| Issue |
A&A
Volume 389, Number 1, July I 2002
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Page(s) | L33 - L36 | |
| Section | Letters | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361:20020702 | |
| Published online | 14 June 2002 | |
Letter to the Editor
Emission lines in GRBs constrain the total energy reservoir
1
Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera, via Bianchi 46, 23807 Merate, Italy
2
Institute of Astronomy, Madingley Road, CB3 0HA Cambridge, UK
Corresponding author: G. Ghisellini, gabriele@merate.mi.astro.it
Received:
19
April
2002
Accepted:
14
May
2002
The emission features observed in the X–ray afterglow of Gamma Ray Bursts are extremely powerful. Since they last at least for several hours, they imply energies of the order of 1049 ergs. This in turn implies that the energy contained in the illuminating continuum thought to be responsible of the line production must exceed 1051 ergs. This is a strong lower limit to the energy reservoir of Gamma Ray Bursts, which is independent of collimation and beaming, and bears important consequences on the possible collimation of the fireball radiation and the density of the medium surrounding the burst.
Key words: gamma rays: bursts / line: formation / radiation mechanisms: general
© ESO, 2002
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