UV Line Signatures of GRB Progenitors and Hypernovae
Abstract
We calculate the X-ray/UV spectral line signatures expected from the interaction of a gamma-ray burst afterglow and a dense pre-burst environment produced by the progenitor. We explore the conditions under which Fe line and edge equivalent widths of $\sim$ 1 keV can arise, and discuss the possibility of gaining information about possible progenitor scenarios using X-ray metal line spectra in the first few days of a burst. A wind or supernova shell around the burst produces an X-ray absorption line spectrum and later emission lines, while a hypernova funnel model produces mainly emission lines. A detectable solar composition wind would require more mass and would produce stronger 0.5-2 keV absorption lines than a metal-enriched supernova remnant. The bound-free Fe edge equivalent widths are stronger and easier to detect than the Fe K-$\alpha$ line in shell models, while the opposite holds for hypernova funnel models.