Radiative transfer in ultra-relativistic outflows

Analytical and numerical solutions are obtained for the equation of radiative transfer in ultra-relativistic opaque jets. The solution describes the initial trapping of radiation, its adiabatic cooling, and the transition to transparency. Two opposite regimes are examined: (1) Matter-dominated outflow. Surprisingly, radiation develops enormous anisotropy in the fluid frame before decoupling from the fluid. The radiation is strongly polarized. (2) Radiation-dominated outflow. The transfer occurs as if radiation propagated in vacuum, preserving the angular distribution and the blackbody shape of the spectrum. The escaping radiation has a blackbody spectrum if (and only if) the outflow energy is dominated by radiation up to the photospheric radius.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, accepted to Ap

Simulations of gamma-ray burst afterglows with a relativistic kinetic code

This paper introduces a kinetic code that simulates gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglow emission from the external forward shock and presents examples of some of its applications. One interesting research topic discussed in the paper is the high-energy radiation produced by Compton scattering of the prompt GRB photons against the shock-accelerated electrons. The difference between the forward shock emission in a wind-type and a constant-density medium is also studied, and the emission due to Maxwellian electron injection is compared to the case with pure power-law electrons. The code calculates the time-evolving photon and electron distributions in the emission region by solving the relativistic kinetic equations for each particle species. For the first time, the full relativistic equations for synchrotron emission/absorption, Compton scattering, and pair production/annihilation were applied to model the forward shock emission. The synchrotron self-absorption thermalization mechanism, which shapes the low-energy end of the electron distribution, was also included in the electron equation. The simulation results indicate that inverse Compton scattering of the prompt GRB photons can produce a luminous TeV emission component, even when pair production in the emission region is taken into account. This very high-energy radiation may be observable in low-redshift GRBs. The test simulations also show that the low-energy end of a pure power-law distribution of electrons can thermalize owing to synchrotron self-absorption in a wind-type environment, but without an observable impact on the radiation spectrum. Moreover, a flattening in the forward shock X-ray light curve may be expected when the electron injection function is assumed to be purely Maxwellian instead of a power law.Comment: 16 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in A&

Pair-dominated GeV-optical flash in GRB 130427A

We show that the light curve of the double GeV+optical flash in GRB 130427A is consistent with radiation from the blast wave in a wind-type medium with density parameter $A=\rho r^2\sim 5\times 10^{10}$ g cm$^{-1}$. The peak of the flash is emitted by copious $e^\pm$ pairs created and heated in the blast wave; our first-principle calculation determines the pair-loading factor and temperature of the shocked plasma. Using detailed radiative transfer simulations we reconstruct the observed double flash. The optical flash is dominated by synchrotron emission from the thermal plasma behind the forward shock, and the GeV flash is produced via inverse Compton (IC) scattering by the same plasma. The seed photons for IC scattering are dominated by the prompt MeV radiation during the first tens of seconds, and by the optical to X-ray afterglow thereafter. IC cooling of the thermal plasma behind the forward shock reproduces all GeV data from a few seconds to $\sim 1$ day. We find that the blast wave Lorentz factor at the peak of the flash is $\Gamma\approx 200$, and the forward shock magnetization is $\epsilon_B\sim 2\times 10^{-4}$. An additional source is required by the data in the optical and X-ray bands at times $>10^2$ s; we speculate that this additional source may be a long-lived reverse shock in the explosion ejecta.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, accepted to ApJ

Gamma-ray bursts from magnetized collisionally-heated jets

Jets producing gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are likely to carry a neutron component that drifts with respect to the proton component. The neutron-proton collisions strongly heat the jet and generate electron-positron pairs. We investigate radiation produced by this heating using a new numerical code. Our results confirm the recent claim that collisional heating generates the observed Band-type spectrum of GRBs. We extend the model to study the effects of magnetic fields on the emitted spectrum. We find that the spectrum peak remains near 1 MeV for the entire range of the magnetization parameter $0<\epsilon_B<2$ that is explored in our simulations. The low-energy part of the spectrum softens with increasing $\epsilon_B$, and a visible soft excess appears in the keV band. The high-energy part of the spectrum extends well above the GeV range and can contribute to the prompt emission observed by Fermi/LAT. Overall, the radiation spectrum created by the collisional mechanism appears to agree with observations, with no fine-tuning of parameters.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures, accepted to Ap

A synchrotron self-Compton -- disk reprocessing model for optical/X-ray correlation in black hole X-ray binaries

Physical picture of the emission mechanisms operating in the X-ray binaries was put under question by the simultaneous optical/X-ray observations with high time resolution. The light curves of the two energy bands appeared to be connected and the cross-correlation functions observed in three black hole binaries exhibited a complicated shape. They show a dip of the optical emission a few seconds before the X-ray peak and the optical flare just after the X-ray peak. This behavior could not be explained in terms of standard optical emission candidates (e.g., emission from the cold accretion disk or a jet). We propose a novel model, which explains the broadband optical to the X-ray spectra and the variability properties. We suggest that the optical emission consists of two components: synchrotron radiation from the non-thermal electrons in the hot accretion flow and the emission produced by reprocessing of the X-rays in the outer part of the accretion disk. The first component is anti-correlated with the X-rays, while the second one is correlated, but delayed and smeared relative to the X-rays. The interplay of the components explains the complex shape of the cross-correlation function, the features in the optical power spectral density as well as the time lags.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, ApJ Letters in pres

Theory of Compton scattering by anisotropic electrons

Compton scattering plays an important role in various astrophysical objects such as accreting black holes and neutron stars, pulsars, and relativistic jets, clusters of galaxies as well as the early Universe. In most of the calculations it is assumed that the electrons have isotropic angular distribution in some frame. However, there are situations where the anisotropy may be significant due to the bulk motions, or anisotropic cooling by synchrotron radiation, or anisotropic source of seed soft photons. We develop here an analytical theory of Compton scattering by anisotropic distribution of electrons that can simplify significantly the calculations. Assuming that the electron angular distribution can be represented by a second order polynomial over cosine of some angle (dipole and quadrupole anisotropy), we integrate the exact Klein-Nishina cross-section over the angles. Exact analytical and approximate formulae valid for any photon and electron energies are derived for the redistribution functions describing Compton scattering of photons with arbitrary angular distribution by anisotropic electrons. The analytical expressions for the corresponding photon scattering cross-section on such electrons as well as the mean energy of scattered photons, its dispersion and radiation pressure force are also derived. We applied the developed formalism to the accurate calculations of the thermal and kinematic Sunyaev-Zeldovich effects for arbitrary electron distributions.Comment: 23 pages, 12 figures, ApJ Supplement Series, in pres