Related papers: Proto-Magnetars as GRB Central Engines: Uncertaint…
I review aspects of the theory of long-duration gamma-ray burst (GRB) central engines. I focus on the requirements of any model; these include the angular momentum of the progenitor, the power, Lorentz factor, asymmetry, and duration of the…
We examine millisecond magnetars as central engines of Gamma Ray Bursts' (GRB) prompt emission. Using the proto-magnetar wind model of Metzger et al. 2011, we estimate the temporal evolution of the magnetization and power injection at the…
In the last few years, evidences for a long-lived and sustained engine in Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) have increased the attention to the so called millisecond-magnetar model, as a competitive alternative to the standard collapsar scenario. I…
Magnetars are a sizable subclass of the neutron star census. Their very high magnetic field strengths are thought to be a consequence of rapid (millisecond) rotation at birth in a successful core-collapse supernova. In their first tens of…
Discovered over forty years ago, Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) remain a forefront topic in modern astrophysics. Perhaps the most fundamental question associated with GRBs is the nature of the astrophysical agent (or agents) that ultimately powers…
Long duration Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) originate from the core collapse of massive stars, but the identity of the central engine remains elusive. Previous work has shown that rapidly spinning, strongly magnetized proto-neutron stars…
Leading models for the "central engine" of long, soft gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are briefly reviewed with emphasis on the collapsar model. Growing evidence supports the hypothesis that GRBs are a supernova-like phenomenon occurring in star…
The central engine that powers gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), the most powerful explosions in the universe, is still not identified. Besides hyper-accreting black holes, rapidly spinning and highly magnetized neutron stars, known as millisecond…
Gamma-ray burst (GRB) central engines and jet production mechanisms are still open questions. Assuming that the shallow decay segments of canonical X-ray afterglow lightcurves of {\em Swift} GRBs are attributed to the magnetic dipole (MD)…
A rapidly spinning, strongly magnetized neutron star (magnetar) has been proposed as one possible candidate of the central engine of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). We systematically analyze the Swift/XRT light curves of long GRBs detected before…
Recently, a short-duration GRB with supernova association (GRB 200826A) and two long-duration GRBs with kilonova associations (GRB 211211A and GRB 230307A) have been detected, which demolished the hope for a tidy connection between GRB…
Millisecond magnetars produced in the center of dying massive stars are one prominent model to power gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). However, their detailed nature remains a mystery. To explore the effects of the initial mass, rotation rate, wind…
One favored progenitor model for short duration gamma-ray bursts (SGRBs) is the coalescence of two neutron stars (NS-NS). One possible outcome of such a merger would be a rapidly spinning, strongly magnetized neutron star (known as a…
A subset of type Ic supernovae (SNe Ic), broad-lined SNe Ic (SNe Ic-bl), show unusually high kinetic energies ($\sim 10^{52}$ erg) which cannot be explained by the energy supplied by neutrinos alone. Many SNe Ic-bl have been observed in…
A millisecond magnetar engine has been widely suggested to exist in gamma-ray burst (GRB) phenomena, in view of its substantial influences on the GRB afterglow emission. In this paper, we investigate the effects of the magnetar engine on…
Long-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) may be powered by the rotational energy of a millisecond magnetar. I argue that the GRB-driving magnetars lie at the high end of the distribution of magnetic field strengths of magnetars. The field of…
The observational diversity of ``gamma-ray bursts'' (GRBs) has been increasing, and the natural inclination is a proliferation of models. We explore the possibility that at least part of this diversity is a consequence of a single basic…
Two separate topics are discussed. (1) We describe the classifications of the long GRB early afterglow lightcurves within the framework of the fireball shock model, focusing on the interplay between the reverse and forward shock emission…
Ultra-long Gamma-Ray Bursts are a class of high energy transients lasting several hours. Their exact nature is still elusive, and several models have been proposed to explain them. Because of the limited coverage of wide field gamma-ray…
We study the structure and evolution of the accreting plasma in gamma ray burst central engines. The models are based on the general relativistic MHD simulations. The nuclear equation of state adequate for dense and degenerate plasma, is…