Searching for the Long-Duration Gamma-Ray Burst Progenitor

Searching for the Long-Duration Gamma-Ray Burst Progenitor
Author: Robert Allan Mesler III
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 122
Release: 2014-05-28
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3319066269

Nominated as an outstanding thesis by the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the University of New Mexico, this thesis seeks to identify the gamma-ray burst (GRB) progenitor. GRBs are extragalactic explosions that briefly outshine entire galaxies, but the mechanism that can release that much energy over a 100 second burst is still a mystery. The leading candidate for the GRB progenitor is currently a massive star which collapses to form a black hole–accretion disk system that powers the GRB. GRB afterglows, however, do not always show the expected behavior of a relativistic blast wave interacting with the stellar wind that such a progenitor should have produced before its collapse./pppIn this book, the author uses the Zeus-MP astrophysical hydrodynamics code to model the environment around a stellar progenitor prior to the burst. He then develops a new semi-analytic MHD and emission model to produce light curves for GRBs encountering these realistic density profiles. The work ultimately shows that the circumburst medium surrounding a GRB at the time of the explosion is much more complex than a pure wind, and that observed afterglows are entirely consistent with a large subset of proposed stellar progenitors.

Gamma-Ray Bursts

Gamma-Ray Bursts
Author: Andrew Levan
Publisher:
Total Pages: 250
Release: 2018-12-21
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9780750315005

As the most powerful explosion that occurs in the universe, gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are one of the most exciting topics being studied in astrophysics. Creating more energy than the Sun does in its entire lifetime, GRBs create a blaze of light that will outshine every other object visible in the sky, enabling us to measure galaxies that are several million years old.GRBs cover various areas of astronomy and interest in them reaches a wide range of fields. Andrew Levan explores the fascinating history of these astronomical occurrences and details our current understanding of GRBs. The science behind them is rapidly moving and this book examines the knowledge that we now have as well as the questions that are continually being raised. Predominantly aimed at PhD students and researchers in the area, Gamma-Ray Bursts addresses this captivating topic and outlines the principles and initial applications of a fascinating astronomical phenomena.

The Physics of Gamma-Ray Bursts

The Physics of Gamma-Ray Bursts
Author: Bing Zhang
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 617
Release: 2019
Genre: History
ISBN: 1107027616

A complete text on the physics of gamma-ray bursts, the most brilliant explosions since the Big Bang.

Memorial Volume On Abdus Salam's 90th Birthday

Memorial Volume On Abdus Salam's 90th Birthday
Author: Lars Brink
Publisher: World Scientific
Total Pages: 543
Release: 2017-03-21
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9813144882

'This book presents a timely set of academic and intellectual views on Salam’s scientific passion, contribution and personality, and will be of great interest to academics in the fields of particle physics, high energy physics and scientific history of the developing world.'Contemporary PhysicsIn honor of one of the most prolific and exciting scientists of the second half of the last century, a memorial meeting was organized by the Institute of Advanced Studies at Nanyang Technological University for Professor Abdus Salam's 90th Birthday in January 2016.Salam believed that 'scientific thought is the common heritage of all mankind' and that the developing world should play its part, not merely by importing technology but by being the arbiter of its own scientific destiny. That belief saw him rise from humble beginnings in a village in Pakistan to become one of the world's most original and influential particle physicists, culminating in the 1979 Nobel Prize (shared with Glashow and Weinberg) for contributions to electroweak unification, which forms an integral part of the Standard Model.The book collected the papers presented at this memorable event which saw many distinguished scientists participating as speakers to reflect on Prof Salam's great passion for the science and achievements.

High-Energy Emission from Pulsars and their Systems

High-Energy Emission from Pulsars and their Systems
Author: Nanda Rea
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 656
Release: 2011-02-04
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3642172512

The aim of the inaugural meeting of the Sant Cugat Forum on Astrophysics was to address, in a global context, the current understanding of and challenges in high-energy emissions from isolated and non-isolated neutron stars, and to confront the theoretical picture with observations of both the Fermi satellite and the currently operating ground-based Cherenkov telescopes. Participants have also discussed the prospects for possible observations with planned instruments across the multi-wavelength spectrum (e.g. SKA, LOFAR, E-VLT, IXO, CTA) and how they will impact our theoretical understanding of these systems. In keeping with the goals of the Forum, this book not only represents the proceedings of the meeting, but also a reflection on the state-of-the-art in the topic.

Observations and Theory of Short GRBs at the Dawn of the Gravitational Wave Era

Observations and Theory of Short GRBs at the Dawn of the Gravitational Wave Era
Author: Giulia Stratta
Publisher: MDPI
Total Pages: 86
Release: 2019-09-30
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3039215884

The book starts with a review of the established facts on the numerical simulations of binary neutron star mergers and simulations of short GRB jets that highlights the issues that need to be revised and further clarified, as the need to understand how the relativistic outflow was launched, what the initial structure of the outflow is, and how it evolved through its interaction with the binary ejecta. Constraints on a local population of faint short duration GRBs are then provided in light of the GW170817/GRB 170817A event at d~40 Mpc by considering statistical limits on a d < 200 Mpc population. Using past and current GRB detectors, results suggest that GRB 170817A-like events are likely to be rare in existing short GRB catalogues and, if binary neutron star merger rates are at the high end of current estimates, then at most a few percent will be accompanied by detectable gamma-ray flashes in the forthcoming LIGO/Virgo science runs. Indirect information on the nature of short GRBs can be obtained from their host galaxy. The host galaxies of most short GRBs are found to be star-forming, but an important fraction, ∼1/5, are elliptical with negligible star formation. Short bursts often occur at very large off-sets from their hosts, in regions where there is little or no underlying host light. These results provide evidence of progenitors associated with merger of compact object binaries with kick velocities of a few tens of km/s and merger times of ∼1 Gyr. The last two issues of the book tackle the physics of the short GRB radiative processes. Interestingly, it was already noted in the past that the prompt emission for short GRBs and the initial 2 s of long-duration GRBs show similarity in the low energy photon index. This result has been further confirmed using a larger sample of Fermi Gamma-ray burst monitor data. In particular, it has been found that for 25% of GRBs, the photon index is shallower than −2/3, challenging the standard synchrotron emission scenario. The extent up to which the reverse shock component is detectable for short GRBs in radio wavelengths is analyzed. Results show that early, radio bright reverse shock is expected in many cases, but more rapid follow-up observational campaigns are required in order to test these predictions.

What Are Gamma-Ray Bursts?

What Are Gamma-Ray Bursts?
Author: Joshua S. Bloom
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 271
Release: 2011-01-10
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1400837006

A brief, cutting-edge introduction to the brightest cosmic phenomena known to science Gamma-ray bursts are the brightest—and, until recently, among the least understood—cosmic events in the universe. Discovered by chance during the cold war, these evanescent high-energy explosions confounded astronomers for decades. But a rapid series of startling breakthroughs beginning in 1997 revealed that the majority of gamma-ray bursts are caused by the explosions of young and massive stars in the vast star-forming cauldrons of distant galaxies. New findings also point to very different origins for some events, serving to complicate but enrich our understanding of the exotic and violent universe. What Are Gamma-Ray Bursts? is a succinct introduction to this fast-growing subject, written by an astrophysicist who is at the forefront of today's research into these incredible cosmic phenomena. Joshua Bloom gives readers a concise and accessible overview of gamma-ray bursts and the theoretical framework that physicists have developed to make sense of complex observations across the electromagnetic spectrum. He traces the history of remarkable discoveries that led to our current understanding of gamma-ray bursts, and reveals the decisive role these phenomena could play in the grand pursuits of twenty-first century astrophysics, from studying gravity waves and unveiling the growth of stars and galaxies after the big bang to surmising the ultimate fate of the universe itself. What Are Gamma-Ray Bursts? is an essential primer to this exciting frontier of scientific inquiry, and a must-read for anyone seeking to keep pace with cutting-edge developments in physics today.

Cosmic Explosions

Cosmic Explosions
Author: J.M. Marcaide
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 575
Release: 2005-11-21
Genre: Science
ISBN: 354026633X

Supernovae are among the most energetic phenomena in the Universe and - lated to almost all aspects of modern astrophysics including starburst gal- ies, cosmic ray acceleration, neutron star and black hole formation, nuc- osynthesis and ISM chemical enrichment, energy input to the ISM, cosmic distance scale determination, dark energy related cosmological acceleration, gamma-ray bursts, extra-solar system neutrino burst detection, gravity wave generation, and many more. Additionally, the past 15 years have been p- ticularly productive with many new results and new understanding due in particular to the closest SN in 400 years in SN 1987A in the Large M- ellanic Cloud, and the unusually bright and close SN 1993J and SN 1994I in the nearby galaxies M81 and M51, respectively. In addition, the disc- ery of the ?-ray burst GRB 980425 and its related supernova SN 1998bw, and the con?rmation of GRB 030329/SN 2003dh, tied the study of SNe and GRBs inextricably together. With the many developments since the last - jor supernova meeting in La Serena, Chile in 1997, we felt that it was an appropriate time to bring together experts and students interested in the subject for a meeting where SN and GRB properties and interrelationships could be discussed. The tenth anniversary of SN 1993J provided such an - portunity and, appropriately, the meeting was held in Spain where SN 1993J was discovered on the early morning of 28 March 1993 by a Spanish amateur astronomer, Francisco Garc ́ ?a.

Gamma-Ray Burst

Gamma-Ray Burst
Author: Charles Meegan
Publisher: American Institute of Physics
Total Pages: 562
Release: 2009-06-11
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9780735406704

This was a technical symposium for astrophysicists working on gamma-ray bursts. It included discussions on the latest theoretical and experimental research on this topic, as well as plans for the next generation of orbiting instrumentation. The proceedings will be useful for specialists in the area of gamma-ray burst astronomy.

Thirteenth Marcel Grossmann Meeting, The: On Recent Developments In Theoretical And Experimental General Relativity, Astrophysics And Relativistic Field Theories - Proceedings Of The Mg13 Meeting On General Relativity (In 3 Volumes)

Thirteenth Marcel Grossmann Meeting, The: On Recent Developments In Theoretical And Experimental General Relativity, Astrophysics And Relativistic Field Theories - Proceedings Of The Mg13 Meeting On General Relativity (In 3 Volumes)
Author: Remo Ruffini
Publisher: World Scientific
Total Pages: 2807
Release: 2015-01-26
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9814630004

The Marcel Grossmann Meetings seek to further the development of the foundations and applications of Einstein's general relativity by promoting theoretical understanding in the relevant fields of physics, mathematics, astronomy and astrophysics and to direct future technological, observational, and experimental efforts. The meetings discuss recent developments in classical and quantum aspects of gravity, and in cosmology and relativistic astrophysics, with major emphasis on mathematical foundations and physical predictions, having the main objective of gathering scientists from diverse backgrounds for deepening our understanding of spacetime structure and reviewing the current state of the art in the theory, observations and experiments pertinent to relativistic gravitation. The range of topics is broad, going from the more abstract classical theory, quantum gravity, branes and strings, to more concrete relativistic astrophysics observations and modeling.The three volumes of the proceedings of MG13 give a broad view of all aspects of gravitational physics and astrophysics, from mathematical issues to recent observations and experiments. The scientific program of the meeting included 33 morning plenary talks during 6 days, and 75 parallel sessions over 4 afternoons. Volume A contains plenary and review talks ranging from the mathematical foundations of classical and quantum gravitational theories including recent developments in string/brane theories, to precision tests of general relativity including progress towards the detection of gravitational waves, and from supernova cosmology to relativistic astrophysics including such topics as gamma ray bursts, black hole physics both in our galaxy and in active galactic nuclei in other galaxies, and neutron star and pulsar astrophysics. Volumes B and C include parallel sessions which touch on dark matter, neutrinos, X-ray sources, astrophysical black holes, neutron stars, binary systems, radiative transfer, accretion disks, quasors, gamma ray bursts, supernovas, alternative gravitational theories, perturbations of collapsed objects, analog models, black hole thermodynamics, numerical relativity, gravitational lensing, large scale structure, observational cosmology, early universe models and cosmic microwave background anisotropies, inhomogeneous cosmology, inflation, global structure, singularities, chaos, Einstein-Maxwell systems, wormholes, exact solutions of Einstein's equations, gravitational waves, gravitational wave detectors and data analysis, precision gravitational measurements, quantum gravity and loop quantum gravity, quantum cosmology, strings and branes, self-gravitating systems, gamma ray astronomy, and cosmic rays and the history of general relativity.