NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
BATSE observations of gamma-ray burst spectra. I - Spectral diversityWe studied the time-averaged gamma-ray burst spectra accumulated by the spectroscopy detectors of the Burst and Transient Source Experiment. The spectra are described well at low energy by a power-law continuum with an exponential cutoff and by a steeper power law at high energy. However, the spectral parameters vary from burst to burst with no universal values. The break in the spectrum ranges from below 100 keV to more than 1 MeV, but peaks below 200 keV with only a small fraction of the spectra breaking above 400 keV; it is therefore unlikely that a majority of the burst spectra are shaped directly by pair processes, unless bursts originate from a broad redshift range. The correlations among burst parameters do not fulfill the predictions of the cosmological models of burst origin. No correlations with burst morphology or the spatial distribution were found. We demonstrate the importance of using a complete spectral description even if a partial description (e.g., a model without a high-energy tail) is statistically satisfactory.
Document ID
19930068053
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Band, D.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Matteson, J.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Ford, L.
(California Univ. La Jolla, United States)
Schaefer, B.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Palmer, D.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Teegarden, B.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Cline, T.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Briggs, M.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Paciesas, W.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Pendleton, G.
(Alabama Univ. Huntsville, United States)
Date Acquired
August 16, 2013
Publication Date
August 10, 1993
Publication Information
Publication: Astrophysical Journal, Part 1
Volume: 413
Issue: 1
ISSN: 0004-637X
Subject Category
Space Radiation
Accession Number
93A52050
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAS8-36081
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

Available Downloads

There are no available downloads for this record.
No Preview Available