Related papers: Electromagnetic Outflows and GRBs
The prompt emission of gamma-ray bursts (hereafter GRBs) probably comes from a highly relativistic wind which converts its kinetic energy into radiation via the formation of shocks within the wind itself. Such "internal shocks" can occur if…
We present a general formulation of special-relativistic magnetohydrodynamics and derive exact radially self-similar solutions for axisymmetric outflows from strongly magnetized, rotating compact objects. We generalize previous work by…
A theory is proposed to explain with simplicity the basic observed properties of a Gamma Ray Burst (GRB). It employs a well-known result of Schwinger, that static electric fields in excess of a critical value are unstable to pair creation,…
Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) are the brightest objects observed. They are also the most relativistic objects known so far. GRBs occur when an ultrarelativisitic ejecta is slowed down by internal shocks within the flow. Relativistic particles…
The hard X-ray and gamma-ray phenomenology of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) can be explained by an external shock model where a single relativistic blast wave interacts with the surrounding medium. Besides reproducing the generic spectral…
Recent radio observations support a picture for star formation where there is accretion of matter onto a central protostar with the ejection of molecular outflows that can affect the surrounding medium. The impact of a supersonic outflow on…
In many models of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) relativistic shells are responsible for the overall envelope of emission. We use kinematics and symmetry to calculate the time history and spectral evolution expected from a relativistic shell…
We calculate the creation of electron--positron pairs in Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) resulting from the collision between scattered and outward moving gamma-ray photons. The number of pairs exceeds the number of ambient medium electrons…
The postburst evolution of fireballs that produce $\gamma$-ray bursts is studied, assuming the expansion of fireballs to be adiabatic and relativistic. Numerical results as well as an approximate analytic solution for the evolution are…
Many models of cosmological gamma-ray bursts involve the sudden release of $\sim 10^{51}$ erg which produce shells which expand at relativistic speeds (Lorentz $\Gamma$ factors of $10^{2-3}$). We investigate the kinematic limits on the…
We present the first general relativistic hydrodynamic models of the launch and evolution of relativistic jets and winds, driven by thermal energy deposition, possibly due to neutrino-antineutrino annihilation, in the close vicinity of…
A popular paradigm to explain the rapid temporal variability observed in gamma-ray burst (GRB) lightcurves is the internal shock model. We propose an alternative model in which the radiating fluid in the GRB shell is relativistically…
We discuss the possibility that gamma-ray bursts result from internal shocks in an ultra-relativistic matter. Using a simple model we calculate the temporal structure and we estimate the efficiency of this process. In this model the…
The pattern of variations in the intensity of magnetodipole losses is studied with the relativistic effect of magnetic-field dissipation during collapse into a black hole taken into account. A burst-type solution can be obtained both for a…
A long-duration gamma-ray burst (GRB) has been widely thought to arise from the collapse of a massive star, and it has been suggested that its ambient medium is a homogenous interstellar medium (ISM) or a stellar wind. There are two shocks…
We describe our attempt to determine if gamma-ray burst (GRB) and afterglow emissions could both arise in external shocks for simple GRBs--bursts consisting of just a few peaks in their lightcurves. We calculate peak flux and peak frequency…
The collimation and evolution of relativistic outflows in $\gamma$-ray bursts (GRBs) are determined by their interaction with the stellar envelope through which they travel before reaching the much larger distance where the energy is…
It is shown that an ultrarelativistic shock with the Lorentz factor of order of tens or higher propagating in a moderately dense interstellar medium (density above $\sim 1000 $ cm$^{-3}$) undergoes a fast dramatic transformation into a…
We report on general relativistic hydrodynamic studies which indicate several new physical processes which may contribute to powering gamma-ray bursts in neutron star binaries. Relativistically driven compression, heating, and collapse of…
A plasma instability theory is presented for the prompt radiation from gamma-ray bursts. In the theory, a highly relativistic shell interacts with the interstellar medium through the filamentation and the two-stream instabilities to convert…