A Reverse-Shock Model for the Early Afterglow of GRB 050525A

Abstract

The prompt localization of gamma-ray burst (GRB) 050525A by {\em Swift} allowed the rapid follow-up of the afterglow. The observations revealed that the optical afterglow had a major rebrightening starting at $\sim 0.01$ days and ending at $\sim 0.03$ days, which was followed by an initial power-law decay. Here we show that this early emission feature can be interpreted as the reverse shock emission superposed by the forward shock emission in an interstellar medium environment. By fitting the observed data, we further constrain some parameters of the standard fireball-shock model: the initial Lorentz factor of the ejecta $\gamma_0>120$, the magnetic energy fraction $\epsilon_B>4\times10^{-6}$, and the medium density $n<2 {\rm cm^{-3}}$. These limits are consistent with those from the other very-early optical afterglows observed so far. In principle, a wind environment for GRB 050525A is disfavored.