GRB Afterglow Polarimetry: Past, Present and Future

Abstract

Gamma-ray bursts and their afterglows are thought to be produced by an ultrarelativistic jet. One of the most important open questions is the outflow composition: the energy may be carried out from the central source either as kinetic energy (of baryons and/or pairs), or in electromagnetic form (Poynting flux). While the total observable flux may be indistinguishable in both cases, its polarization properties are expected to differ markedly. The later time evolution of afterglow polarization is also a powerful diagnostic of the jet geometry. Again, with subtle and hardly detectable differences in the output flux, we have distinct polarization predictions.