1999/12/07 by J. P. Norris, Norris, J. P., J. T. Bonnell +5 · 1 citation
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Astrophysics (astro-ph) #FOS: Physical sciences #Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae #Geophysics and Gravity Measurements #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.astro-ph/9912136
4 pages
arxiv created 1999/12/07 · openalex publication_date 1999/12/07 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The fast temporal structures and cosmological distances of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) afford a natural laboratory for testing theories of frequency-dependent propagation of high-energy photons, as predicted for quantum gravity (QG). We calibrate the sensitivity of the proposed Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) by performing simulations which include: the response of GLAST to a GRB fluence distribution; a distribution of spectral power-law indices similar to the EGRET sample; and consideration of gamma-gamma attenuation, significant above ~ 10 GeV for redshifts z > 3 - 5. We find that GLAST should detect > 200 GRBs per year, with sensitivity to a few tens of GeV for a few bursts. GLAST could detect the energy- and distance-dependent dispersion (10 ms / GeV / Gpc) predicted by QG with 1 - 2 years of observations. Attribution to QG would require correlation of GRB redshifts with the temporal and energetic signatures.