3,023 research outputs found
Angular size and emission time scales of relativistic fireballs
The detection of delayed X-ray, optical and radio emission, ``afterglow,''
associated with gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) is consistent with models, where the
bursts are produced by relativistic expanding blast waves, driven by expanding
fireballs at cosmological distances. In particular, the time scales over which
radiation is observed at different wave bands agree with model predictions. It
had recently been claimed that the commonly used relation between observation
time t and blast wave radius r, t=r/2\gamma^{2}c where \gamma(r) is the fluid
Lorentz factor, should be replaced with t=r/16\gamma^{2}c due to blast wave
deceleration. Applying the suggested deceleration modification would make it
difficult to reconcile observed time scales with model predictions. It would
also imply an apparent source size which is too large to allow attributing
observed radio variability to diffractive scintillation. We present a detailed
analysis of the implications of the relativistic hydrodynamics of expanding
blast waves to the observed afterglow. We find that modifications due to shock
deceleration are small, therefore allowing for both the observed afterglow time
scales and for diffractive scintillation. We show that at time t the fireball
appears on the sky as a narrow ring of radius h=r/\gamma and width 0.1h, where
r and t are related by t=r/2\gamma^{2}c.Comment: Submitted to ApJL (11 pages, LaTeX
Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglow: Polarization and Analytic Light Curves
GRB afterglow polarization is discussed. We find an observable, up to 10%,
polarization, if the magnetic field coherence length grows at about the speed
of light after the field is generated at the shock front. Detection of a
polarized afterglow would show that collisionless ultrarelativistic shocks can
generate strong large scale magnetic fields and confirm the synchrotron
afterglow model. Non-detection, at a 1% level, would imply that either the
synchrotron emission model is incorrect, or that strong magnetic fields, after
they are generated in the shock, somehow manage to stay un-dissipated at
``microscopic'', skin depth, scales. Analytic lightcurves of synchrotron
emission from an ultrarelativistic self-similar blast wave are obtained for an
arbitrary electron distribution function, taking into account the effects of
synchrotron cooling. The peak synchrotron flux and the flux at frequencies much
smaller than the peak frequency are insensitive to the details of the electron
distribution function; hence their observational determination would provide
strong constraints on blast wave parameters.Comment: 19 pages, submitted to Ap
Radiative Efficiencies of Continuously Powered Blast Waves
We use general arguments to show that a continuously powered radiative blast
wave can behave self similarly if the energy injection and radiation mechanisms
are self similar. In that case, the power-law indices of the blast wave
evolution are set by only one of the two constituent physical mechanisms. If
the luminosity of the energy source drops fast enough, the radiation mechanisms
set the power-law indices, otherwise, they are set by the behavior of the
energy source itself. We obtain self similar solutions for the Newtonian and
the ultra-relativistic limits. Both limits behave self similarly if we assume
that the central source supplies energy in the form of a hot wind, and that the
radiative mechanism is the semi-radiative mechanism of Cohen, Piran & Sari
(1998). We calculate the instantaneous radiative efficiencies for both limits
and find that a relativistic blast wave has a higher efficiency than a
Newtonian one. The instantaneous radiative efficiency depends strongly on the
hydrodynamics and cannot be approximated by an estimate of local microscopic
radiative efficiencies, since a fraction of the injected energy is deposited in
shocked matter. These solutions can be used to calculate Gamma Ray Bursts
afterglows, for cases in which the energy is not supplied instantaneously.Comment: 28 LaTeX pages, including 9 figures and 3 table
Extra galactic sources of high energy neutrinos
The main goal of the construction of large volume, high energy neutrino
telescopes is the detection of extra-Galactic neutrino sources. The existence
of such sources is implied by observations of ultra-high energy, >10^{19} eV,
cosmic-rays (UHECRs), the origin of which is a mystery. The observed UHECR flux
sets an upper bound to the extra-Galactic high energy neutrino intensity, which
implies that the detector size required to detect the signal in the energy
range of 1 TeV to 1 PeV is >=1 giga-ton, and much larger at higher energy.
Optical Cerenkov neutrino detectors, currently being constructed under ice and
water, are expected to achieve 1 giga-ton effective volume for 1 TeV to 1 PeV
neutrinos. Coherent radio Cerenkov detectors (and possibly large air-shower
detectors) will provide the >> 1 giga-ton effective volume required for
detection at ~10^{19} eV. Detection of high energy neutrinos associated with
electromagnetically identified sources will allow to identify the sources of
UHECRs, will provide a unique probe of the sources, which may allow to resolve
open questions related to the underlying physics of models describing these
powerful accelerators, and will provide information on fundamental neutrino
properties.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures; Summary of talk presented at the Nobel Symposium
129: Neutrino Physics, Sweden 200
GeV Photons from Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays accelerated in Gamma Ray Bursts
Gamma-ray bursts are produced by the dissipation of the kinetic energy of a
highly relativistic fireball, via the formation of a collisionless shock. When
this happens, Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays up to 10^20 eV are produced. I show
in this paper that these particles produce, via synchrotron emission as they
cross the acceleration region, photons up to 300 GeV which carry away a small,
~0.01, but non-negligible fraction of the total burst energy. I show that, when
the shock occurs with the interstellar medium, the optical depth to
photon-photon scattering, which might cause energy degradation of the photons,
is small. The burst thusly produced would be detected at Earth simultaneoulsy
with the parent gamma-ray burst, although its duration may differ significantly
from that of the lower energy photons. The expected fluences, ~10^{-5}-10^{-6}
erg/cm^2 are well within the range of planned detectors. A new explanation for
the exceptional burst GRB 940217 is discussed.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Physical Review Letters. 4 pages,
RevTeX needed, no figure
High Energy Neutrinos from Astrophysical Sources: An Upper Bound
We show that cosmic-ray observations set a model-independent upper bound to
the flux of high-energy, > 10^14 eV, neutrinos produced by photo-meson (or p-p)
interactions in sources of size not much larger than the proton photo-meson (or
pp) mean-free-path. The bound applies, in particular, to neutrino production by
either AGN jets or GRBs. This upper limit is two orders of magnitude below the
flux predicted in some popular AGN jet models, but is consistent with our
predictions from GRB models. We discuss the implications of these results for
future km^2 high-energy neutrino detectors.Comment: Added discussion showing bound cannot be evaded by invoking magnetic
fields. Accepted Phys Rev
The Gradient Expansion for the Free-Energy of a Clean Superconductor
We describe a novel method for obtaining the gradient expansion for the free
energy of a clean BCS superconductor. We present explicit results up to fourth
order in the gradients of the order parameter.Comment: 33 pages, Late
High energy cosmic-rays: puzzles, models, and giga-ton neutrino telescopes
The existence of cosmic rays of energies exceeding 10^20 eV is one of the
mysteries of high energy astrophysics. The spectrum and the high energy to
which it extends rule out almost all suggested source models. The challenges
posed by observations to models for the origin of high energy cosmic rays are
reviewed, and the implications of recent new experimental results are
discussed. Large area high energy cosmic ray detectors and large volume high
energy neutrino detectors currently under construction may resolve the high
energy cosmic ray puzzle, and shed light on the identity and physics of the
most powerful accelerators in the universe.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures; Summary of review talk, PASCOS 03 (Mumbai,
India
On the energy of gamma-ray bursts
We show that gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglow observations strongly suggest,
within the fireball model framework, that radiating electrons are shock
accelerated to a power-law energy distribution, with universal index p \approx
2.2, and that the fraction of shock energy carried by electrons, \xi_e, is
universal and close to equipartition, \xi_e ~ 1/3. For universal p and \xi_e, a
single measurement of the X-ray afterglow flux on the time scale of a day
provides a robust estimate of the fireball energy per unit solid angle,
\epsilon, averaged over a conical section of the fireball of opening angle
\theta ~ 0.1.
Applying our analysis to BeppoSAX afterglow data we find that: (i) Fireball
energies are in the range of 4\pi\epsilon=10^{51.5} to 10^{53.5} erg; (ii) The
ratio of observed -ray to total fireball energy per unit solid angle,
\epsilon_\gamma / \epsilon, is of order unity, satisfying
abs[log10(\epsilon_\gamma/\epsilon)]<0.5; (iii) If fireballs are jet like,
their opening angle should satisfy \theta>=0.1.
Our results imply that if typical opening angles are \theta ~ 0.1, a value
consistent with our analysis, the total energy associated with a GRB event is
in the range of 10^{50} erg to 10^{51.5} erg.Comment: 16 pages; Submitted to Ap
Implications of the -ray Polarization of GRB 021206
We compare two possible scenarios for the producing of high level of
polarization within the prompt emission of a GRB: synchrotron emission from a
relativistic jet with a uniform (in space and time) magnetic field and
synchrotron emission from a jet with a random magnetic field in the plane of
the shock. Somewhat surprisingly we find that both scenarios can produce a
comparable level of polarization (% for the uniform field and % for a random field). Uniform time independent field most naturally
arises by expansion of the field from the compact object. It requires a
G field at the source and a transport of the field as . It {\it does not} imply Poynting flux domination of the energy of the
wind. There is a serious difficulty however, within this scenario, accounting
for particle acceleration (which requires random magnetic fields) both for
Poynting flux and non-Poynting flux domination. Significant polarization can
also arise from a random field provided that the observer is located within
orientation from a narrow () jet. While most
jets are wider, the jet of GRB 021206 from which strong polarization was
recently observed, was most likely very narrow. GRB 021206 is among the
strongest bursts ever. Adopting the energy-angle relation we find an estimated
angle of rad or even smaller. Thus, for this particular burst the
required geometry is not unusual. We conclude that the RHESSI observations
suggest that the prompt emission results from synchrotron radiation. However,
in view of the comparable levels of polarizations predicted by both the random
field and the homogeneous field scenarios these observations are insufficient
to rule out or confirm either one.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figure
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