Related papers: GRB 990413: Insight into the thermal phase evoluti…
Recent observations by the $Fermi$ Gamma-ray Space Telescope have confirmed the existence of thermal and non-thermal components in the prompt photon spectra of some Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). Through an analysis of six bright Fermi GRBs, we…
Recent analyses show evidence for a thermal emission component that accompanies the non-thermal emission during the prompt phase of GRBs. First, we show the evidence for the existence of this component; Second, we show that this component…
The monitor of all-sky X-ray image (MAXI) Gas Slit Camera (GSC) on the International Space Station (ISS) detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB) on 2009, September 26, GRB\,090926B. This GRB had extremely hard spectra in the X-ray energy range.…
The prompt emission of gamma-ray bursts has yet defied any simple explanation, despite the presence of a rich observational material and great theoretical efforts. Here we show that all the types of spectral evolution and spectral shapes…
We develop the theory of jitter radiation from GRB shocks containing small-scale magnetic fields and propagating at an angle with respect to the line of sight. We demonstrate that the spectra vary considerably: the low-energy photon index,…
The giant flare observed on Dec. 27th 2004 from SGR 1806-20 has revived the idea that a fraction of short (<2 s) Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) is due to giant flares from Soft Gamma Ray Repeaters located in nearby galaxies. One of the…
In this Letter, we present the first evidence in the BATSE data for a prompt high-energy (25-300 keV) afterglow component from a gamma-ray burst (GRB), GRB980923. The event consists of rapid variabilty lasting ~40 s followed by a smooth…
A distinct thermal or quasi-thermal spectral component is occasionally observed in gamma-ray burst (GRB) prompt emission spectra. Taking GRB 090902B as a case study, we investigate its origin within a structured jet framework, in which the…
GRB 090618 offered an unprecedented opportunity to have coordinated data, by the best of the X and Gamma Ray observatories, of the nearest (z = 0.54) energetic source (10$^{54}$ erg). Using the Fermi-GBM observations of this GRB, we have…
GRB spectra appear non-thermal, but recent observations of a few bursts with Fermi GBM have confirmed previous indications from BATSE of the presence of an underlying thermal component. Photospheric emission is indeed expected when the…
A large fraction of gamma-ray burst (GRB) spectra are very hard below the peak. Indeed, the observed distribution of sub-peak power-law indices, $\alpha$, has been used as an argument for a photospheric origin of GRB spectra. Here, we…
Time-resolved spectroscopy is performed on eight bright, long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) dominated by single emission pulses that were observed with the {\it Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope}. Fitting the prompt radiation of GRBs by empirical…
We reanalyze the prompt emission of two of the brightest Fermi GRBs (080916C and 090926A) with a new model composed of 3 components: (i) a thermal-like component--approximated with a black body (BB)--interpreted as the jet photosphere…
The radiation mechanism of the prompt emission of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) remains an open question. Although their spectra are usually well fitted with the empirical Band function, which is widely believed to be fully non-thermal and…
The X-ray spectra of Gamma-Ray Bursts can generally be described by an absorbed power law. The landmark discovery of thermal X-ray emission in addition to the power law in the unusual GRB 060218, followed by a similar discovery in GRB…
Observing early optical emission from gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) contemporaneous with the MeV prompt emission phase remains rare, requiring rapid-response robotic facilities. The Ond\v{r}ejov D50 telescope detected the optical counterpart of…
Recent observations by the Fermi satellite suggest that a photosphere emission component is contributing to the observed spectrum of many GRBs. One important question is whether the photosphere component can interpret the typical ``Band''…
We analyze the spectral evolution of GRB 090902B and show that subphotospheric dissipation can explain both the spectra and the spectral evolution. The emission from a GRB photosphere can give rise to a variety of spectral shapes. The…
The temporal evolution of the spectral break in the time resolved spectral energy density of the broad band afterglow of gamma ray bursts (GRBs) 091127 and 080319B was shown recently to be inconsistent with that expected for the cooling…
The gamma-ray burst (GRB) of October 17, 1994 (941017), showed a distinct high energy spectral component extending from $\lesssim$ a few MeV to $\gtrsim$ 200 MeV, in addition to the typical GRB emission which peaked at $\lesssim$ a few…