GRB110721A: an extreme peak energy and signatures of the photosphere

GRB110721A was observed by the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope using its two instruments, the Large Area Telescope (LAT) and the Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM). The burst consisted of one major emission episode which lasted for {approx}24.5 s (in the GBM) and had a peak flux of (5.7 {+-} 0.2) Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -5} erg s{sup -1} cm{sup -2}. The time-resolved emission spectrum is best modeled with a combination of a Band function and a blackbody spectrum. The peak energy of the Band component was initially 15 {+-} 2 MeV, which is the highest value ever detected in a GRB. This measurement was made possible by combining GBM/BGO data with LAT Low Energy events to achieve continuous 10-100 MeV coverage. The peak energy later decreased as a power law in time with an index of -1.89 {+-} 0.10. The temperature of the blackbody component also decreased, starting from {approx}80 keV, and the decay showed a significant break after {approx}2 s. The spectrum provides strong constraints on the standard synchrotron model, indicating that alternative mechanisms may give rise to the emission at these energies.