Nuclear Composition of Gamma-Ray Burst Fireballs

Preprint

16 January 2003

preprint
Published by arXiv in arXiv

https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.astro-ph/0210522

Abstract

We study three processes that shape the nuclear composition of GRB fireballs: (1) neutronization in the central engine, (2) nucleosynthesis in the fireball as it expands and cools, and (3) spallation of nuclei in subsequent internal shocks. The fireballs are found to have a neutron excess and a marginally successful nucleosynthesis. They are composed of free nucleons, alpha-particles, and deuterium. A robust result is the survival of a significant neutron component, which has important implications. First, as shown in previous works, neutrons can lead to observable multi-GeV neutrino emission. Second, as we show in an accompanying paper, neutrons impact the explosion dynamics at radii up to 10^{17} cm and change the mechanism of the GRB afterglow emission.

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All Related Versions

Version 1, 2002-10-23, ArXiv
Version 2, 2002-10-23, ArXiv
Version 3, 2003-01-16, ArXiv
Published version: The Astrophysical Journal, 588 (2), 931.

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