A Study of Prompt Emission Mechanisms in Gamma‐Ray Bursts

Abstract

The principal paradigm for the generation of nonthermal particles that are responsible for the prompt emission of gamma-ray bursts invokes diffusive shock acceleration at shocks internal to the dynamic ultra-relativistic outflow. This paper explores expectations for burst emission spectra arising from shock acceleration theory in the limit of particles cooling much slower than their acceleration. Parametric fits to burst spectra obtained by the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO) are explored for the cases of the synchrotron, inverse Compton, and synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) radiation mechanisms, using a linear combination of thermal and nonthermal electron populations.