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Relativistic Winds from Compact Gamma-Ray Sources: II. Pair Loading and Radiative Acceleration in Gamma-ray Bursts

Christopher Thompson·Piero Madau
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Abstract

We consider the effects of rapid pair creation by an intense pulse of gamma-rays propagating ahead of a relativistic shock. Side-scattered photons colliding with the main gamma-ray beam amplify the density of scattering charges. The acceleration rate of the pair-loaded medium is calculated, and its limiting bulk Lorentz factor related to the spectrum and compactness of the photon source. One obtains, as a result, a definite prediction for the relative inertia in baryons and pairs. The deceleration of a relativistic shock in the moving medium, and the resulting synchrotron emissivity, are compared with existing calculations for a static medium. The radiative efficiency is increased dramatically by pair loading. When the initial ambient density exceeds a critical value, the scattering depth traversed by the main gamma-ray pulse rises above unity, and the pulse is broadened. These considerations place significant constraints on burst progenitors: a pre-burst mass loss rate exceeding 10^{-5} M_\odot per year is difficult to reconcile with individual pulses narrower than 10 s, unless the radiative efficiency is low. An anisotropic gamma-ray flux (on an angular scale Γ^{-1} or larger) drives a large velocity shear that greatly increases the energy in the seed magnetic field forward of the propagating shock.

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Christopher Thompson, Piero Madau. 2000-02-21. Relativistic Winds from Compact Gamma-Ray Sources: II. Pair Loading and Radiative Acceleration in Gamma-ray Bursts. https://doi.org/10.1086/309100

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