Related papers: Photospheric emission from long duration gamma-ray…
It is now generally accepted that long-duration gamma ray bursts (GRBs) are due to the collapse of massive rotating stars. The precise collapse process itself, however, is not yet fully understood. Strong winds, outbursts, and intense…
A phenomenological model is presented to explain the light curves of gamma-ray bursts. Gamma-rays are produced in a narrow beam which sweeps through space due to the precession of a slaved accretion disc. The light curve expected from such…
Using a novel approach, the distribution of fluences of long gamma ray bursts derived from the Swift-BAT catalog, was reproduced by a jet-model characterized by the distribution of the total radiated energy in $\gamma$-rays and the…
We investigate the contribution of the beamed jet component to the high energy emission in young and compact extragalactic radio sources, focusing for the first time on the gamma-ray band. We derive predictions on the gamma-ray luminosities…
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), associated with the collapse of massive stars or the collisions of compact objects, are the most luminous events in our universe. However, there is still much to learn about the nature of the relativistic jets…
The physical mechanism of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) remains elusive. One of the difficulties in nailing down their physical mechanism comes from the fact that there has been no clear observational evidence on how far from the central engine…
New two- and three-dimensional calculations are presented of relativistic jet propagation and break out in massive Wolf-Rayet stars. Such jets are thought responsible for gamma-ray bursts. As it erupts, the jet is surrounded by a cocoon of…
The light curves of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) are believed to result from internal shocks reflecting the activity of the GRB central engine. Their temporal deconvolution can reveal potential differences in the properties of the central…
The study of Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) has the potential to improve our understanding of high energy astrophysical phenomena. In order to reliably use GRBs to this end, we first need to have a well-developed grasp of the mechanism that…
For over 25 years, the origin of long-duration gamma-ray bursts (lGRBs) has been linked to the collapse of rotating massive stars. However, we have yet to pinpoint the stellar progenitor powering these transients. Moreover, the dominant…
In view of the recent Fermi observations of GRB prompt emission spectra, we develop a theory of photosphere emission of a hybrid relativistic outflow with a hot fireball component (defined by dimensionless entropy $\eta$) and a cold…
We discuss the possibility that gamma-ray bursts may result from cosmological relativistic blob emitting neutron star jets that precess past the line of sight. Beaming reduces the energy requirements, so that the jet emission can last…
We call "prompt" emission of Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) the erratic and violent phase of hard X-ray and soft gamma-ray emission, usually lasting for tens of seconds in long GRBs. However, the central engine of GRBs may live much longer.…
We construct models for gamma-ray bursts where the emission comes from internal shocks in a relativistic wind with a highly non uniform distribution of the Lorentz factor. We follow the evolution of the wind using a very simplified approach…
Gamma-ray burst (GRB) spectra are typically non-thermal, with many including two spectral breaks suggestive of optically-thin emission. However, the emitted spectrum from a GRB photosphere, which includes prior dissipation of energy by…
In recent years, our understanding of gamma-ray bursts (GRB) prompt emission has been revolutionized, due to a combination of new instruments, new analysis methods and novel ideas. In this review, I describe the most recent observational…
We compute the kinematical dependence of the peak luminosity, the pulse width and the spectral lag of the peak luminosity on the viewing angle $\theta_v$ of a jet. For appropriate model parameters we obtain the peak luminosity-spectral lag…
After many years of speculation, recent observations have confirmed the association of gamma-ray bursts with core-collapse supernova explosions from massive stars. This association carries with it important consequences. The burst…
Most gamma-ray bursts are made during the deaths of massive stars. Here the environmental circumstances, stellar evolutionary paths, and explosion physics that might produce the bursts are reviewed. Neither of the two leading models -…
We discuss some phenomenological aspects of $\gamma$-ray emitting jets. In particular, we present calculations of the $\gamma$-sphere and $\pi$-sphere for various target photon fields, and employ them to demonstrate how $\gamma$-ray…