Gamma-Ray Burst Precursors as the Remnant of the Thermal Radiation Initially Trapped in the Fireball

In the standard fireball model of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), the fireball starts with an optically thick phase. As it expands, the fireball becomes optically thin at some stage. The thermal radiation trapped in the originally opaque fireball then leaks out, producing a transient event. The appearance of the event is investigated in the framework of a homogeneous, spherically symmetric, and freely expanding fireball. We find that, generally, the event has a time-duration shorter than that of the main burst, which is presumably produced by the internal shock when the fireball is optically thin. In addition, the event is separated from the main burst by a quiescent time-interval, and is weaker than the main burst at least in a high energy band. Hence, the event corresponds to a precursor of a GRB. The precursor event predicted by our model has a simple and FRED (Fast Rise and Exponential Decay) shape lightcurve, and a quasi-thermal spectrum. Typically, the characteristic photon energy of the precursor is in the X-ray band. However, if the distortion of the blackbody spectrum by electron scattering is considered, the inferred photon energy could be in the gamma-ray band. Observational aspects of the GRB precursors derived from our model are discussed.