2004/05/25 by Tsvi Piran · 19 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Afterglow #Astro and Planetary Science #Astronomy #Astrophysics #Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena #Cosmic ray #Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope #Gamma-ray burst #Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae #High-energy astronomy #Light curve #Observatory #Physics #Supernova #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/revmodphys.76.1143
published as Rev.Mod.Phys.76:1143-1210,2004 · 159 pages, 33 figures, accepted for publication in Reviews of Modern Physics
arxiv created 2004/05/25 · openalex publication_date 2005/01/28 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06
Gamma-ray bursts (GRB's), short and intense pulses of low-energy \ensuremathγ rays, have fascinated astronomers and astrophysicists since their unexpected discovery in the late sixties. During the last decade, several space missions---BATSE (Burst and Transient Source Experiment) on the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory, BeppoSAX and now HETE II (High-Energy Transient Explorer)---together with ground-based optical, infrared, and radio observatories have revolutionized our understanding of GRB's, showing that they are cosmological, that they are accompanied by long-lasting afterglows, and that they are associated with core-collapse supernovae. At the same time a theoretical understanding has emerged in the form of the fireball internal-external shocks model. According to this model GRB's are produced when the kinetic energy of an ultrarelativistic flow is dissipated in internal collisions. The afterglow arises when the flow is slowed down by shocks with the surrounding circumburst matter. This model has had numerous successful predictions, like the predictions of the afterglow itself, of jet breaks in the afterglow light curve, and of the optical flash that accompanies the GRB's. This review focuses on the current theoretical understanding of the physical processes believed to take place in GRB's.