Shear Particle Acceleration in Structured Gamma-Ray Burst Jets. III. The Radiation Physics of Bright Prompt Optical Flash

Abstract The radiation physics of bright prompt optical emission of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) remains a puzzle. Assuming that the GRB ejecta is structured, we investigated this issue by characterizing the ejecta as an ultrarelativistic uniform jet core surrounded by a mild-relativistic cocoon. The mixed jet-cocoon (MJC) region can accelerate particles through the shear acceleration mechanism. Parameterizing the radial velocity profile of the MJC region with an exponential function and assuming a uniform magnetic field configuration, we show that the synchrotron radiation of the shear-accelerated electrons can produce a bright optical flash. Emission of the self-synchrotron Compton process of the electron population can result in an X-ray excess and an extra MeV–GeV gamma-ray flash relative to the Band function component in the keV–MeV band, which is attributed to the synchrotron radiation of the shock-accelerated electrons in the jet core. Our model reasonably represents the extremely bright optical flash and spectral characteristics of GRBs 990123, 080319B, and 130427A. The inferred magnetic field strength of the MJC region is above 10 5 G, potentially suggesting that the jets of these GRBs are highly magnetized.