Related papers: Properties of Gamma-Ray Burst Progenitor Stars
There are observational facts and theoretical arguments for an origin of gamma-ray bursts in molecular clouds in distant galaxies. If this is true, one could detect a significant flux of GRB prompt and early afterglow X-ray radiation…
We propose that repeated photoexcitation/ionization of high Z atoms of highly relativistic flows by star light in dense stellar regions followed by emission of decay/recombination photons, which are beamed and boosted to gamma ray energies…
Present knowledge indicates that gamma-ray bursts are linked with massive stars. They will become invaluable probes of the early universe and galaxy formation. In the future, it will be possible to use gamma-ray bursts for two purposes: 1)…
Gamma-ray bursts are produced by the dissipation of the kinetic energy of a highly relativistic fireball, via the formation of a collisionless shock. When this happens, Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays up to 10^20 eV are produced. I show in…
Early-time X-ray observations of GRBs with the Swift satellite have revealed a more complicated phenomenology than was known before. In particular, the presence of flaring activity on a wide range of time scales probably requires late-time…
Observations of X-ray flares from Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) imply strong constraints on possible physical models. We provide a general discussion of these. In particular, we show that in order to account for the relatively flat and weak…
We discuss several constraints on the properties of gamma-ray bursts (GRB) at cosmological distances. First we use the requirement that burst sources must be optically thin to pair production by photon-photon collisions in order to produce…
Gamma-ray Bursts (GRBs) are bright flashes of high energy photons that can last from about 10 milliseconds to 10 minutes. Their origin and nature have puzzled the scientific community for about 25 years until 1997, when the first X-ray…
We present a model for gamma-ray bursts (GRB's) in which a stellar mass black hole acquires a massive accretion disk by merging with the helium core of its red giant companion. The black hole enters the helium core after it, or its neutron…
The follow-up of $\gamma$-ray bursts (GRBs) by the X-ray telescope (XRT, 0.3-10 keV) on board the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory led to the discovery of a shallow decay phase (the so-called plateau) of the X-ray emission in a good fraction…
Gamma-ray bursts (GRB) are sudden, intense flashes of gamma-rays which, for a few blinding seconds, light up in an otherwise fairly dark gamma-ray sky. They are detected at the rate of about once a day, and while they are on, they outshine…
Gamma-ray bursts are sudden releases of energy that for a duration of a few seconds outshine even huge galaxies. 30 years after the first detection of a gamma-ray burst their origin remains a mystery. Here I first review the ``old''…
We use numerical simulations of large scale structure formation to explore the cosmological properties of Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) host galaxies. Among the different sub-populations found in the simulations, we identify the host galaxies as…
Gamma-ray bursts are a complex, non-linear system that evolves very rapidly through stages of vastly different conditions. They evolve from scales of few hundred kilometers where they are very dense and hot to cold and tenuous on scales of…
We investigate through dedicated numerical simulations the evolution of the soft X-ray absorption properties of a cloud surrounding a gamma-ray burst source. We show that the absorption properties of the material are strongly modified by…
Starburst galaxies exhibit in their central regions a highly increased rate of supernovae, the remnants of which are thought to accelerate energetic cosmic rays up to energies of ~ 10^15 eV. We report the detection of gamma rays -- tracers…
When massive stars exhaust their fuel they collapse and often produce the extraordinarily bright explosions known as core-collapse supernovae. On occasion, this stellar collapse also powers an even more brilliant relativistic explosion…
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have been phenomenologically classified into long and short populations based on the observed bimodal distribution of duration. Multi-wavelength and multi-messenger observations in recent years have revealed that in…
We propose that the flat decay phase in the first 100-10,000 seconds of the X-ray light curve of Gamma Ray Bursts can be interpreted as prolonged activity of the central engine, producing shells of decreasing bulk Lorentz factors Gamma. The…
The afterglow emission that follows gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) contains valuable information about the circumburst medium and, therefore, about the GRB progenitor. Theoretical studies of GRB blast waves, however, are often limited to simple…