Related papers: Limits on Expanding Relativistic Shells from Gamma…
We consider the effects of rapid pair creation by an intense pulse of gamma-rays propagating ahead of a relativistic shock. Side-scattered photons colliding with the main gamma-ray beam amplify the density of scattering charges. The…
The prompt emission of gamma-ray bursts (hereafter GRBs) probably comes from a highly relativistic wind which converts its kinetic energy into radiation via the formation of shocks within the wind itself. Such "internal shocks" can occur if…
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.…
Gamma ray bursts are excellent candidates to constrain physical models which break Lorentz symmetry. We consider deformed dispersion relations which break the boost invariance and lead to an energy-dependent speed of light. In these models,…
We use a new method of analysis to determine parameters of cosmological gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), assuming that their distribution follows the star-formation history of the universe. Spectral evolution is calculated from an external shock…
The jet opening angle theta_jet and the bulk Lorentz factor Gamma_0 are crucial parameters for the computation of the energetics of Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs). From the ~30 GRBs with measured theta_jet or Gamma_0 it is known that: (i) the real…
We calculate the spectrum of blast wave models of gamma-ray burst sources, for various assumptions about the magnetic field density and the relativistic particle acceleration efficiency. For a range of physically plausible models we find…
Ultra-relativistic motion and efficient conversion of kinetic energy to radiation are required by gamma-ray burst (GRB) observations, yet they are difficult to simultaneously achieve. Three leading mechanisms have been proposed to explain…
In the internal shock scenario for GRBs we expect some fraction of the energy of the burst to be carried by slow moving shells that were ejected at late times. These slow shells collide with faster moving outer shells when the outer shells…
We discuss some of the preliminary results and findings derived from the analysis of a first sample of flares detected by the XRT on board Swift. The analysis shows that the morphology of flares is the one we expect from the collision of…
Knowledge of the bulk Lorentz factor $\Gamma_{0}$ of GRBs allows us to compute their comoving frame properties shedding light on their physics. Upon collisions with the circumburst matter, the fireball of a GRB starts to decelerate,…
We consider the interaction between a relativistic fireball and material assumed to be still located just outside the progenitor star. Only a small fraction of the expected mass is sufficient to efficiently decelerate the fireball, leading…
Sari and Piran have demonstrated that the time structure of gamma-ray bursts must reflect the time structure of their energy release. A model which satisfies this condition uses the electrodynamic emission of energy by the magnetized…
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) show a dramatic pulse structure that requires bulk relativistic motion, but whose physical origin has remained murky. We focus on a hot, magnetized jet that is emitted by a black hole and interacts with a confining…
A large variety of explosions result in mildly or ultra relativistic shock breakouts. Here we calculate the luminosity and spectrum that these breakouts produce. In order to do so we improve an analytic description of relativistic radiation…
In models for gamma ray burst afterglows, it is normally assumed that the external shock strongly amplifies the magnetic field and that this field maintains a steady value throughout the shocked region. We discuss the effects of modifying…
Gamma-ray bursts are believed to be some catastrophic event in which material is ejected at a relativistic velocity, and internal collisions within this ejecta produce the observed $\gamma$-ray flash. The angular size of a causally…
Evidence suggests that the gamma-ray burst (GRB) ejecta is likely magnetized, although the degree of magnetization of the ejecta is unknown. We derive a rigorous analytical solution for the relativistic 90 degree shocks under the ideal MHD…
Expanding blast waves are ubiquitous in many astronomical sources, such as supernovae remnants (SNRs), X-ray emitting binaries (XRBs) and gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). I consider here the dynamics of such an expanding blast wave, both in the…
Gamma-ray burst (GRB) engines are probed most intimately during the prompt gamma-ray luminous phase when the expanding blast wave is closest to the explosion center. Using GRBs 990123 and 940217 as guides, we briefly review observations of…