Abstract
We extend the results of Yu et al. (2015b) of the novel sharpness angle measurement to a large number of spectra
obtained from the Fermi gamma-ray burst monitor. The sharpness angle is compared to the values obtained from various
representative emission models: blackbody, single-electron synchrotron, synchrotron emission from a Maxwellian or
power-law electron distribution. It is found that more than 91% of the high temporally and spectrally resolved spectra are
inconsistent with any kind of optically thin synchrotron emission model alone. It is also found that the limiting case, a
single temperature Maxwellian synchrotron function, can only contribute up to 58+23
-18% of the peak flux. These results show
that even the sharpest but non-realistic case, the single-electron synchrotron function, cannot explain a large fraction of
the observed spectra. Since any combination of physically possible synchrotron spectra added together will always further
broaden the spectrum, emission mechanisms other than optically thin synchrotron radiation are likely required in a full
explanation of the spectral peaks or breaks of the GRB prompt emission phase.
Citation
ID:
148232
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eerten2016journalthe