GRB 140423A: A Case of Stellar Wind to Interstellar Medium Transition in the Afterglow

Abstract

We present very early ground-based optical follow-up observations of gamma-ray burst (GRB) 140423A, which was discovered by the Swift/Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) and by the Fermi/Gamma-Ray Burst Monitor. Its broadband afterglow was monitored by the Swift/X-Ray Telescope and ground-based optical telescopes from T 0 + 70.96 s to 4.8 days after the Swift/BAT trigger. This is one more case of a prompt optical emission observation. The temporal and spectral joint fits of the multiwavelength light curves of GRB 140423A reveal that achromatic behavior is consistent with the external shock model, including a transition from a stellar wind to the interstellar medium (ISM) and energy injection. In terms of the optical light curves, there is an onset bump in the early afterglow with a rising index (peaking at s). It then decays with a steep index , and shows a steeper to flatter “transition” with at around T 0 + 5000 s. The observed X-ray afterglow reflects achromatic behavior, as does the optical light curve. There is no obvious evolution of the spectral energy distribution between the X-ray and optical afterglows, with an average value of the photon index . This “transition” is consistent with an external shock model having the circumburst medium transition from a wind to the ISM, by introducing a long-lasting energy injection with a Lorentz factor stratification of the ejecta. The best parameters from Monte Carlo Markov Chain fitting are erg, , , , , cm, , , , , and .