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Gamma-ray burst (GRB) jets are narrow, and thus typically point away from us. They are initially ultra-relativistic, causing their prompt $\gamma$-ray and early afterglow emission to be beamed away from us. However, as the jet gradually…
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are fascinating extragalactic objects. They represent a fantastic opportunity to investigate unique properties not exhibited in other sources. Multi-wavelength afterglow observations from some short- and…
There has been increasing evidence that at least some GRBs are emission beamed. The beamed GRB afterglow evolution has been discussed by several authors in the ultra-relativistic case. It has been shown that the dynamics of the blast wave…
Most recent extragalactic models of gamma-ray bursts consider the expansion of a relativistic blast wave, emanating from a solar-mass type progenitor, into the surrounding interstellar medium as the site for their activity. The popular…
Gravitational-wave detected neutron star mergers provide an opportunity to investigate short gamma-ray burst (GRB) jet afterglows without the GRB trigger. Here we show that the post-peak afterglow decline can distinguish between an…
The ultra-relativistic outflows powering gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) acquire angular structure through their interaction with external material. They are often characterized by a compact, nearly uniform narrow core (with half-opening angle…
Particle acceleration in relativistic collisionless shocks remains an open problem in high-energy astrophysics. Particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations predict that electron acceleration in weakly magnetized shocks proceeds via small-angle…
It is well known that collisionless shocks are major sites of particle acceleration in the Universe, but the details of the acceleration process are still not well understood. The particle acceleration rate, which can shed light on the…
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…
Whether gamma-ray bursts are highly beamed or not is a very difficult but important problem that we are confronted with. Some theorists suggest that beaming effect usually leads to a sharp break in the afterglow light curve during the…
The afterglow emission from Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) is usually interpreted as synchrotron radiation from relativistic electrons accelerated at the GRB external shock, that decelerates from ultra-relativistic to non-relativistic speeds as it…
Particle acceleration in collisionless shocks is believed to be responsible for the production of cosmic-rays over a wide range of energies, from few GeV to >10^{20}eV, as well as for the non-thermal emission of radiation from a wide…
Nearly all previous discussion on beaming effects in GRBs have assumed a conical geometry. However, more and more observations on relativistic jets in radio galaxies, active galactic nuclei, and "microquasars" in the Galaxy have shown that…
The TeV gamma-ray band is essential for probing the most extreme particle acceleration processes in the Universe. The recent detections of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) at these energies offer an incredible opportunity to investigate the origins…
I discuss some theoretical expectations for the synchrotron emission from a relativistic blast-wave interacting with the ambient medium, as a model for GRB afterglows, and compare them with observations. An afterglow flux evolving as a…
Variability on time scales \delta t < t is observed in many gamma-ray burst afterglows. It is well known that there should be no such variability if the afterglow is emitted by external shock, which is produced by the interaction of…
For gravitational wave (GW) detected neutron star mergers, one of the leading candidates for electromagnetic (EM) counterparts is the afterglow from an ultra-relativistic jet. Where this afterglow is observed, it will likely be viewed…
Due to some refinements in the dynamics, we can follow the overall evolution of a realistic jet numerically till its bulk velocity being as small as $\beta c \sim 10^{-3} c$. We find no obvious break in the optical light curve during the…
We present a study of the intermediate regime between ultra-relativistic and nonrelativistic flow for gamma-ray burst afterglows. The hydrodynamics of spherically symmetric blast waves is numerically calculated using the AMRVAC adaptive…
The shock model has successfully explained the observed behaviors of afterglows from long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). Here we use it to investigate the so-called early afterglows from short GRBs, which arises from blast waves that are not…