Related papers: Gamma-ray Burst Models: General Requirements and P…
The possibility that gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) were not isotropic emissions was devised theoretically as a way to ameliorate the huge energetic budget implied by the standard fireball model for these powerful phenomena. However, the mechanism…
Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs), short and intense pulses of low energy gamma-rays, have fascinated astronomers and astrophysicists since their unexpected discovery in the late sixties. During the last decade, several space missions: BATSE (Burst…
It is generally believed that cosmological Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) are produced by the deceleration of relativistic objects with Lorentz factor (Gamma) >~ 100. We study the possibility that some GRBs are produced along with relativistic…
Despite that gamma-ray bursts is a phenomenon quite different from accreting compact objects, it could be that their hard X-ray emission is associated with a very similar mechanism of energy dissipation. In both cases, we could deal with…
We calculate the expected envelope of emission for relativistic shells under the assumption of local spherical symmetry. Gamma-Ray Burst envelopes rarely conform to the expected shape, which is similar to a FRED; a fast rise and exponential…
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-…
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…
The energetics of optical and radio afterglows following BeppoSAX and BATSE gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) suggests that gamma-ray emission is not narrowly collimated, but a moderate beaming is possible, so the total energy of a GRB may be in the…
I outline a unified model of high-energy astrophysics, in which the gamma background radiation, cluster "cooling flows", gamma-ray bursts, X-ray flashes and cosmic-ray electrons and nuclei of all energies -share a common origin. The…
Recent rapid advances in the observations of Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) lend much confidence to the cosmological fireball (FB) model: there is now compelling evidence that the radiation is emitted by a relativistic shock where a high speed…
The BATSE experiment has now observed more than 1100 gamma-ray bursts. The observed angular distribution is isotropic, while the brightness distribution of bursts shows a reduced number of faint events. These observations favor a…
We propose that the gravitational collapse of supermassive objects ($ M\ga 10^4 M_\odot$), either as relativistic star clusters or as single supermassive stars (which may result from stellar mergers in dense star clusters), could be a…
The Gamma-Ray Bursts - GRBs are one of the most energetic astronomical events in the universe that have not yet an adequate explanation of what kind of mechanism is carried out. This question motivates the astronomical community to do…
Observations of X-ray flares from Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) imply strong constraints on possible physical models. We provide a general discussion of these. In particular, we show that in order to account for the relatively flat and weak…
The cosmological gamma-ray burst (GRB) model for the production of ultra- high energy cosmic rays is described, and the current observational evidence which support it discussed. Several predictions of the model are presented, which would…
Observations of gamma-ray bursts are being used to test for a momentum dependence of the speed of photons, partly motivated by preliminary results reported in analyses of some quantum-spacetime scenarios. The relationship between time of…
The variety of gamma-ray burst phenomenology could be largely attributable to differences in the opening angle of an isotropic outflow or to a standard type of event viewed from different orientations. Motivated by this currently popular…
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…
We estimate the fraction of the total energy in a Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) that is radiated in photons during the main burst. Random internal collisions among different shells limit the efficiency for converting bulk kinetic energy to photons.…
The prompt emission of gamma-ray bursts probably comes from a highly relativistic wind which converts part of its kinetic energy into radiation via the formation of shocks within the wind itself. Such "internal shocks" can occur if the wind…