2002/05/31 by Tirthankar Roy Choudhury, T. Roy Choudhury, R. Srianand · 35 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy #Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations #Astrophysics #COSMIC cancer database #Dark Ages #Galaxy #Gamma-ray burst #Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae #Luminosity #Physics #Redshift #Reionization #Star formation #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1046/j.1365-8711.2002.05984.x
published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 336(2), L27-L31 (Oxford University Press) · 5 pages. Revised following referee's comments. Accepted in MNRAS Letters (pink pages)
arxiv created 2002/08/19 · openalex publication_date 2002/10/21 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
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, the afterglows of which cannot be observed in the R and I bands owing to H i 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.