In theory, burst activity of the magnetar can lead to the formation of fireballs trapped by the magnetic field and corotating with the star. However, smoking-gun observational evidence of the fireball is elusive. We envisage that the fireball emission should occasionally be eclipsed by the magnetar, especially when the burst duration is comparable to the magnetar's spin period. In this work, we first discover a peculiar type of burst whose light curve has a plateau-like feature among the long bursts of the magnetar SGR J1935+2154 detected by GECAM and Fermi/Gamma-ray Burst Monitor. Then, based on these bursts, we identified four burst candidates with eclipse-like characteristics. By fitting their light curves with the eclipse fireball model, the viewing angle of the magnetar relative to its spin axis is estimated to be 17 degrees +/- 10 degrees, and the distances from the fireballs to the magnetar are found to be more than 5 times the magnetar's radius, indicating that the fireballs are suspended in the magnetosphere rather than adhering to the magnetar surface. Furthermore, we find that this configuration is well consistent with the implication of the cyclotron resonance scattering feature we found in their spectra. Our results suggest that some intermediate X-ray bursts may originate from magnetic reconnection within the magnetosphere rather than the starquake.

Traditional astronomical censuses in the late-time Universe can only account for a fraction of the baryonic matter budget. Hydrodynamical simulations predict that the missing baryons reside in the vast filamentary structures of the cosmic web as a highly diffuse, warm-hot intergalactic medium (WHIM). Observing the WHIM directly has remained a long-standing challenge due to its typical temperature. In this study, we report the first detection of spatial cross-correlations between the dispersion measures (DMs) of fast radio bursts (FRBs) from the second CHIME/FRB catalog and the thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (tSZ) Compton-y map from the Planck satellite. By masking virialized galaxy clusters to isolate the diffuse signal, we find a positive correlation with a probability >99.77% between FRBs and tSZ maps. Our joint parameter inference constrains the fraction of cosmic baryons in the WHIM to be f_ WHIM=0.48 with a 68% confidence interval of 0.27<f_ WHIM<0.61, anchored at a mean WHIM temperature of 2.4 × 10^6 K. More rigorous masking strategies confirm the signal originates from the WHIM instead of galaxy clusters. Our result demonstrates that the missing baryons are residing in the diffuse gas within the cosmic web, closing the cosmic baryon budget in the local Universe.

Approximately (20-50)% of the gamma-ray burst (GRB) X-ray afterglows exhibit the shallow decay features. Two popular energy-injection models had been proposed to interpret such observational phenomenons, the relativistic wind bubble (RWB) model with a Poynting-flux injection and the structured ejecta (SE) model with a dynamical energy injection. Polarization predictions of the two models had been investigated and can be used as a test of the two models. However, the impacts of the parameters on the model predictions were not studied and the comparisons with the detection ability of the forthcoming mission, enhanced X-ray Timing and Polarimetry (eXTP), had not been discussed. We considered the above issues and found that influences of the model parameters on the predicted polarizations of the two models are very limited. To perform a feasible polarization detection during the plateau phase, the priority ToO response is required. The detection probability of the GRB plateau phase is about 1/3 for one pointing under the priority ToO. The polarization detection probability would depend on the ratio between the Poynting-flux injection to the dynamical energy injection, which is unclear currently. The predicted flux density and polarization degree (PD) of the RWB model could be well above the threshold flux and minimal detectable polarization degree of the polarimetry focusing array (PFA) on board eXTP, while the predicted PDs of the SE model would be difficult to be detected by eXTP/PFA. Therefore, a detection of a significant polarization signal during the GRB plateau phase would prefer the RWB model and the injected energy would be in the form of the Poynting flux, while a non detection of the polarized signal would indicate a dynamical energy injection of the SE model.

As one of the key ground-based facilities of the Chinese-French SVOM mission, the main scientific objectives of the Ground-based Wide Angle Camera array (GWAC) are to detect prompt optical emission of gamma-ray bursts or other short duration astronomical transients on a second-scale temporal resolution. GWAC is located at Xinglong observatory, China, and consists of 10 mounts and 40 cameras, providing a joint field of view of about 3600 square degrees.The detection ability is 16 magnitude in 10 seconds of exposure time in the visual band under the condition of the new moon phase. Here, we give an overview of GWAC and introduce the science motivation of the project, as well as the performance of the hardware and the software. The observation strategies and the data processing are briefly presented. The early sciences in the last 5 years since the first light are summarized.

We present multiwavelength afterglow fitting results for three events that exhibit late afterglow rebrightening behavior: EP240414a ( z = 0.401), GRB 240529A ( z = 2.695), and GRB 240218A ( z = 6.782), which span a broad range of redshifts, from the local to the high-redshift Universe. We prove that the peculiar afterglow light curves of the three bursts can be well fitted by structured jets propagated in the free-to-shocked-stellar-wind environment of stellar-wind-blown bubbles. This scenario offers a self-consistent explanation for the observed subclass of afterglows that exhibit rebrightening that is characterized by steep rises and rapid decays. It also provides a unified solution for such events and offers pathways for studying both the jet generation mechanism and the propagation processes of jets through the envelope of the progenitor. This study reveals that the structured jets produced by such events exhibit a narrow jet core and a steep angle-dependent energy decay index, suggesting highly magnetized jets. The derived transition radii from free stellar winds to shocked stellar winds for all three events are smaller than 0.5 pc, with statistical analysis of similar events indicating a median value of 0.1 pc, which conflicts with numerical simulation results. We anticipate that future observations by the Einstein Probe and SVOM missions will enhance the understanding of analogous events and further reveal information about progenitors and their circum-environments.

The gravitational wave (GW) event S250206dm, as the first well-localized neutron star (NS) merger candidate potentially located in the mass gap, presented a unique opportunity to probe the electromagnetic signatures from such a system. Here we report a deep, multiband search with the new 2.5 m Wide Field Survey Telescope (WFST), covering similar to 64% of the localization region up to a 5 sigma limiting magnitude of 23 mag. In total, 12 potential candidates have been identified, but none of them are likely related to S250206dm. This nondetection provides the most stringent constraint to date on any associated kilonova. Crucially, an AT 2017gfo-like event at 269 Mpc can be excluded only by WFST observations. Based on ejecta mass limits, a NS-black hole with a large mass ratio (Q greater than or similar to 3.2) is disfavored. This optically derived constraint on the mass ratio reaches, for the first time, a precision comparable to that inferred from the GW signal. This work presents the best observation of this type of event until now, and demonstrates the power of rapid, deep follow-up observations to constrain the properties of compact binary progenitors, offering key insights into the constituents of the mass gap.

Identifying kilonovae associated with binary neutron star mergers is often complicated by the presence of a dominant synchrotron afterglow. In this work, we evaluate the performance of the Wide-Field Survey Telescope (WFST) in identifying kilonova signals in composite afterglow-kilonova transients. Using a numerical framework based on the Fisher information matrix, we simulate 10,000 realizations for each of two scenarios: an AT2017gfo-based template model and a physically sampled population that accounts for kilonova diversity. Our results indicate that kilonova identification is primarily limited by source distance. In both scenarios, the identification efficiency is largely insensitive to variations in afterglow microphysical parameters and exceeds 80% at distances within approximately 600 Mpc for AT2017gfo-like events. Under our adopted assumptions, we estimate that WFST could identify approximately 1–16 kilonovae per year. Furthermore, we find that the discriminating power of color-based filters rapidly saturates, reaching a stable plateau by the second night after the merger. We therefore propose a staged observing strategy that prioritizes high-cadence g and r-band monitoring during the first night and incorporates the z band from the second night onward. This strategy improves the identification precision by exploiting the increasingly prominent red excess produced by the kilonova. Our results provide a physical basis for optimizing WFST observing resources to efficiently detect and characterize kilonovae in the multimessenger era.

Fast X-ray transients (FXTs) are bright X-ray flashes with durations ranging from minutes to hours, whose physical origins remain uncertain. Observational evidence suggests that at least a subset of FXTs are physically associated with gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). Within this context, we explore a scenario in which FXTs originate from magnetar central engines-a model also proposed for certain GRBs. Specifically, we consider an ultrarelativistic electron-positron (e+e-) pair wind, driven by a rapidly rotating and highly magnetized neutron star, which interacts with circumburst medium and produces a reverse shock (RS) propagating into the e+e- wind. We apply this model to four FXTs-EP240801a/XRF 240801B, EP241113a, EP250704a/GRB 250704B, and EP250827a-and use Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods to constrain the model parameters. Our results suggest that the plateau or rebrightening features observed at similar to 104 s in the afterglows of these events can be interpreted as emission from the RS in the magnetar wind or as the combined contribution of both forward and RS emission.

Massive stars die as core-collapse supernovae, whose optical light emerges days after the implosion. Theory predicts that the initial collapse-driven shock, upon breaking through the star and dense circumstellar medium, emits a brief thermal flash of soft X-rays and ultraviolet. Yet these elusive first signals have remained largely undetected, owing to limited wide-field soft X-ray monitoring. Here we report the discovery of a soft X-ray flash, EP260321a, followed days later by a broad-lined supernova from an envelope-stripped progenitor. Its X-ray spectrum, best modeled with blackbody, establishes it as the long-sought archetypal shock breakout. The burst's duration and energetics place the breakout at a radius of 300 solar radii, tracing a dense surrounding shell and revealing abrupt mass ejection within the final month before collapse.

Long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) frequently exhibit complex prompt emission structures with multiple temporally distinct episodes, such as a main emission (ME) phase followed by a weak extended emission (EE) tail. Whether these subcomponents from a common physical origin with similar classification properties, or instead represent fundamentally different emission mechanisms within a single event, remains an open question. Here, we present a systematic, pulse-resolved analysis of 22 Swift/BAT long-duration GRBs, each exhibiting a well-separated, bright ME (G_1) followed by a fainter EE (G_2) after a background-consistent quiescent gap. For each component, we independently measure standard classification diagnostics, including duration (T_90), spectral hardness ratio (HR), minimum variability timescale (MVT), and spectral lag. We then compare these properties between the ME and EE within individual bursts. We find that the EE is systematically softer (lower HR in 19 of 22 events), smoother (longer MVT in 17 of 22 events), and more diverse in spectral lag than the ME. However, both components still occupy the long-GRB track in the traditional duration-hardness and duration-MVT planes, indicating a common Type II (collapsar) origin. These results suggest that the EE in long GRBs represents a physically distinct regime of the central engine, characterized by a lower luminosity, longer emission timescales, and evolved spectral properties, rather than a simple continuation of the main burst. This picture is consistent with late-time fallback accretion onto a black hole or proto-magnetar spin-down.

The polarization signatures of Gamma-ray Burst (GRB) afterglows serve as a powerful diagnostic tool for studying their environments and jet physics. This work systematically investigates the X-ray (2–8 keV) polarization properties of standard GRB afterglows and assesses their detectability with the Polarimetry Focusing Array aboard the enhanced X-ray Timing and Polarimetry (eXTP) satellite. A Morris global sensitivity analysis is first conducted to identify the dominant parameters, which are then assigned observationally motivated probability distributions. In particular, the isotropic energy, half-opening angle, and initial Lorentz factor are sampled jointly via a Gaussian copula to reproduce the empirical Ghirlanda and Liang correlations. Monte Carlo simulations of 10^3 afterglows are performed and validated against the observed 10 keV flux distributions of a selected Fermi–Swift sample (K–S p = 0.29 at 10^3 s and p = 0.18 at 10^4 s). The simulations yield an overall polarization event rate of ≲ 1.5% for standard GRB X-ray afterglows with eXTP/PFA, reflecting the intrinsically low polarization produced by a random magnetic field confined to the shock plane. The optimal detection window occurs near the jet break at late times, when the PD peaks. For exceptionally luminous events such as GRB 221009A, however, the PD remains above the MDP over the full interval 10^3–10^6 s, demonstrating that eXTP/PFA can capture nearly the entire polarization evolution for such rare, bright bursts.

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are intense, short-duration radio transients of mysterious origin. They have been detected across a wide range of frequencies from 110 MHz to 8 GHz. Their spectral properties, remaining poorly understood, are essential for understanding the intrinsic radiation mechanism and propagation effects. Here, we report the discovery of a periodic modulation in the central emission frequency of FRB 20240114A, based on more than one thousand bursts collected by an ultra-wideband receiving system. The burst central frequencies reveals a significant modulation with a period of ∼ 112 days. The statistical significance of this detected periodicity exceeds 6σ for both the Lomb-Scargle and phase-folding methods. Within a single period, the central emission frequency exhibits a systematic drift from lower to higher values. We evaluate several physical mechanisms for this unique spectral evolution. The free-free absorption together with cyclotron resonant absorption in a binary system or free precession models could potentially explain such behavior. The discovery of this periodic frequency modulation unveils a new layer of complexity in the underlying radiation mechanism and propagation effect of FRBs.

The polarization angle (PA) of pulsars and fast radio bursts (FRBs) provides a useful diagnostic of the magnetic fields in their emission regions and is therefore crucial for understanding their radiation and origins. Within a general geometric framework for polarized emission from a rotating neutron star, we suggest a possible anti-correlation between the degree of linear polarization Π_L and dPA/dt, the time derivative of the PA, as a common feature of pulsars and FRBs. The depolarization arises from the incoherent superposition of radiation with different polarization directions within the observable part of the emission region, and is detectable only when the PA swing is steep enough. We test this conjecture using a sample of radio pulsars and find possible evidence for the expected anti-correlation in a subset of pulsars. Whether this relation holds in FRBs remains uncertain due to limited observational data. Identification of this feature would not only provide insights into the rotating magnetospheric origin of FRBs, but also place constraints on the spin periods and geometric parameters of the neutron stars that power these mysterious bursts.

The recent detection of GRB 250702B, the longest gamma-ray burst observed to date with prompt emission lasting $\sim 2.5\times 10^4$ seconds, challenges the conventional collapsar model. Its remarkable features--including an extraordinary X-ray flare at $\sim 1.3$ days post-detection, a late-time transition from steep to shallow decay in the X-ray afterglow, and hard spectra extending from keV to MeV energies--point to a novel progenitor. Here we show that these multiwavelength signatures can be consistently explained by a relativistic jet powered by successive partial tidal disruptions of a white dwarf (WD) by an intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH). By modeling the time-dependent accretion rate from repeated partial disruptions and the resulting jet evolution, we show that the external forward and reverse shocks account for the long-term X-ray, near-infrared, and radio afterglow, whereas the luminous X-ray flare originates from internal energy dissipation caused by collisions between fast and slow relativistic ejecta associated with the final complete disruption. Our findings establish IMBH-WD tidal disruption events as a viable engine for ultra-long GRBs.

The Chinese Space Station Survey Telescope (CSST) is an upcoming Stage-IV sky survey telescope, distinguished by its large field of view (FoV), high image quality, and multi-band observation capabilities. It can simultaneously conduct precise measurements of the Universe by performing multi-color photometric imaging and slitless spectroscopic surveys. The CSST is equipped with five scientific instruments, i.e., Multi-band Imaging and Slitless Spectroscopy Survey Camera (SC), Multi-Channel Imager (MCI), Integral Field Spectrograph (IFS), Cool Planet Imaging Coronagraph (CPI-C), and THz Spectrometer (TS). Using these instruments, CSST is expected to make significant contributions and discoveries across various astronomical fields, including cosmology, galaxies and active galactic nuclei (AGN), the Milky Way and nearby galaxies, stars, exoplanets, Solar System objects, astrometry, and transients and variable sources. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the CSST instruments, observational capabilities, data products, and scientific potential.

The origin of fast radio bursts (FRBs) has remained a mystery up to now. There are two kinds of process invoking neutron stars as an origin of FRBs, namely inner-driven starquakes and outer-driven collisions with interstellar objects (ISOs). The former origin should exhibit an earthquake-like statistical behaviour, while the latter should show a stochastic process. In this paper, we introduce a new statistical method by making use of the energy structure function of active repeating FRBs and earthquakes. We find that the energy structure function of FRBs exhibits a very different statistical behaviour compared to that of earthquakes. On small time-interval scales, the energy of an earthquake shows a tendency to decay with time interval, and the energy difference of a pair of events increases with time interval. Such a behaviour is not found in FRBs, whose energy function is very similar to that of a stochastic process. Our result shows that repeating FRBs may have an origin process differing from that of earthquakes, i.e. FRBs arise from a series of unrelated events such as collisions of a neutron star with ISOs.

More than 800 fast radio bursts (FRBs) have been observed, including some FRBs with unusual properties. Notably, in 2022, the CHIME/FRB Collaboration reported three FRBs exhibiting subsecond periodic/quasiperiodic structures, although FRB 20191221A has recently been reclassified to originate from a galactic pulsar rather than a genuine FRB. In this paper, we propose a novel scenario to account for this class of FRBs with very short subsecond quasiperiodicity. When a neutron star (NS) follows an elliptical orbit around a stellar-mass black hole or another NS near coalescence, its crust may fracture due to direct tidal force from its companion and magnetic stress from the nonuniform magnetic field within, triggering starquake-induced FRBs. The subsecond period in the FRB is explained by the orbital period. We apply our model to current observations and explain the periodic property in FRB 20210206A and FRB 20210213A from CHIME using the appropriate model parameters. The strong magnetic field required by the fitting results of these two FRBs suggests that their central engine is a magnetar.

Relativistic jets launched from stellar-mass compact objects embedded in the accretion disk of an active galactic nucleus (AGN) can produce nonthermal emission upon successfully breaking out of the disk. In this paper, we present a comprehensive study of the long-term propagation dynamics and broadband nonthermal radiation signatures of such jets in a realistic AGN environment, explicitly modeled as wind outflows. Our modeling reveals two distinct features imprinted by the high-density AGN medium: rapid deceleration of the jet ejecta, accompanied by a prompt downshift of the emission spectral energy distribution, and persistently strong synchrotron self-absorption, giving rise to a prominent quasi-thermal hump in the emission spectrum. Crucially, both gamma-ray burst jets and jets powered by accreting binary black hole merger remnants can produce detectable multiwavelength emissions that substantially outshine the AGN background. Moreover, the short time delays between gravitational-wave triggers and these electromagnetic counterparts—typically less than 10 ^6 s—greatly facilitate secure multimessenger associations. Besides, our findings highlight that the interaction-induced radiation from AGN-embedded jet systems offers a powerful diagnostic probe of the spatial distribution, density structure, and physical properties of the AGN medium.