GRB 170519A: Thermal Radiation in an X-ray Flare and Decaying Magnetic Fields for the Early-Time Afterglow

Abstract

GRB 170519A was discovered by \emph{Swift}/BAT, and then observed by \emph{Swift}/XRT, \emph{Swift}/UVOT, and ground-based telescopes. We report Lick/KAIT observations of GRB 170519A, and make temporal analysis and spectral joint fits of its multiwavelength light curves. The observations present a relatively complete afterglow structure, including two X-ray flares (Flares I and II), optical onset (Slice 1), normal decay (Slices 2 and 3), and a possible jet break. The spectrum of the bright X-ray flare (Flare II) indicates that a thermal component exists at $t = 190$--240~s. \textbf{The blackbody emits in the photospheric radius $R_{\rm ph}\sim 10^{11}$ cm,} and its temperature ($kT$) decreases with time from \textbf{1.08 to 0.37 keV, its Lorentz factor of blackbody ($\Gamma_{\rm BB}$) decreases with time from 67.71 to 46.70. The luminosity of the blackbody ($L_{\rm BB}$), $kT$ and $\Gamma_{\rm BB}$ follow the relations $\bf L_{\rm BB} \propto kT^{2.49\pm 0.03}$ and $\Gamma_{\rm BB}\propto L_{\rm BB}^{0.27}$ (estimated from \cite{fan2012}).} In the optical light curves, there is an onset bump in the early-time afterglow, rising with an index $\alpha_{O,1} \approx -0.43$ and peaking $\sim1174.9$ s since the BAT trigger. The bump then decays with $\bf \alpha_{O,2} \approx 0.88$ in the normal decay phase, and the X-ray flux decays with a similar index of $\bf \alpha_{X,1} \approx 0.95$. There is no obvious spectral evolution in the normal decay phases, with photon index $\hat{\Gamma} = 1.86$ and 1.92 in Slices 2 and 3, respectively. We find that the multiwavelength light curves of the GRB 170519A afterglow can be well fitted by an external shock with time-dependent $\epsilon_B$. In the early afterglow, the value of $\epsilon_B$ decays rapidly from $\bf 4.29\times10^{-2}$ to $\bf 8.23\times10^{-3}$.