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The Effect of Magnetic Fields on Gamma-Ray Bursts Inferred from Multi-Wavelength Observations of the Bursts of 23 January 1999Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are thought to arise when an extremely relativistic outflow of particles from a massive explosion (the nature at which is still unclear) interacts with material surrounding the site of the explosion. Observations of the evolving changes in emission at many wavelengths allow us to investigate the origin of the photons, and so potentially determine the nature of the explosion. Here we report the results of gamma-ray, optical, infrared, submillimeter, millimeter and radio observations of the burst ORB990123 and its afterglow. Our interpretation of the data indicates that the initial and afterglow emissions are associated with three distinct regions in the fireball. The peak flux of the afterglow, one day after the burst, has a lower frequency than observed for other bursts; this explains the short-lived radio emission. We suggest that the differences between bursts reflect variations in the magnetic-field strength in the afterglow-emitting regions.
Document ID
19990063843
Acquisition Source
Marshall Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Galama, T. J.
(Astronomical Inst. Amsterdam, Netherlands)
Briggs, M. S.
(Alabama Univ. Huntsville, AL United States)
Wijers, R. A. M. J.
(State Univ. of New York Stony Brook, NY United States)
Vreeswijk, P. M.
(Astronomical Inst. Amsterdam, Netherlands)
Rol, E.
(Astronomical Inst. Amsterdam, Netherlands)
Band, D.
(California Univ., San Diego La Jolla, CA United States)
vanParadijs, J.
(Astronomical Inst. Amsterdam, Netherlands)
Kouveliotou, C.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL United States)
Preece, R. D.
(Alabama Univ. Huntsville, AL United States)
Bremer, M.
(Institut de Radio Astronomie Millimetrique Saint Martin d'Heres, France)
Date Acquired
August 19, 2013
Publication Date
April 1, 1999
Publication Information
Publication: Nature
Volume: 398
Subject Category
Space Radiation
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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