Gamma-ray burst continua: A review

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Abstract
I review our current knowledge of the burst continuum and its evolution during a burst based on the observations of CGRO and other missions. The burst continuum can be described adequately by a simple four parameter model which is curved at energies less than a few hundred keV and is a power law N(E)∼E −2 (or softer) at higher energies. However, there are indications of deviations from this simple form below ∼15 keV . X-ray emission has been reported before and after the gamma ray emission and GeV photons were detected for an hour and a half after one burst. Bursts usually (but not always) show hard-to-soft evolution over the burst as a whole and during individual intensity spikes; hardness and count rate variations generally track on a time scale of a second. Further advances will result from detectors with greater spectral resolution and effective area, and from extending the spectrum, particularly to lower energies.

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