Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
1998-12-03
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
10 pages, ApJ Letters, accepted for publication
Scientific paper
10.1086/311845
Quasi-thermal Comptonization in internal shocks formed between relativistic shells can account for the high energy emission of gamma-ray bursts. This is in fact the dominant cooling mechanism if the typical energy of the emitting particles is achieved either through the balance between heating and cooling or as a result of electron-positron pair production. Both processes yield sub or mildly relativistic energies. In this case the synchrotron spectrum is self-absorbed, providing the seed soft photons for the Comptonization process, whose spectrum is flat [F(v) ~ const], ending either in an exponential cutoff or a Wien peak, depending on the scattering optical depth of the emitting particles. Self-consistent particle energy and optical depth are estimated and found in agreement with the observed spectra.
Celotti Annalisa
Ghisellini Gabriele
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