paper

Unsteady Outflow Models for Cosmological Gamma-Ray Bursts

arXiv:astro-ph/9404038 · doi:10.1086/187446

Abstract

The 'event' that triggers a gamma ray burst cannot last for more than a few seconds. This is, however, long compared with the dynamical timescale of a compact stellar-mass object ( seconds). Energy is assumed to be released as an outflow with high mean lorentz factor . But a compact stellar-mass collapse or merger is, realistically, likely to generate a mass (or energy) flux that is unsteady on some timescales in the range - 10 seconds. If fluctuates by a factor of around its mean value, relative motions within the outflowing material will themselves (in the comoving frame) be relativistic, and can give rise to internal shocks. For , the resultant dissipation occurs outside the 'photosphere' and can convert a substantial fraction of the overall outflow energy into non-thermal radiation. This suggests a mechanism for cosmological bursts that demands less extreme assumptions (in respect of -values, freedom from baryonic contamination, etc) than earlier proposals.

7 pages, plain TeX

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