2024RNAAS...8...87B

We present a preliminary analysis of optical photometric and polarimetric observations of GRB 230818A obtained with the Liverpool Telescope starting 3.2 minutes after the alert. The optical photometry suggests a reverse shock-dominated afterglow, transitioning to forward shock at around 15 minutes. The polarization shows a low degree (upper limit 6%) early in the light curve. This is in contrast to the expected result since this regime should be dominated by the reverse shock wave that, in turn, should present a higher degree of polarization.