Gamma-Ray Bursts and Particle Acceleration.

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are possible sources of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHE-CRs). To test the GRB origin of UHECRs, it is essential to search for characteristic, proton-induced signatures of secondary radiation. In this paper we present our recent results of Monte Carlo simulations that model the broadband prompt emission of GRBs including various processes associated with electrons and protons accelerated to high energies. The most notable effect of accelerated protons on the high-energy spectra is the synchrotron emission from secondary electron-positron pairs injected by photomeson interactions. Secondary photons tend to make the spectra flat, so a spectral flattening in the GeV-TeV bands may serve as a signature of UHECR acceleration. In some cases, the proton-induced photons overwhelm the photon field, resulting in a spectral peak due to inverse Compton emission from secondary pairs located around 10⁷ eV. We can expect to detect synchrotron photons from protons or muons. Observations with GLAST or with atmospheric Cerenkov telescopes can provide useful estimates of the bulk Lorents factor and can constrain the proton acceleration efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]