Physical conditions that lead to the detection of the pair annihilation line in the BOAT GRB221009A

Asaf Pe'er, Bing Zhang

Research output: Working paper / PreprintPreprint

Abstract

The brightest of all time (BOAT) GRB221009A show evidence for a narrow, evolving MeV emission line. Here, we show that this line can be explained as due to pair annihilation in the prompt emission region, and that its temporal evolution is naturally explained as the high-latitude emission (emission from higher angles from the line of sight) after prompt emission is over. We consider both the high and low optical depth for pair production regimes, and find acceptable solutions, with the GRB Lorentz factor Γ≈600 and the emission radius r≳1016.5~cm. We discuss the conditions for the appearance of such a line, and show that a unique combination of high luminosity and Lorentz factor that is in a fairly narrow range are required for the line detection. This explains why such an annihilation line is rarely observed in GRBs.
Original languageEnglish
Number of pages10
StatePublished - 2024

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