Related papers: Gamma-Ray Bursts: Astronomical Constraints
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…
We discuss some open problems concerning the origin and the emission mechanism of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) in light of recent developments. If GRBs originate at extragalactic distances, we are facing four crises: (1) an energy crisis, models…
We have obtained deep spectroscopic observations of several nearby gamma-ray burst (GRB) host galaxies revealing for the first time the presence of Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars and numerous O stars located in rich and compact clusters or star…
Photoexcitation and ionization of partially ionized heavy atoms in highly relativistic flows by interstellar photons, followed by their reemission in radiative recombination and decay, boost star-light into beamed $\gamma$ rays along the…
It has been suggested that cosmological gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) can produce the observed flux and spectrum of cosmic rays at the highest energies. However, recent observations indicate that the redshift distribution of GRBs most likely…
There is growing evidence that long and hard gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), discovered at redshifts between 0.4 and 3.4, are related to some type of supernova (SN) explosions. The GRB ejecta are ultra-relativistic, and possibly beamed. There is a…
The observed properties of long gamma-ray burst (GRB) host galaxies show them to often be of a rather low metallicity and/or of high specific star formation rate (SFR). It is not clear which of these properties is a dominant factor in…
There is increasingly strong evidence that gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are associated with star-forming galaxies, and occur near or in the star-forming regions of these galaxies. These associations provide indirect evidence that at least the…
Gamma-ray bursts (GRB) are sudden, intense flashes of gamma-rays which, for a few blinding seconds, light up in an otherwise fairly dark gamma-ray sky. They are detected at the rate of about once a day, and while they are on, they outshine…
I consider various possibilities for making gamma--ray bursts, particularly from close binaries. In addition to the much--studied neutron star + neutron star and black hole + neutron star cases usually considered good candidates for…
Long-Duration Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) are powerful probes of the Universe star formation history, but correlation between the two depends on the highly debated presence/strength of a metallicity bias. To investigate this correlation, we use…
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.…
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…
In these proceedings, I discuss recent progress in understanding the nature of cosmic gamma-ray bursts (GRB), with the focus on the apparent relation of several GRBs with an energetic subclass of stellar explosions, type Ib/c core-collapse…
Recently, several new correlations between the observed $\gamma$-ray and the X-ray properties of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) were inferred from a comprehensive analysis of the X-ray light curves of more than 650 GRBs measured with the Swift…
By now there is substantial evidence that Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) originate at cosmological distances from very powerful explosions. The interaction between a GRB and its surrounding environment has dramatic consequences on the environment…
The recent progress in studies of gamma-ray bursts, their afterglows, and host galaxies is discussed. The emphasis is given to high-energy phenomena associated with gamma-ray burst explosions: high-energy cosmic rays, neutrinos,…
Prompted by various analyses of long (Type II) GRB rates and their relationship to the cosmic star-formation history, metallicity and luminosity function evolution, we systematically analyze these effects with a Monte Carlo code. We test…
We study the properties of short gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), based on the assumption that they are all connected to the binary neutron star mergers, whose formation mechanism contains a large amount of uncertainty. In particular, the merger…
The discovery of X-ray, optical and radio afterglows of GRBs provides an important tool for understanding these sources. Most current models envisage GRB as arising in a cataclysmic stellar event leading to a relativistically expanding…