Related papers: Spectral Lags Explained as Scattering from Acceler…
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…
Particles with energies below the mean energy $E_0$ in relativistic shocked plasmas should assume an equilibrium energy distribution. This leads to a synchrotron spectrum $F_\nu \propto \nu^{1/3}$ up to approximately the critical frequency…
The spectral properties of a composite thermal emission arising from a relativistic expanding fireball can be remarkably different from the Planck function. We perform a detailed study of such a system to explore the features of the prompt…
For a sample of Swift and Fermi GRBs, we show that the minimum variability timescale and the spectral lag of the prompt emission is related to the bulk Lorentz factor in a complex manner: For small $\Gamma$'s, the variability timescale…
The emission mechanism during the prompt phase in gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) can be investigated through correlations between spectral properties. Here, we revisit the correlation relating the instantaneous flux, $F$, and the photon index…
The recently discovered GRB afterglow is believed to be described reasonably well by synchrotron emission from a slowing down relativistic shell that collides with an external medium. To compare theoretical models with afterglow…
The detection of x-ray afterglows of gamma-ray burst (GRB) sources has enabled the optical discovery that GRBs are at cosmological distances, which confirms that the enormous luminosities required must produce a relativistically expanding…
In the external shock model, gamma-ray burst (GRB) emissions are produced by the energization and deceleration of a thin relativistic blast wave due to its interactions with the circumburst medium (CBM). We study the physical properties of…
We focus on understanding the beaming of gravitational radiation from gamma ray bursts (GRBs) by approximating GRBs as linearly accelerated point masses. For accelerated point masses, it is known that gravitational radiation is beamed…
The source population of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) declines towards the present epoch being consistent with the measured decline of the star formation rate. We show this using the brightness distribution of 3255 long BATSE GRBs found in an…
Relativistic shock models of gamma-ray bursts may be tested by comparison of their predicted low energy asymptotic spectral indices s to observations. Synchrotron radiation theory predicts that the instantaneous spectrum has s = - 1/3 and…
A high energy power law is a common feature in the spectra of many astrophysical objects. We show that the photons in a relativistic plasma with a variable Lorentz factor go through repeated scattering with electrons to gain energy. The…
Cosmological fireball models of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) predict delayed emission, ``after-glow,'' at longer wavelengths. We present several new results regarding the model predictions, and show that X-ray to optical observations of…
A theory is proposed to explain with simplicity the basic observed properties of a Gamma Ray Burst (GRB). It employs a well-known result of Schwinger, that static electric fields in excess of a critical value are unstable to pair creation,…
We use a new method of analysis to determine parameters of cosmological gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), assuming that their distribution follows the star-formation history of the universe. Spectral evolution is calculated from an external shock…
Using a pulse-fit method, we investigate the spectral lags between the traditional gamma-ray band (50-400 keV) and the X-ray band (6-25 keV) for 8 GRBs with known redshifts (GRB 010921, GRB 020124, GRB 020127, GRB 021211, GRB 030528, GRB…
The radiation released at the transparency radius of an ultrarelativistic flow can account for the observed properties of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) provided that sufficient energy is dissipated in the sub-photospheric region. Here, I…
Numerous reports have been made of features, either in emission or absorption, in the 10 - 1000 keV spectra of some gamma-ray bursts. Originally interpreted in the context of Galactic neutron star models as cyclotron line emission and $e^+…
A simple test for time-asymmetry is devised and carried out on the brightest gamma-ray bursts detected by the Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) on board the {\it Compton} Gamma Ray Observatory. We show evidence that individual…
Several patterns have been discovered in how some spectral characteristics change during the decaying phase of long (> few s.) GRB pulses. We compare these observed signatures with those expected from a relativistically expanding shell.…