Related papers: Gamma-Ray Bursts: Jets and Energetics
It is proposed that gamma-ray bursts are created in the mergers of double neutron star binaries and black hole neutron star binaries at cosmological distances. Bursts with complex profiles and relatively long durations are the result of…
We speculate that the universe is filled with stars composed of electromagnetic and dilaton fields which are the sources of the powerful gamma-ray bursts impinging upon us from all directions of the universe. We calculate soliton-like…
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are the most electromagnetically luminous cosmic explosions. They are powered by collimated streams of plasma (jets) ejected by a newborn stellar-mass black hole or neutron star at relativistic velocities (near the…
Collimated outflows (jets) appear to be a ubiquitous phenomenon associated with the accretion of material onto a compact object. Despite this ubiquity, many fundamental physics aspects of jets are still poorly understood and constrained.…
Gamma-ray bursts are believed to be the most luminous objects in the Universe. There has been some suggestion that these arise from quantum processes around naked singularities. The main problem with this suggestion is that all known…
The radiation we observe from blazars is most likely the product of the transformation of bulk kinetic energy into random energy. This process must have a relatively small efficiency (e.g. 10%) if jets are to power the extended…
The successful discovery of X-ray, optical and radio afterglows of GRB has made possible the identification of host galaxies at cosmological distances. The energy release inferred in these outbursts place them among the most energetic and…
Extragalactic jets are the most powerful persistent sources of the universe. Those pointing at us are called blazars. Their relativistically boosted emission extends from radio frequencies to TeV energies. They are also suspected to be the…
The 'event' that triggers a gamma ray burst cannot last for more than a few seconds. This is, however, long compared with the dynamical timescale of a compact stellar-mass object ($\sim 10^{-3}$ seconds). Energy is assumed to be released as…
Blazars and Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) are the fastest objects known so far. The radiation we see from these sources originates in a jet of similar aperture angle, and we think it is the result of the conversion of some of the jet kinetic…
Gamma-ray bursts are known to be sources of high-energy gamma rays, and are likely to be sources of high-energy cosmic rays and neutrinos. Following a short review of observations of GRBs at multi-MeV energies and above, the physics of…
Relativistic outflows are a common phenomenon in accreting black holes. Despite the enormous differences in scale, accreting stellar-mass black holes (X-ray binaries, collapsars) and super-massive black holes produce jets with analogous…
For a few seconds a gamma-ray burst (GRB) becomes the brightest object in the Universe, over-shining the rest of the Universe combined! Clearly this reflects extreme conditions that are fascinating and worth exploring. The recent discovery…
Recent observations suggest that gamma ray bursts (GRBs) and their afterglows are produced by highly relativistic jets emitted in core collapse supernova explosions (SNe). The result of the event, probably, is not just a compact object plus…
The recent detection of high-energy gamma rays from Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies has confirmed that also this type of active galactic nuclei can generate powerful relativistic jets. I outline the evolution of the knowledge in this…
In the modern Universe the existence of various forms of scalar fields is supposed. On the one hand these fields can explain recently discovered positive $\Lambda$-term(see e.g. Ref. \cite{ref:Sahni}), on the other hand its form cluster…
The death of massive stars and the processes which govern the formation of compact remnants are not fully understood. Observationally, this problem may be addressed by studying different classes of cosmic explosions and their energy…
Gamma-ray bursts and ultra-high-energy cosmic rays provide an important testing ground for fundamental physics. A simple-minded analysis of some gamma-ray bursts would lead to a huge estimate of the overall energy emitted, and this…
The use of Gamma Ray Bursts as ``standard candles'' has been made possible by the recent discovery of a very tight correlation between their rest frame intrinsic properties. This correlation relates the GRB prompt emission peak spectral…
The extreme physical conditions of Gamma Ray Bursts can constitute a useful observational laboratory to test theories of gravity where very high curvature regimes are involved. Here we propose a sort of curvature engine capable, in…