VERY HIGH ENERGY gamma-RAY AFTERGLOW EMISSION OF NEARBY GAMMA-RAY BURSTS

Journal Article · Sun Sep 20 04:00:00 EDT 2009 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/703/1/60· OSTI ID:21372033

Xue, R R; Fan, Y Z; Wei, D M ^[1]; Tam, P H; Wagner, S J; Behera, B ^[2]

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1. Purple Mountain Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008 (China)
2. Landessternwarte, Universitaet Heidelberg, Koenigstuhl (Germany)

The synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) emission from gamma-ray burst (GRB) forward shock can extend to the very high energy (VHE; E{sub {gamma}} > 100 GeV) range. Such high energy photons are rare and are attenuated by the cosmic infrared background before reaching us. In this work, we discuss the prospect to detect these VHE photons using the current ground-based Cherenkov detectors. Our calculated results are consistent with the upper limits obtained with several Cherenkov detectors for GRB 030329, GRB 050509B, and GRB 060505 during the afterglow phase. For five bursts in our nearby GRB sample (except for GRB 030329), current ground-based Cherenkov detectors would not be expected to detect the modeled VHE signal. Only for those very bright and nearby bursts like GRB 030329, detection of VHE photons is possible under favorable observing conditions and a delayed observation time of {approx}<10 hr.

• OSTI ID: 21372033
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 703; ISSN ASJOAB; ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
AFTERGLOW
BOSONS
CHERENKOV COUNTERS
COSMIC GAMMA BURSTS
COSMIC RADIATION
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
EMISSION
GAMMA RADIATION
IONIZING RADIATIONS
MASSLESS PARTICLES
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
PHOTONS
PRIMARY COSMIC RADIATION
RADIATION DETECTORS
RADIATIONS