Work

Inverse Compton X‐Ray Flare from Gamma‐Ray Burst Reverse Shock

Year: 2007

Type: article

Abstract: We study synchrotron self-inverse Compton radiation from a reverse shock fireball. If the inverse Compton process dominates the cooling of shocked electrons, an X-ray flare produced by the first-order Compton scattering would emerge in the very early afterglow phase, with the bulk of the shock energy radiated in the second-order scattering component at 10-100 MeV. The dominance of inverse Compton cooling leads to the lack of prompt optical flashes. We show that for plausible parameters this scattering process can produce an X-ray flare with a relative amplitude change of a factor of several. Flares with a larger amplitude and multiple X-ray flares in a single event are likely to be produced by another mechanism (e.g., internal shocks).

Source: The Astrophysical Journal

DOI: 10.1086/510198

Authors: S. Kobayashi, B. Zhang, P. Meszaros, D. Burrows

Institutions: Pennsylvania State University, Liverpool John Moores University, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language: English

Topic: Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae

Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania State University

Awards: MULTI-WAVELENGTH STUDY OF GAMMA-RAY BURSTS & THEIR AFTERGLOWS, Center for Gravitational Wave Physics