GRB 131231A: IMPLICATIONS OF THE GeV EMISSION
- Key laboratory of Dark Matter and Space Astronomy, Purple Mountain Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008 (China)
- Institute of Astronomy and Department of Physics, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan (China)
- Department of Physics, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang 050024 (China)
GRB 131231A was detected by the Large Area Telescope on board the Fermi Space Gamma-ray Telescope. The high-energy gamma-ray (>100 MeV) afterglow emission spectrum is F {sub ν}∝ν{sup –0.54} {sup ±} {sup 0.15} in the first ∼1300 s after the trigger and the most energetic photon has an energy of ∼62 GeV, arriving at t ∼ 520 s. With reasonable parameters of the gamma-ray burst (GRB) outflow as well as the density of the circum-burst medium, the synchrotron radiation of electrons or protons accelerated at an external forward shock have difficulty accounting for the data. Rather, the synchrotron self-Compton radiation of the forward shock-accelerated electrons can account for both the spectrum and temporal behavior of the GeV afterglow emission. We also show that the prospect for detecting GRB 131231A-like GRBs with the Cherenkov Telescope Array is promising.
- OSTI ID:
- 22365843
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 787, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 2041-8205
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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