2004/01/31 by D. Giannios, H. C. Spruit · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena #Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae #Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20047033
published as Astron.Astrophys.430:1-7,2005 · Section 3 revised, typos corrected, accepted for publication in A&A
arxiv created 2004/10/25 · openalex publication_date 2005/01/01 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
We investigate the production of the gamma-ray spectrum of a Poynting-flux dominated GRB outflow. The very high magnetic field strengths (super-equipartition) in such a flow lead to very efficient synchrotron emission. In contrast with internal shocks, dissipation of magnetic energy by reconnection is gradual and does not produce the spectrum of cooling electrons associated with shock acceleration. We show that a spectrum with a break in the BATSE energy range is produced, instead, if the magnetic dissipation heats a small (~10-4) population of electrons.