Probing the dark ages with redshift distribution of GRBs

Abstract

In this article, we explore the possibility of using the properties of gamma ray bursts (GRBs) to probe the physical conditions in the epochs prior to reionization. The redshift distribution of GRBs is modelled using the Press-Schechter formalism with an assumption that they follow the cosmic star formation history. We reproduce the observed star formation rate obtained from galaxies in the redshift range 0 < z < 5, as well as the redshift distribution of the GRBs inferred from the luminosity-variability correlation of the burst light curve. We show that the fraction of GRBs at high redshifts, whose afterglows cannot be observed in R and I band due to HI Gunn Peterson optical depth can, at the most, account for one third of the dark GRBs. The observed redshift distribution of GRBs, with much less scatter than the one available today, can put stringent constraints on the epoch of reionization and the nature of gas cooling in the epochs prior to reionization.

5 pages. Revised following referee's comments. Accepted in MNRAS Letters (pink pages)

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• A Short Introduction to Reionization Physics
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• Massive black hole remnants of the first stars III: observational signatures from the past
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• Spatial Clustering of High Redshift Lyman Break Galaxies
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• Observing the First Stars and Black Holes
• Star formation in high redshift galaxies including Supernova feedback: effect on stellar mass and luminosity functions
• Weighing neutrinos using high redshift galaxy luminosity functions
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• The Optical Luminosity Function of Gamma-ray Bursts deduced from ROTSE-III Observations