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ON THE ELECTRON ENERGY DISTRIBUTION INDEX OF SWIFT GAMMA-RAY BURST AFTERGLOWS

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journal contribution
posted on 2012-10-24, 09:06 authored by P. A. Curran, P. A. Evans, de Pasquale M., M. J. Page, van der Horst A. J.
The electron energy distribution index, p, is a fundamental parameter of the synchrotron emission from a range of astronomical sources. Here we examine one such source of synchrotron emission, gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglows observed by the Swift satellite. Within the framework of the blast wave model, we examine the constraints placed on the distribution of p by the observed X-ray spectral indices and parameterize the distribution. We find that the observed distribution of spectral indices are inconsistent with an underlying distribution of p composed of a single discrete value but consistent with a Gaussian distribution centered at p = 2.36 and having a width of 0.59. Furthermore, accepting that the underlying distribution is a Gaussian, we find that the majority (≳94%) of GRB afterglows in our sample have cooling break frequencies less than the X-ray frequency.

History

Citation

Astrophysical Journal Letters, 2010, 716 (2), pp. L135-L139

Version

  • VoR (Version of Record)

Published in

Astrophysical Journal Letters

Publisher

American Astronomical Society (IOP Publishing)

issn

2041-8205

eissn

2041-8213

Copyright date

2010

Available date

2012-10-24

Publisher version

http://iopscience.iop.org/2041-8205/716/2/L135/

Language

English