Gamma-ray burst luminosity relations: Two-dimensional versus three-dimensional correlations

Abstract

The large scatters of luminosity relations of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have been one of the most important reasons that prevent the extensive applications of GRBs in cosmology. In this paper, we extend the two-dimensional (2D) luminosity relations with τlag, V, E peak, and τRT as the luminosity indicators to three dimensions (3D) using the same set of luminosity indicators to explore the possibility of decreasing the intrinsic scatters. We find that, for the 3D luminosity relations between the luminosity and an energy scale (E peak) and a timescale (τlag or τRT), their intrinsic scatters are considerably smaller than those of corresponding 2D luminosity relations. Enlightened by the result and the definition of the luminosity (energy released in units of time), we discussed possible reasons behind this result, which may give us helpful suggestions on seeking more precise luminosity relations for GRBs in the future. © 2009. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.