Related papers: Gamma-ray bursts: Restarting the Engine
The association of at least some long gamma-ray bursts with type Ic supernova explosions has been established beyond reasonable doubt. Theoretically, the challenge is to explain the presence of a light hyper-relativistic flow propagating…
The cosmological gamma-ray burst (GRB) phenomenon is reviewed. The broad observational facts and empirical phenomenological relations of the GRB prompt emission and afterglow are outlined. A well-tested, successful fireball shock model is…
Short gamma-ray bursts may originate from the merger of double neutron stars (NS) or that of a black hole (BH) and an NS. We propose that the bright X-ray flare related to the central engine reactivity may hint a BH-NS merger, since such a…
Cosmological gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are probably powered by systems harboring a rotating black hole. These may result from hypernovae or black hole-neutron star coalescence. We identify short/long bursts with hyper- and suspended-accretion…
We present a detailed study of the spectral and temporal properties of the X-ray flares emission of several GRBs. We select a sample of GRBs which X-ray light curve exhibits large amplitude variations with several rebrightenings superposed…
We investigate the possibility that gamma-ray bursts originate in a concentric spherical shell with a given average redshift and find that this is indeed compatible with the data from the third BATSE (3B) catalog. It is also shown that…
The central engine in long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) is thought to be a compact object produced by the core collapse of massive stars, but its exact nature (black hole or millisecond magnetar) is still debatable. Although the central engine…
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are the most energetic phenomena in the Universe, characterized by prompt gamma-ray emission followed by multiwavelength afterglows. X-ray flares, observed during the afterglow phase, are generally believed to…
Gamma-ray bursts are the most luminous explosions in the Universe. They appear connected to supernova remnants from massive stars or the merger of their remnants, and their brightness makes them temporarily detectable out to the larges…
Gamma-ray bursts are the most concentrated explosions in the Universe. They have been detected electromagnetically at energies up to tens of GeV, and it is suspected that they could be active at least up to TeV energies. It is also…
Gamma Ray Burst and Soft Gamma Repeaters are neither standard candle nor isotropic explosions. Our model explain them as strong blazing of a light-house, spinning and precessing gamma jet. Such jets at maximal output (as GRBs in Supernova…
We show that if the intrinsic break energy of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) is determined by the product of more than three random variables the observed break energy distribution becomes almost lognormal including the redshift effect because of…
Gamma-ray bursts are still a puzzle. In particular, the central engine, the total energy and the very narrow distribution of peak energies challenge model builders. We consider here an extreme model of gamma-ray bursts based on highly red-…
Our understanding of the engines and progenitors of gamma-ray bursts has expanded through the ages as a broader set of diagnostics has allowed us to test our understanding of these objects. Here we review the history of the growth in our…
Regardless of their different types of progenitors and central engines, gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) were always assumed to be standalone systems after they formed. Little attention has been paid to the possibility that a stellar companion can…
One of the mysteries that surround gamma-ray bursts (GRB) is the origin of two classes of events: long and short GRB. The short GRB are similar to the first second of a long GRB. We suggest that the short bursts are interrupted long bursts,…
GRB990123 was a long complex gamma-ray burst with an optical transient that started early within the gamma-ray phase. The peak and power law decay of the early optical emission strongly indicates the presence of a decelerating relativistic…
In the standard internal shock model, the observed X and gamma-ray radiation is assumed to be produced by synchrotron emission. I will show that there are serious problems with this interpretation, calling for other radiation mechanisms,…
One of the most dramatic possible consequences of stellar rotation is its influence on stellar death, particularly of massive stars. If the angular momentum of the iron core when it collapses is such as to produce a neutron star with a…
Gamma-ray bursts are the most luminous explosions in the Universe, whose origin and mechanism is the focus of intense interest. They appear connected to supernova remnants from massive stars or the merger of their remnants, and their…