Early optical emission in support of synchrotron radiation in $\gamma$-ray bursts

TL;DR

This paper investigates the optical emission in gamma-ray bursts and finds that the spectra are largely consistent with synchrotron radiation models, challenging previous assumptions and highlighting the need for refined theoretical frameworks.

Contribution

It extends the analysis of GRB spectra down to optical wavelengths, demonstrating consistency with synchrotron radiation and evaluating the limitations of empirical models.

Findings

Optical-to-gamma-ray spectra align with synchrotron emission.

Two-component models struggle to explain optical radiation.

Derived parameters suggest specific magnetic field strengths and emission region sizes.

Abstract

The origin of prompt emission in $\gamma$-ray bursts (GRBs) is highly debated topic. The observed spectra are supposed to play a crucial role in constraining the location of the emitting region, the strength of the magnetic field and the distribution of the accelerated particles. The apparent inconsistency of the prompt emission spectra with the synchrotron radiation scenario has resulted in considering more complex models. The inclusion of the soft X-ray data (down to 0.5 keV) in GRB spectra have led to the discovery of low-energy breaks in their spectra. More importantly, the distribution of spectral slopes has been shifted towards the prediction of the synchrotron radiation scenario if the break is associated with the synchrotron cooling frequency. We discuss the recent study that systematically extend the range of investigation down to the optical domain. It was shown that the optical-to-gamma-rays spectra are consistent with the synchrotron model. In addition, widely used empirical model made of thermal and non-thermal components has been tested. We conclude that most of the spectra are consistent with the synchrotron scenario while the two-component model faces difficulties to account for the optical radiation in presence/absence of the contaminating afterglow emission. We comment on the parameter space of GRB emitting region derived from the best fit parameters of the synchrotron model. In a basic one-shot particle acceleration model it corresponds to the quite contrived solutions for the magnetic field strength ($\sim$ 10 G) and for the radius of the emitting region ($R_\gamma \ge 10^{16}$ cm). Possible modifications of the basic model would be necessary to have a fully consistent picture.