Implications of Recent Observational Discoveries for the Nature and Origin of Gamma-Ray Bursts

Abstract

The discoveries that GRBs have X-ray, optical and radio afterglows have connected the study of GRBs to the rest of astronomy, and revolutionized the field. In this review, I discuss the implications that the observation of these afterglows have for burst energies and luminosities, and for models of the bursts and their afterglows. I describe recent evidence linking the long, softer, smoother GRBs detected by BeppoSAX and core collapse supernovae. Finally, I summarize recent work showing that, if these GRBs are due to the collapse of massive stars, they may provide a powerful probe of the very high redshift universe.

25 pages, latex, 24 postscript figures, to be published in a special memorial volume of Physics Reports in honor of David Schramm

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• Observation of contemporaneous optical radiation from a gamma-ray burst
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• GRB 970228 Revisited: Evidence for a Supernova in the Light Curve and La te Spectral Energy Distribution of the Afterglow
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Cited by in corpus (10)

• Optical Spectroscopy of Type Ib/c Supernovae
• A Comprehensive Analysis of Swift/XRT Data: III. Jet Break Candidates in X-ray and Optical Afterglow Lightcurves
• A Unified Jet Model of X-Ray Flashes, X-Ray-Rich Gamma-Ray Bursts, and Gamma-Ray Bursts: I. Power-Law-Shaped Universal and Top-Hat-Shaped Variable Opening-Angle Jet Models
• Highlights of the HETE-2 Mission
• Scientific Highlights of the HETE-2 Mission
• The Importance of Off-Jet Relativistic Kinematics in Gamma-Ray Burst Jet Models
• A possible Universal Origin of Hadronic Cosmic Rays from Ultrarelativistic Ejecta of Bipolar Supernovae
• The cepheid-like relationship between variability and luminosity explained within the ``cannonball model'' of Gamma-Ray bursts
• The weak INTEGRAL bursts GRB040223 and GRB040624: an emerging population of dark afterglows
• Gravitational Waves, Gamma Ray Bursts, and Black Stars