Published October 10, 2010 | Version v1
Journal article

THE HIGH ENERGY BUDGET ALLOCATIONS IN SHOCKS AND GAMMA RAY BURSTS

  • 1. Physics Department, Ben-Gurion University, Be'er-Sheva 84105 (Israel)
  • 2. Osservatorio astronomico di Roma, v. Frascati 33, 00040 Monte Porzio Catone (Italy)
  • 3. Institut fuer Physik und Astronomie, Universitaet Potsdam, 14476 Potsdam-Golm (Germany)

Description

The statistical distribution of energies among particles responsible for long gamma-ray burst (GRB) emission is analyzed in light of recent results of the Fermi Observatory. The all-sky flux, Fγ, recorded by the Gamma-Ray Burst Monitor (GBM) is shown, despite its larger energy range, to be not significantly larger than that reported by the Burst and Transient Explorer, suggesting a relatively small flux in the 3-30 MeV energy range. The present-day energy input rate in γ-rays recorded by the GBM from long GRBs is found, assuming star formation rates in the literature, to be W-dot(0)=0.5 FγH/c=5x1042erg Mpc-3 yr-1. The Large Area Telescope fluence, when observed, is about 5%-10% per decade of the total, in good agreement with the predictions of saturated, nonlinear shock acceleration. The high-energy component of long GRBs, as measured by Fermi, is found to contain only ∼10-2.5 of the energy needed to produce ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) above 4 EeV, assuming the latter to be extragalactic, when various numerical factors are carefully included, if the cosmic-ray source spectrum has a spectral index of -2. The observed γ-ray fraction of the required UHECR energy is even smaller if the source spectrum is softer than E -2. The AMANDA II limits rule out such a GRB origin for UHECRs if much more than 10-2 of the cosmic-ray energy goes into neutrinos that are within, and simultaneous with, the γ-ray beam. It is suggested that 'orphan' neutrinos out of the γ-ray beam might be identifiable via orphan afterglow or other wide angle signatures of GRBs in lieu of coincidence with prompt γ-rays, and it is recommended that feasible single neutrino trigger criteria be established to search for such coincidences.

Availability note (English)

Available from http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/722/1/543

Additional details

Identifiers

Publishing Information

Journal Title
Astrophysical Journal
Journal Volume
722
Journal Issue
1
Journal Page Range
p. 543-549
ISSN
0004-637X
CODEN
ASJOAB