Related papers: Astrophysical Ionizing Radiation and the Earth: A …
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are extremely energetic events at cosmological distances. They provide unique laboratory to investigate fundamental physical processes under extreme conditions. Due to extreme luminosities, GRBs are detectable at…
During the process of structure formation in the universe matter is converted into radiation through a variety of processes such as light from stars, infrared radiation from cosmic dust and gravitational waves from binary black…
The empirical classification of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) is based on their distribution in the plane of burst duration and spectral hardness. Two distinct distributions, long-soft and short-hard bursts, are observed in this plane, forming…
M-dwarf stars are generally considered favourable for rocky planet detection. However, such planets may be subject to extreme conditions due to possible high stellar activity. The goal of this work is to determine the potential effect of…
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…
The continuous flux of Galactic cosmic rays that bombard Earth's atmosphere creates ionizing radiation that can damage the DNA of living organisms. While this radiation on Earth is relatively constant in the short term, large and long-scale…
Massive and intermediate mass stars play a crucial role in astrophysics. Indeed, massive stars are the main producers of heavy elements, explode in supernovae at the end of their short lifetimes, and may be the progenitors of gamma ray…
Radioactive decay of unstable atomic nuclei leads to liberation of nuclear binding energy in the forms of gamma-ray photons and secondary particles (electrons, positrons); their energy then energises surrounding matter. Unstable nuclei are…
Recent evidence appears to link gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) to star-forming regions in galaxies at cosmological distances. If short-lived massive stars are the progenitors of GRBs, the rate of events per unit cosmological volume should be an…
We continue former work on the modeling of potential effects of Gamma Ray Bursts on Phanerozoic Earth. We focus on global biospheric effects of ozone depletion and show a first modeling of the spectral reduction of light by NO2 formed in…
The effect of precipitating high-energy particles on atmospheric physics and chemistry is extensively studied over the last decade. In majority of the existing models, the precipitating particles induced ionization plays an essential role.…
Ultra-high energy cosmic rays are the most extreme energetic particles detected on Earth, however, their acceleration sites are still mysterious. We explore the contribution of low-luminosity gamma-ray bursts to the ultra-high energy cosmic…
Gamma-ray bursts are short-lived, luminous explosions at cosmological distances, thought to originate from relativistic jets launched at the deaths of massive stars. They are among the prime candidates to produce the observed cosmic rays at…
The extragalactic gamma-ray sky is dominated by two classes of sources: Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) and radio loud active galactic nuclei whose jets are pointing at us (blazars). We believe that the radiation we receive from them originates…
The rate of ionization by cosmic rays in interstellar gas directly associated with gamma-ray emitting supernova remnants is for the first time calculated to be several orders of magnitude larger than the Galactic average. Analysis of…
We estimate the frequency of intermittent hypermutation events and disruptions of planetary/satellite photochemistry due to ultraviolet radiation from core collapse supernova explosions. Calculations are presented for planetary systems in…
During the solar journey through galactic space, variations in the physical properties of the surrounding interstellar medium (ISM) modify the heliosphere and modulate the flux of galactic cosmic rays (GCR) at the surface of the Earth, with…
Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) are unpredictable and brief flashes of gamma rays that occur about once a day in random locations in the sky. Since gamma rays do not penetrate the Earth's atmosphere, they are detected by satellites, which…
Observations of short gamma-ray bursts indicate ongoing energy injection following the prompt emission, with the most likely candidate being the birth of a rapidly rotating, highly magnetised neutron star. We utilise X-ray observations of…
Systematic variations of average observational characteristics and correlation properties between different parameters of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) with time from 1991 April to 1994 September are revealed. It is hard to explain the observed…