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Multiple resonant scattering in the Compton upscatter model of gamma-ray burstsResonant Compton scattering, an increasingly popular mechanism for suppressing X-rays and producing gamma rays, must be treated as a multiple-scattering process for conditions thought characteristic of gamma-ray bursts. Photons that multiply scatter with a beamed power-law electron distribution in a uniform magnetic field produce a flat spectrum between the cyclotron frequency and an optical-depth-dependent critical energy; this critical energy ranges between several hundred keV and several MeV. Above this critical energy, the gamma-ray spectrum has a shape determined by the electron distribution and described by a single-scattering model. Only electron distributions that are nearly proportional to the electron momentum are able to simultaneously suppress X-rays and produce a single-scattering spectrum. As the Thomson optical depth approaches unity, photons that experience multiple scatterings often spawn additional photons at a rate that makes the model unphysical.
Document ID
19920038182
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Brainerd, J. J.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Date Acquired
August 15, 2013
Publication Date
January 10, 1992
Publication Information
Publication: Astrophysical Journal, Part 1
Volume: 384
ISSN: 0004-637X
Subject Category
Astrophysics
Accession Number
92A20806
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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