Synchrotron signature of a relativistic blast wave with decaying microturbulence

TL;DR

This paper investigates how decaying microturbulence behind relativistic shock waves affects the synchrotron emission in gamma-ray bursts, revealing observable signatures and implications for high-energy photon production.

Contribution

It introduces a model for the impact of decaying microturbulence on synchrotron spectra and temporal evolution in gamma-ray burst afterglows, supported by numerical simulations.

Findings

Distinct spectro-temporal signatures of decaying microturbulence identified

Maximal synchrotron photon energy can reach GeV range

Evolving microturbulence influences gamma-ray burst spectra

Abstract

Microphysics of weakly magnetized relativistic collisionless shock waves, corroborated by recent high performance numerical simulations, indicate the presence of a microturbulent layer of large magnetic field strength behind the shock front, which must decay beyond some hundreds of skin depths. The present paper discusses the dynamics of such microturbulence, borrowing from these same numerical simulations, and calculates the synchrotron signature of a powerlaw of shock accelerated particles. The decaying microturbulent layer is found to leave distinct signatures in the spectro-temporal evolution of the spectrum $F_\nu \propto t^{-\alpha}\nu^{-\beta}$ of a decelerating blast wave, which are potentially visible in early multi-wavelength follow-up observations of gamma-ray bursts. This paper also discusses the influence of the evolving microturbulence on the acceleration process, with particular emphasis on the maximal energy of synchrotron afterglow photons, which falls in the GeV range for standard gamma-ray burst parameters. Finally, this paper argues that the evolving microturbulence plays a key role in shaping the spectra of recently observed gamma-ray bursts with extended GeV emission, such as GRB090510.