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Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) explosions from the first generation of stars offer an exciting opportunity to probe the epoch of reionization. Clues about how and when the intergalactic medium was ionized can be read off their UV emission spectrum.…
We discuss the possible simultaneously UV/optical emission accompanying Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). We show that as long as the intrinsic spectrum of GRB can extend to $\sim$10 GeV or higher, there is a large amount of relativistic $e^\pm$…
The prompt optical flash recently detected accompanying GRB990123 suggests that, for at least some GRBs, gamma-ray emission is accompanied by prompt optical-UV emission with luminosity L(1-7.5eV)=10^{49}(\Delta\Omega/4\pi)erg/s, where…
Nearby Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) have been proposed as a possible cause of mass extinctions on Earth. Due to the higher event rate of GRBs at higher redshifts, it has been speculated that life as we know it may not survive above a certain…
Ultra-long gamma-ray bursts (ULGRBs), a rare class of high-energy transients with durations $>10^3$s, remain poorly understood. GRB 250702B is notable for its multi-hour prompt emission, an X-ray pre-peak emission starting $\sim$1 day…
In this chapter, we present an overview of sources of biologically relevant astrophysical radiation and effects of that radiation on organisms and their habitats. We consider both electromagnetic and particle radiation, with an emphasis on…
Many past studies have predicted the steady-state production and maintenance of abiotic O$_2$ and O$_3$ in the atmospheres of CO$_2$-rich terrestrial planets orbiting M dwarf stars. However, the time-dependent responses of these planetary…
The UV environment of a host star affects the photochemistry in the atmosphere, and ultimately the surface UV environment for terrestrial planets and therefore the conditions for the origin and evolution of life. We model the surface UV…
Solar X-ray and UV radiation (0.1-320 nm) received at Earth's surface is an important aspect of the circumstances under which life formed on Earth. The quantity that is received depends on two main variables: the emission of radiation by…
The current understanding of supernova and gamma-ray burst events suggests important effects on the biosphere if one of more of them happened to strike the earth in the past. In this paper we evaluate the possibility that life extinctions…
Following recent suggestions of a gamma-ray burst origin of large ISM holes (supershells) detected in the galaxy, we discuss the effects of the recently discovered shell GSH 238+00+09 (and other nearby extremely energetic supershells) on…
The thermodynamic dissipation theory for the origin of life asserts a thermodynamic imperative for the origin of life, suggesting that the fundamental molecules of life originated as self-organized molecular photon dissipative structures…
Nearby gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are likely to have represented a significant threat to life on the Earth. Recent observations suggest that a significant source of such bursts is compact binary mergers in globular clusters. This link between…
If a gamma ray burst with strong UV emission occurs in a molecular cloud, there will be observable consequences resulting from excitation of the surrounding H2. The UV pulse from the GRB will pump H2 into vibrationally-excited levels which…
Tidal Disruption Events (TDEs) are characterized by the emission of a short burst of high-energy radiation. We analyze the cumulative impact of TDEs on galactic habitability using the Milky Way as a proxy. We show that X-rays and extreme…
We use a new interdisciplinary approach to study the UV surface habitability of Proxima $b$ under quiescent and flaring stellar conditions. We assumed planetary atmospheric compositions based on CO$_2$ and N$_2$ and surface pressures from…
Cosmic ray bursts (CRBs) from mergers or accretion induced collapse of neutron stars that hit an Earth-like planet closer than $\sim 1 kpc$ from the explosion produce lethal fluxes of atmospheric muons at ground level, underground and…
We investigate by two-dimensional axisymmetric relativistic hydrodynamical simulations (1) jet propagations through an envelope of a rapidly rotating and collapsing massive star, which is supposed to be a progenitor of long duration gamma…
Since the discovery of the Ultraviolet Upturn Phenomenon (``UVX'') in early-type galaxies it has been clear that the stellar populations of such systems contain an unexpected hot component. Recent work has provided strong circumstantial…
Steep X-ray spectral slopes, X-ray excesses and preferred spectral energy breaks in the 01-0.3 MeV range are discussed as the possible consequences of the photospheric component of the GRB relativistic outflow, and of pair breakdown in…