Compton drag as a mechanism for very high linear polarization in Gamma-Ray Bursts
Abstract
The recent claim by Coburn & Boggs to have detected a very high degree of linear polarization in the prompt emission of GRB 021206 has stimulated interest in how much polarization could arise in gamma-ray bursts from synchrotron emission. Alternatively, as Shaviv & Dar have shown, GRB polarization could be produced by inverse Compton scattering in the point-source limit. We discuss polarization from a fireball that upscatters a soft radiation field. We show that, after the proper angular integration, the residual polarization can be large, in some cases approaching the point-source limit. We discuss the probability of realizing the geometrical conditions in which a large polarization is obtained showing that, for a particularly bright burst as GRB 021206, the detection of polarization at the first attempt in the Compton drag scenario is not unlikely.
Cite
@article{arxiv.astro-ph/0309038,
title = {Compton drag as a mechanism for very high linear polarization in Gamma-Ray Bursts},
author = {Davide Lazzati and Elena Rossi and Gabriele Ghisellini and Martin J. Rees},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:astro-ph/0309038},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
Accepted for publication in MNRAS