BeppoSAX confirmation of beamed afterglow emission from GRB 990510

We compare the prompt X-ray (2-10 keV) emission of GRB 990510 measured by the BeppoSAX Wide Field Cameras (WFC) during the burst to the X-ray afterglow detected by the BeppoSAX Narrow Field Instruments. A single power-law model for the afterglow, f(t) proportional to t(-1.42), is ruled out. Provided the initial time of the afterglow is assumed to coincide with the last short pulse in the X-ray prompt event (i.e., 72 s after the GRB trigger time), the X-ray emission from similar to 80 to 10(5) s after the GRB trigger is well described by an external shock expanding in a decelerating jet, in which synchrotron radiation takes place. This model, represented by a double power-law of indices alpha (1) similar or equal to 1 and alpha (2) similar or equal to 2 before and after a jet collimation break time of similar to0.5 days after GRB, respectively, is consistent with the second and third upper limits measured by the WFC, but not with the first. This may be related to inhomogeneities in the circumburst medium. Our finding indicates that the temporal behavior of the GRB 990510 X-ray afterglow is similar to that at optical wavelengths, and thus strengthens the interpretation of the multiwavelength afterglow as synchrotron emission in a jet with decreasing Lorentz factor. GRB 990510 is thus the only burst in which evidence of a spreading jet has been found in X-rays.