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Ray Bursts (ray + burst)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Physics and Astronomy100%

Selected Abstracts

The , -ray burst phenomenon treated as the collapse of a QED magnetized vacuum bubble: analogy with sonoluminescence

MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 4 2000
YU. N. Gnedin
We treat the phenomenon of a , -ray burst as the non-linear collapse of a magnetic cavity surrounding a neutron star with extremely large magnetic field B,1015,1016 G due to the process of bubble shape instability in the resonant MHD field of an accreting plasma or on a neutron star surface. The QED effect of vacuum polarizability by a strong magnetic field is taken into a consideration. We develop an analogy with the phenomenon of sonoluminescence in which the gas bubble is located in a surrounding liquid with a driven sound intensity. [source]

Delayed X-ray emission from fallback in compact-object mergers

MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 4 2009
Elena M. Rossi
ABSTRACT When double neutron star or neutron star,black hole binaries merge, the final remnant may comprise a central solar-mass black hole surrounded by a ,0.01,0.1 M, torus. The subsequent evolution of this disc may be responsible for short ,-ray bursts (SGRBs). A comparable amount of mass is ejected into eccentric orbits and will eventually fallback to the merger site after ,0.01 s. In this paper, we investigate analytically the fate of the fallback matter, which may provide a luminous signal long after the disc is exhausted. We find that matter in the eccentric tail returns at a super-Eddington rate and eventually (,0.1 s) is unable to cool via neutrino emission and accrete all the way to the black hole. Therefore, contrary to previous claims, our analysis suggests that fallback matter is not an efficient source of late-time accretion power and unlikely to cause the late-flaring activity observed in SGRB afterglows. The fallback matter rather forms a radiation-driven wind or a bound atmosphere. In both the cases, the emitting plasma is very opaque and photons are released with a degraded energy in the X-ray band. We therefore suggest that compact binary mergers could be followed by an ,X-ray renaissance', as late as several days to weeks after the merger. This might be observed by the next generation of X-ray detectors. [source]

Winds from massive stars: implications for the afterglows of , -ray bursts

MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 3 2001
Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz
Recent observations suggest that long-duration , -ray bursts (GRBs) and their afterglows are produced by highly relativistic jets emitted in core-collapse explosions. The pre-explosive ambient medium provides a natural test for the most likely progenitors of GRBs. Those stars that shed their envelopes most readily have short jet crossing times and are more likely to produce a GRB. We construct a simple computational scheme to explore the expected contribution of the presupernova ejecta of single Wolf,Rayet (WR) stars to the circumstellar environment. Using detailed stellar tracks for the evolution of massive stars, we discuss the effects that the initial main-sequence mass, metallicity, rotation and membership in a binary system have on the ambient medium. We extend the theory of GRB afterglows in winds to consider the effect of the relativistic fireball propagating through the WR ejecta. Specific predictions are made for the interaction of the relativistic blast wave with the density bumps that arise when the progenitor star rapidly loses a large fraction of its initial mass or when the ejected wind interacts with the external medium and decelerates. A re-brightening of the afterglow with a spectrum redder than the typical synchrotron spectrum (as seen in GRB 970508, GRB 980326 and GRB 000911) is predicted. We also calculate the luminosity of the reflected echo that arises when circumstellar material Compton-scatters the prompt radiation, and examine the spectral signatures expected from the interaction of the GRB afterglow with the ejected medium. [source]

Probing the existence of the Epeak,Eiso correlation in long gamma ray bursts

MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY: LETTERS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 1 2005
Giancarlo Ghirlanda
ABSTRACT We probe the existence of the Epeak,Eiso correlation in long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) using a sample of 442 BATSE bursts with known Epeak and with redshift estimated through the lag,luminosity correlation. This sample confirms that the rest-frame peak energy is correlated with the isotropic equivalent energy. The distribution of the scatter of the points around the best-fitting line is similar to that obtained with the 27 bursts with spectroscopic redshifts. We interpret the scatter in the Epeak,Eiso plane as due to the opening angle distribution of GRB jets. By assuming that the collimation corrected energy correlates with Epeak we can derive the observed distribution of the jet opening angles, which turns out to be lognormal with a peak value of . [source]

The Granada workshop on High Redshift Radio Galaxies: An overview

ASTRONOMISCHE NACHRICHTEN, Issue 2-3 2006
H. J. A. Röttgering
Abstract The Granada workshop on High Redshift Radio Galaxies (HzRGs) gave an excellent overview of the progress that has been made in this field during the last 3 years. Here we briefly review some of the results, with an emphasis on what studies of HzRGs can teach us about the formation and evolution of massive galaxies, clusters and active galactic nuclei (AGN). Of great relevance for this workshop are scenarios that describe certain aspects of the evolution of radio galaxies, including (i) the sequence of events after merging of galaxies that ultimately lead to extended powerful radio sources and (ii) the mass assembly and virialization of the hosting massive galaxies and their associated (proto-)clusters. Furthermore, I briefly discuss two projects that are important for a further understanding of AGN and high redshift radio galaxies. First, using the MIDI instrument mounted on the VLT Interferometer, the dusty tori of nearby AGN can be studied in the range of 8,13 micron at high angular resolution. The first result on the nearby AGN NGC 1068 as presented by Jaffe et al. (2004) indicated the presence of a hot (T > 800 K), compact (,1 pc) component, possible identified with the base of the jet and a warm (270 K), well-resolved (3 × 4 pc) component associated with the alleged torus. Second, LOFAR is a new low frequency radio telescope that is currently being build in the Netherlands and is expected to be operational in 2008. With 50 stations spread over an area of 100 km in diameter, its resolution and sensitivity will be unprecedented in the frequency range 10,240 MHz. LOFAR will be a unique instrument that will impact a broad range of astrophysical topics varying from the epoch of reionisation, to gamma ray bursts and cosmic rays. Surveys with LOFAR will be of paramount importance for studies of HzRGs: It will enable (i) defining samples of radio galaxies with redshifts higher than 6, (ii) observations of starbursting galaxies in proto-clusters, and (iii) mapping out the low-frequency radio emission of virtually all northern radio-loud AGN in revolutionary detail. (© 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source]

The optical detection of gamma ray bursts with the 1.3 m robotically controlled telescope on Kitt Peak

ASTRONOMISCHE NACHRICHTEN, Issue 6-8 2004
C. H. McGruder III
No abstract is available for this article. [source]