Gamma-Ray Bursts and Particle Acceleration
- Interactive Research Center for Science, Graduate School of Science, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8550 (Japan)
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are possible sources of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHE-CRs). To test the GRB origin of UHECRs, it is essential to search for characteristic, proton-induced signatures of secondary radiation. In this paper we present our recent results of Monte Carlo simulations that model the broadband prompt emission of GRBs including various processes associated with electrons and protons accelerated to high energies. The most notable effect of accelerated protons on the high-energy spectra is the synchrotron emission from secondary electron-positron pairs injected by photomeson interactions. Secondary photons tend to make the spectra flat, so a spectral flattening in the GeV-TeV bands may serve as a signature of UHECR acceleration. In some cases, the proton-induced photons overwhelm the photon field, resulting in a spectral peak due to inverse Compton emission from secondary pairs located around 10{sup 7} eV. We can expect to detect synchrotron photons from protons or muons. Observations with GLAST or with atmospheric Cerenkov telescopes can provide useful estimates of the bulk Lorents factor and can constrain the proton acceleration efficiency.
- OSTI ID:
- 21152419
- Journal Information:
- AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 1040, Issue 1; Conference: KEK Cosmophysics Group inaugural conference on accelerators in the Universe: Interplay between high energy physics and cosmophysics, Tsukuba (Japan), 12-14 Mar 2008; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.2981540; (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0094-243X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
ACCELERATION
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
COSMIC GAMMA BURSTS
COSMIC PHOTONS
COSMIC PROTONS
ELECTRONS
ENERGY SPECTRA
GEV RANGE
MONTE CARLO METHOD
MUONS
PHOTON EMISSION
PHOTON-MESON INTERACTIONS
PHOTONUCLEAR REACTIONS
POSITRONS
PROTON REACTIONS
SHOCK WAVES
TELESCOPE COUNTERS
TEV RANGE