Photospheric Prompt Emission From Long Gamma Ray Burst Simulations. II. Spectropolarimetry

or observed GRB characteristics in the gamma and X-ray energy bands. One energy range that has not been fully explored for the purpose of prompt emission model comparison is that of the optical band, especially with regard to polarization. Here, we use an improved Monte Carlo radiation transfer code to calculate the expected photospheric optical and gamma-ray polarization signatures (Π opt and Π γ , respectively) from a set of two relativistic hydrodynamic long GRB simulations, which emulate a constant and variable jet. We find that time-resolved Π opt can be large (∼75%) while time-integrated Π opt can be smaller due to integration over the asymmetries in the GRB jet where optical photons originate; Π γ follows a similar evolution as Π opt with smaller polarization degrees. We also show that Π opt and Π γ agree well with observations in each energy range. Additionally, we make predictions for the expected polarization of GRBs based on their location within the Yonetoku relationship. While improvements can be made to our analyses and predictions, they exhibit the insight that global radiative transfer simulations of GRB jets can provide with respect to current and future observations.