The extremely bright optical flash that accompanied GRB 080319B suggested, at first glance, that the prompt $gamma$-rays in this burst were produced by Synchrotron self Compton (SSC). We analyze here the observed optical and $gamma$ spectrum. We find that the very strong optical emission poses, due to self absorption, very strong constraints on the emission processes and put the origin of the optical emission at a very large radius, almost inconsistent with internal shock. Alternatively it requires a very large random Lorentz factor for the electrons. We find that SSC could not have produced the prompt $gamma$-rays. We also show that the optical emission and the $gamma$ rays could not have been produced by synchrotron emission from two populations of electron within the same emitting region. Thus we must conclude that the optical and the $gamma$-rays were produced in different physical regions. A possible interpretation of the observations is that the $gamma$-rays arose from internal shocks but the optical flash resulted from external shock emission. This would have been consistent with the few seconds delay observed between the optical and $gamma$-rays signals.
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