Gamma-Ray Bursts in the Swift Era
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In this article, the authors review the rapid observational and theoretical progress in this dynamical research field during the first two-year of the Swift mission, focusing on how observational breakthroughs have revolutionized our understanding of the physical origins of GRBs.Abstract:
Since the successful launch of NASA's dedicated gamma-ray burst (GRB) mission, Swift, the study of cosmological GRBs has entered a new era. Here I review the rapid observational and theoretical progress in this dynamical research field during the first two-year of the Swift mission, focusing on how observational breakthroughs have revolutionized our understanding of the physical origins of GRBs. Besides summarizing how Swift helps to solve some pre-Swift mysteries, I also list some outstanding problems raised by the Swift observations. An outlook of GRB science in the future, especially in the GLAST era, is briefly discussed.read more
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Journal ArticleDOI
Methods and results of an automatic analysis of a complete sample of Swift-XRT observations of GRBs
Phil Evans,A. P. Beardmore,K. L. Page,J. P. Osborne,P. T. O'Brien,Richard Willingale,R. L. C. Starling,David N. Burrows,Olivier Godet,L. Vetere,Judith Racusin,M. R. Goad,Klaas Wiersema,Lorella Angelini,Milvia Capalbi,G. Chincarini,G. Chincarini,Neil Gehrels,J. A. Kennea,Raffaella Margutti,Raffaella Margutti,D. C. Morris,D. C. Morris,C. J. Mountford,C. Pagani,M. Perri,P. Romano,Nial R. Tanvir +27 more
TL;DR: A homogeneous X-rays analysis of all 318 gamma-ray bursts detected by the X-ray telescope (XRT) on the Swift satellite up to 2008 July 23 is presented; this represents the largest sample ofX-ray GRB data published to date.
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Dark Energy
TL;DR: A survey of theoretical models and some aspects of numerical studies for dark energy can be found in this paper, where the authors review the problem of dark energy, including a survey of the theoretical models.
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The physics of gamma-ray bursts & relativistic jets
Pawan Kumar,Bing Zhang +1 more
TL;DR: A comprehensive review of major developments in our understanding of gamma-ray bursts, with particular focus on the discoveries made within the last fifteen years when their true nature was uncovered, can be found in this paper.
Journal ArticleDOI
The Physics of Gamma-Ray Bursts and Relativistic Jets
Pawan Kumar,Bing Zhang +1 more
TL;DR: A comprehensive review of major developments in the understanding of gamma-ray bursts can be found in this article, with particular focus on the discoveries made within the last fifteen years when their true nature was uncovered.
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The strongest cosmic magnets: soft gamma-ray repeaters and anomalous X-ray pulsars
Abstract: Two classes of X-ray pulsars, the anomalous X-ray pulsars and the soft gamma-ray repeaters, have been recognized in the last decade as the most promising candidates for being magnetars: isolated neutron stars powered by magnetic energy. I review the observational properties of these objects, focussing on the most recent results, and their interpretation in the magnetar model. Alternative explanations, in particular those based on accretion from residual disks, are also considered. The possible relations between these sources and other classes of neutron stars and astrophysical objects are also discussed.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
Swift identification of dark gamma-ray bursts
Pall Jakobsson,Pall Jakobsson,Jens Hjorth,Johan P. U. Fynbo,Darach Watson,Kristian Pedersen,Gunnlaugur Björnsson,Javier Gorosabel,Javier Gorosabel +8 more
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present an optical flux vs. X-ray flux diagram for all known gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) for which an Xray afterglow has been detected, and propose an operational definition of dark bursts as those bursts that are optically subluminous with respect to the fireball model.
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Is thermal emission in gamma-ray bursts ubiquitous?
TL;DR: In this article, a hybrid model with a thermal and a non-thermal component was proposed to explain the gamma-ray burst spectral evolution, and the authors showed that the thermal component is the key emission process determining the spectral evolution.
Journal ArticleDOI
Gamma‐ray burst efficiency and possible physical processes shaping the early afterglow
TL;DR: In this article, the authors re-examine the estimates of kinetic energy in GRB afterglows and show that the efficiency of converting the kinetic energy into gamma-rays is moderate and does not challenge the standard internal shock model.
Journal ArticleDOI
Particle Acceleration in Relativistic Jets due to Weibel Instability
Ken-Ichi Nishikawa,Philip E. Hardee,G. Richardson,Robert D. Preece,Robert D. Preece,Helene Sol,Gerald J. Fishman +6 more
TL;DR: In this article, the Weibel instability created in the collisionless shock front accelerates particles perpendicular and parallel to the jet propagation direction, which contributes to the electron s transverse deflection behind the jet head.
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Implications of the Lag-Luminosity Relationship for Unified Gamma-Ray Burst Paradigms
TL;DR: In this paper, a cross-correlation methodology was used to estimate spectral lags for 1429 long (T90 > 2 s) BATSE gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) with peak flux Fp > 0.25 photons cm-2 s-1, near to the BATSE trigger threshold.
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