scholarly journals The Swift satellite lives up to its name, revealing cosmic explosions as they happen

2008 ◽  
Vol 366 (1884) ◽  
pp. 4393-4404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rhaana L.C Starling
Keyword(s):  
Gamma Radiation ◽  
Gamma Ray ◽  
Massive Stars ◽  
Gamma Ray Bursts ◽  
Electromagnetic Spectrum ◽  
Distant Galaxies ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Cosmic Explosions ◽  
The Universe

Gamma-ray bursts are the most powerful objects in the Universe. Discovered in the 1960s as brief flashes of gamma radiation, we now know that they emit across the entire electromagnetic spectrum, are located in distant galaxies and comprise two distinct populations, one of which may originate in the deaths of massive stars. The launch of the Swift satellite in 2004 brought a flurry of new discoveries, advancing our understanding of these sources and the galaxies that host them. I highlight a number of important results from the Swift era thus far.

What Are Gamma-Ray Bursts?

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua S. Bloom
Keyword(s):  
Gamma Ray ◽  
Decisive Role ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Big Bang ◽  
Gamma Ray Bursts ◽  
Electromagnetic Spectrum ◽  
Star Forming ◽  
New Findings ◽  
Ultimate Fate ◽  
The Universe

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. This book is an introduction to this fast-growing subject, written by an astrophysicist who is at the forefront of today's research into these incredible cosmic phenomena. The book 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. The book 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. This book 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.

scholarly journals Gamma-ray Bursts Progress and Problems

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (S324) ◽  
pp. 49-53
Author(s):  
N. R. Tanvir
Keyword(s):  
Galaxy Evolution ◽  
Gamma Ray ◽  
Gamma Ray Bursts ◽  
Compact Binary ◽  
Distant Galaxies ◽  
Long Duration ◽  
Massive Neutron Star ◽  
Binary Mergers ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Universe

AbstractOur understanding of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) has come a long way in the past fifty years since their first detection. We now know that GRBs arise in distant galaxies and that there are at least two distinct sub-classes, the long-duration class being produced by some rare massive star core collapse and the short-duration class likely by compact binary mergers involved neutron stars. In both cases, the final remnant will be a stellar-mass black-hole or a massive neutron star. The bursts themselves are associated with ultra-relativistic jetted outflows created by these events, and their afterglows by the impact of these outflows on the surrounding circumburst material. Increasingly GRBs are also being used as probes of the universe, both for understanding galaxy evolution back to the era of reionization, and for the physics of gravitational wave sources. However, many aspects of GRBs remain poorly understood, some pointers to which are given here.

scholarly journals Explosions from stellar collapse

2003 ◽  
Vol 212 ◽  
pp. 377-386
Author(s):  
Chris L. Fryer
Keyword(s):  
Potential Energy ◽  
Gravitational Potential ◽  
Massive Star ◽  
Gamma Ray ◽  
Massive Stars ◽  
Power Source ◽  
Gamma Ray Bursts ◽  
Gravitational Potential Energy ◽  
Stellar Collapse ◽  
The Universe

The collapse of a massive star releases a considerable amount of gravitational potential energy. This energy is believed to be the power source of some of the largest explosions in the universe: supernovae, hypernovae, gamma-ray bursts. In this proceedings, we review the mechanisms by which the potential energy from stellar collapse can be tapped to produce these strong explosions, emphasizing how our understanding of massive stars can help constrain these mechanisms.

scholarly journals The Life and Death of Massive Stars in the Starburst Galaxy I Zw 18

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (A29B) ◽  
pp. 215-216
Author(s):  
Dorottya Szécsi ◽  
Norbert Langer
Keyword(s):  
Stellar Evolution ◽  
Gamma Ray ◽  
Massive Stars ◽  
Gamma Ray Bursts ◽  
Starburst Galaxy ◽  
Life And Death ◽  
Long Duration ◽  
Low Metallicity ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Evolution Proceeds

AbstractMassive stars at low metallicity are strong candidates for two of the most energetic explosions in the Universe: long duration gamma-ray bursts and superluminous supernovae. But what is the reason these explosions prefer low metallicity environments? To answer this question, we investigate how massive stellar evolution proceeds in low metallicity environments.

scholarly journals Gamma-ray bursts from stellar remnants: probing the Universe at high redshift

1998 ◽  
Vol 294 (1) ◽  
pp. L13-L17 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. A. M. J. Wijers ◽  
J. S. Bloom ◽  
J. S. Bagla ◽  
P. Natarajan
Keyword(s):  
Gamma Ray ◽  
High Redshift ◽  
Gamma Ray Bursts ◽  
The Universe

Gamma-Ray Bursts as Probes of the Universe

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua S. Bloom
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Cosmic Rays ◽  
Gravitational Waves ◽  
Gamma Ray ◽  
Gamma Ray Bursts ◽  
Ongoing Study ◽  
Observable Universe ◽  
History Of ◽  
Expansion Of The Universe ◽  
The Universe

This chapter focuses on how gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are emerging as unique tools in the study of broad areas of astronomy and physics by virtue of their special properties. The unassailable fact about GRBs that makes them such great probes is that they are fantastically bright and so can be seen to the farthest reaches of the observable Universe. In parallel with the ongoing study of GRB events and progenitors, new lines of inquiry have burgeoned: using GRBs as unique probes of the Universe in ways that are almost completely divorced from the nature of GRBs themselves. Topics discussed include studies of gas, dust, and galaxies; the history of star formation; measuring reionization and the first objects in the universe; neutrinos, gravitational waves, and cosmic rays; quantum gravity and the expansion of the universe; and the future of GRBs.

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