The "Fireshell" model in the Swift era

Abstract

We here re-examine the validity of the constant-index power-law relation between the fireshell Lorentz gamma factor and its radial coordinate, usually adopted in the current Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) literature on the grounds of an "ultrarelativistic" approximation. Such expressions are found to be mathematically correct but only approximately valid in a very limited range of the physical and astrophysical parameters and in an asymptotic regime which is reached only for a very short time, if any.