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    E2 component in subcoulomb breakup of ^{8}B

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    We calculate the angular distribution and total cross section of the ^{7}Be fragment emitted in the break up reaction of ^{8}B on ^{58}Ni and ^{208}Pb targets at the subCoulomb beam energy of 25.8 MeV, within the non-relativistic theory of Coulomb excitation with proper three-body kinematics. The relative contributions of the E1, E2 and M1 multipolarities to the cross sections are determined. The E2 component makes up about 65% and 40% of the ^{7}Be total cross section for the ^{58}Ni and ^{208}Pb targets respectively. We find that the extraction of the astrophysical S-factor, S_{17}(0), for the ^{7}Be(p,\gamma)^8B reaction at solar energies from the measurements of the cross sections of the ^{7}Be fragment in the Coulomb dissociation of ^{8}B at sub-Coulomb energies is still not free from the uncertainties of the E2 component.Comment: Revised version (correcting earlier errors) submitted to Phys. Letts.

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

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    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 \Gamma^{-1} or larger) drives a large velocity shear that greatly increases the energy in the seed magnetic field forward of the propagating shock.Comment: 19 pp., LaTeX (aaspp4.sty), revised 12/23/99, Ap. J. in press; summary section added and several minor improvements in presentatio
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