Time-resolved spectro-polarimetric analysis of extremely bright GRB 230307A: Possible Evidence of evolution from photospheric to synchrotron dominated emission

Abstract

The radiation mechanisms powering Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and their physical processes remain one of the unresolved questions in high-energy astrophysics. Spectro-polarimetric observations of exceptionally bright GRBs provide a powerful diagnostic tool to address these challenges. GRB 230307A, the second-brightest long-duration GRB ever detected, exhibits a rare association with a Kilonova, offering a unique and rare probe into the emission processes of GRBs originating from compact object mergers. We present a comprehensive time-averaged and time-resolved spectro-polarimetric analysis of GRB 230307A using joint observations from the $AstroSat$ Cadmium Zinc Telluride Imager (CZTI), the $Fermi$ Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) and $Konus$-Wind. Spectral analysis reveals a temporal evolution in the low-energy photon index, $\alpha$, transitioning from a hard to a softer state over the burst duration. Time-averaged polarimetric measurements yield a low polarization fraction ($<$ 12.7 %), whereas time-resolved polarization analysis unveils a marked increase in polarization fractions ($>$ 49 %) in the later stages of the emission episode. This spectro-polarimetric evolution suggests a transition in the dominant radiative mechanism: the initial phase, possibly characterized by thermal-dominated photospheric emission (unpolarized or weakly polarized), gives way to a regime dominated by non-thermal synchrotron emission (highly polarized). This transition provides possible evidence for the evolving influence of magnetic fields in shaping the GRB emission process and jet dynamics.