The dyadosphere of black holes and gamma-ray bursts

Abstract

The "dyadosphere" has been defined (Ruffini, Preparata et al.) as the region outside the horizon of a black hole endowed with an electromagnetic field (abbreviated to EMBH for "electromagnetic black hole") where the electromagnetic field exceeds the critical value, predicted by Heisenberg & Euler for $e^+ e^-$ pair production. In a very short time ($\sim O(\hbar/(mc^2))$), a very large number of pairs is created there. We here give limits on the EMBH parameters leading to a Dyadosphere for $10M_{\odot}$ and $10^5M_{\odot}$ EMBH's, and give as well the pair densities as functions of the radial coordinate. We here assume that the pairs reach thermodynamic equilibrium with a photon gas and estimate the average energy per pair as a function of the EMBH mass. These data give the initial conditions for the analysis of an enormous pair-electromagnetic-pulse or "P.E.M. pulse" which naturally leads to relativistic expansion. Basic energy requirements for gamma ray bursts (GRB), including GRB971214 recently observed at $z=3.4$, can be accounted for by processes occurring in the dyadosphere. In this letter we do not address the problem of forming either the EMBH or the dyadosphere: we establish some inequalities which must be satisfied during their formation process.