Gamma-ray Burst Energetics

Abstract

We estimate the fraction of the total energy in a Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) that is radiated in photons during the main burst. Random internal collisions among different shells limit the efficiency for converting bulk kinetic energy to photons. About 1% of the energy of explosion is converted to radiation, in 10-1000 kev energy band in the observer frame, for long duration bursts (lasting 10s or more); the efficiency is significantly smaller for shorter duration bursts. Moreover, about 50% of the energy of the initial explosion could be lost to neutrinos during the early phase of the burst if the initial fireball temperature is about 10 Mev or greater. If isotropic, the total energy budget of the brightest GRBs is about $10^{55}$erg, a factor of more than 20 larger than previously estimated. Anisotropy of explosion, as evidenced in two GRBs, could reduce the energy requirement by a factor of 10-100. Putting these two effects together we find that the energy release in the most energetic bursts is about 10$^{54}$ erg.