RELATIVISTIC JET DYNAMICS AND CALORIMETRY OF GAMMA-RAY BURSTS
- Department of Particle Physics and Astrophysics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100 (Israel)
- National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Array Operations Center, Socorro, NM 87801 (United States)
We present numerical solutions of the two-dimensional relativistic hydrodynamics equations describing the deceleration and expansion of highly relativistic conical jets, of opening angles 0.05 {<=} {theta}{sub 0} {<=} 0.2, propagating into a medium of uniform density. Jet evolution is followed from a collimated relativistic outflow to the quasi-spherical non-relativistic phase. We show that relativistic sideways expansion becomes significant beyond the radius r{sub {theta}} at which the expansion Lorentz factor drops to {theta}{sup -1}{sub 0}. This is consistent with simple analytic estimates, which predict faster sideways expansion than has been claimed based on earlier numerical modeling. For t > t{sub s} = r{sub {theta}}/c the emission of radiation from the jet blast wave is similar to that of a spherical blast wave carrying the same energy (significant deviations at t {approx} t{sub s} occur only for well off-axis observers, {theta}{sub obs} {approx} 1 >> {theta}{sub 0}). Thus, the total (calorimetric) energy of gamma-ray burst blast waves may be estimated with only a small fractional error based on t > t{sub s} observations.
- OSTI ID:
- 21562431
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 738, Issue 2; Other Information: DOI: 10.1088/2041-8205/738/2/L23; ISSN 2041-8205
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
ACCELERATION
CALORIMETRY
COSMIC GAMMA BURSTS
EMISSION
EVOLUTION
EXPANSION
EXPLOSIONS
HYDRODYNAMICS
JETS
NUMERICAL SOLUTION
TWO-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS
COSMIC RADIATION
FLUID MECHANICS
IONIZING RADIATIONS
MATHEMATICAL SOLUTIONS
MECHANICS
PRIMARY COSMIC RADIATION
RADIATIONS