Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2007-08-13
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
13 pages, 3 figures, MNRAS in press; a short intuitive estimation is added before detailed calculations; references updated
Scientific paper
10.1111/j.1365-2966.2007.12775.x
We investigate a scenario of photons scattering by electrons within a relativistic outflow. The outflow is composed of discrete shells with different speeds. One shell emits radiation for a short duration. Some of this radiation is scattered by the shell(s) behind. We calculate in a simple two-shell model the observed scattered flux density as a function of the observed primary flux density, the normalized arrival time delay between the two emission components, the Lorentz factor ratio of the two shells and the scattering shell's optical depth. Thomson scattering in a cold shell and inverse Compton scattering in a hot shell are both considered. The results of our calculations are applied to the Gamma-Ray Bursts and the afterglows. We find that the scattered flux from a cold slower shell is small and likely to be detected only for those bursts with very weak afterglows. A hot scattering shell could give rise to a scattered emission as bright as the X-ray shallow decay component detected in many bursts, on a condition that the isotropically equivalent total energy carried by the hot electrons is large, $\sim 10^{52-56}$ erg. The scattered emission from a faster shell could appear as a late short $\gamma$-ray/MeV flash or become part of the prompt emission depending on the delay of the ejection of the shell.
Duran Rodolfo Barniol
Kumar Pawan
Shen Rong-Feng
No associations
LandOfFree
Scattered Emission from A Relativistic Outflow and Its Application to Gamma-Ray Bursts does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Scattered Emission from A Relativistic Outflow and Its Application to Gamma-Ray Bursts, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Scattered Emission from A Relativistic Outflow and Its Application to Gamma-Ray Bursts will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-23146