AN OBSERVED CORRELATION BETWEEN THERMAL AND NON-THERMAL EMISSION IN GAMMA-RAY BURSTS

作者：Burgess J Michael^*; Preece Robert D; Ryde Felix; Veres Peter; Meszaros Peter; Connaughton Valerie; Briggs Michael; Pe' er Asaf; Iyyani Shabnam; Goldstein Adam; Axelsson Magnus; Baring Matthew G; Bhat P N; Byrne David; Fitzpatrick Gerard; Foley Suzanne; Kocevski Daniel; Omodei Nicola; Paciesas William S; Pelassa Veronique; Kouveliotou Chryssa; Xiong Shaolin; Yu Hoi Fung; Zhang Binbin; Zhu Sylvia

来源：Astrophysical Journal Letters, 2014, 784(2): L43.

DOI：10.1088/2041-8205/784/2/L43

• gamma-ray burst: general
• radiation mechanisms: non-thermal
• radiation mechanisms: thermal

Recent observations by the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope have confirmed the existence of thermal and non-thermal components in the prompt photon spectra of some gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). Through an analysis of six bright Fermi GRBs, we have discovered a correlation between the observed photospheric and non-thermal gamma-ray emission components of several GRBs using a physical model that has previously been shown to be a good fit to the Fermi data. From the spectral parameters of these fits we find that the characteristic energies, E-p and kT, of these two components are correlated via the relation E-p proportional to T-alpha which varies from GRB to GRB. We present an interpretation in which the value of the index alpha indicates whether the jet is dominated by kinetic or magnetic energy. To date, this jet composition parameter has been assumed in the modeling of GRB outflows rather than derived from the data.

• 出版日期2014-4-1