Related papers: Gamma Ray Bursts as Electromagnetic Outflows
Long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are believed to be related to the explosion of type Ic supernovae, which have been stripped of their hydrogen and helium envelopes. There appear to be two types of these explosions: those which are approximately…
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have been an enigma since their discovery forty years ago. However, considerable progress unraveling their mysteries has been made in recent years. Developments in observations, theory, and instrumentation have…
Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) are among the most powerful sources in the Universe: they emit up to 10^54 erg in the hard X-ray band in few tens of seconds. The cosmological origin of GRBs has been confirmed by several spectroscopic measurements…
Cosmological $\gamma$-ray bursts originate from relativistic winds. Temporal fluctuations in the wind velocity can give rise to internal shocks which dissipate a significant fraction of the wind kinetic energy. Part of the energy dissipated…
The association of long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) with Type Ib/c supernovae implies that they explode into the winds of their Wolf-Rayet progenitor stars. Although the evolution of some GRB afterglows is consistent with expansion into a free…
Gamma-ray burst remnants become trans-relativistic typically in days to tens of days, and they enter the deep Newtonian phase in tens of days to months, during which the majority of shock-accelerated electrons will no longer be highly…
Gamma-ray bursts are a complex, non-linear system that evolves very rapidly through stages of vastly different conditions. They evolve from scales of few hundred kilometers where they are very dense and hot to cold and tenuous on scales of…
From Galactic binary sources, to extragalactic magnetized neutron stars, to long-duration GRBs without associated supernovae, the types of sources we now believe capable of producing bursts of gamma-rays continues to grow apace. With this…
Striking similarities exist between high energy gamma ray emission from active galactic nuclei (AGN) and gamma ray bursts (GRBs). They suggest that GRBs are generated by inverse Compton scattering from highly relativistic electrons in…
Starburst galaxies generate large-scale winds powered by the activity in the star-forming regions located in the galactic disks. Fragmentation of the disk produced by the outbreak of the wind results in the formation of clouds. Bowshocks…
When massive stars exhaust their fuel they collapse and often produce the extraordinarily bright explosions known as core-collapse supernovae. On occasion, this stellar collapse also powers an even more brilliant relativistic explosion…
Poynting flux driven outflows from magnetized rotators are a plausible explanation for gamma-ray burst engines. We suggest a new possibility for how such outflows might transfer energy into radiating particles. We argue that the Poynting…
We consider a simple model for gamma-ray bursts induced by magnetic reconnection in turbulent media. The magnetic field in a jet is subject to kink instabilities, which distort the regular structure of the spiral magnetic field, drive…
We provide a comprehensive review of major developments in our understanding of gamma-ray bursts, with particular focus on the discoveries made within the last fifteen years when their true nature was uncovered. We describe the…
Recent observations suggest that long-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and their afterglows are produced by highly relativistic jets emitted in core-collapse explosions. The pre-explosive ambient medium provides a natural test for the most…
It is believed that the observed diffuse gamma ray emission from the galactic plane is the result of interactions between cosmic rays and the interstellar gas. Such emission can be amplified if cosmic rays penetrate into dense molecular…
A leading mechanism for producing cosmological gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) is via ultra-relativistic particles in an expanding fireball. The kinetic energy of the particles is converted into thermal energy in a forward shock and a reverse…
We determine some basic properties of stars that produce spectacular gamma-ray bursts at the end of their life. We assume that accretion of the outer portion of the stellar core by a central black hole fuels the prompt emission, and that…
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…
The variability observed in many complex gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) is inconsistent with causally connected variations in a single, symmetric, relativistic shell interacting with the ambient material ("external shocks"). Rather, the symmetry…