Basic gamma-ray burst afterglows

Mészáros, P.; Wijers, R. A. M. J.

doi:10.1017/cbo9780511980336.009

Cited by 3 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…(5) The remaining kinetic energy is deposited into the surrounding medium, heating it and producing the observed afterglow. Cartoon is taken from Meszaros and Rees (2014). part of this energy is converted into kinetic energy, in the form of relativistic outflow. This is the stage in which GRB jets are formed and accelerated to relativistic velocities.…”

Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The kinetic energy is thus gradually converted into heat, and the afterglow gradually fades away. A cartoon showing these basic ingredients in the context of the "fireball" model, is shown in Figure 13, adapted from Meszaros and Rees (2014).…”

Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The rapid progress in this field is the cause of the fact that in the past decade there have been very many excellent reviews covering various aspects of GRB phenomenology and physics. A partial list includes reviews by Waxman (2003); Piran (2004); Zhang and Mészáros (2004); Mészáros (2006); Nakar (2007); Zhang (2007); Fan and Piran (2008); ; ; Gehrels and Mészáros (2012); Bucciantini (2012); ; Daigne (2013); Zhang (2014); Kumar and Zhang (2014); Berger (2014); Meszaros and Rees (2014). My goal here is not to compete with these reviews, but to highlight some of the recent -partially, still controversial results and developments in this field, as well as to point into current and future directions which are promising paths.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Physics of Gamma-Ray Bursts Prompt Emission

Pe’er

2015

Advances in Astronomy

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In recent years, our understanding of gamma-ray bursts (GRB) prompt emission has been revolutionized, due to a combination of new instruments, new analysis methods and novel ideas. In this review, I describe the most recent observational results and the current theoretical interpretation. Observationally, a major development is the rise of time-resolved spectral analysis. These led to (I) identification of a distinguished high energy component, with GeV photons often seen at a delay; and (II) firm evidence for the existence of a photospheric (thermal) component in a large number of bursts. These results triggered many theoretical efforts aimed at understanding the physical conditions in the inner jet regions from which the prompt photons are emitted, as well as the spectral diversity observed. I highlight some areas of active theoretical research. These include: (I) understanding the role played by magnetic fields in shaping the dynamics of GRB outflow and spectra; (II) understanding the microphysics of kinetic and magnetic energy transfer, namely accelerating particle to high energies in both shock waves and magnetic reconnection layers; (III) understanding how sub-photospheric energy dissipation broadens the "Planck" spectrum; and (IV) geometrical light aberration effects. I highlight some of these efforts, and point towards gaps that still exist in our knowledge as well as promising directions for the future.Since this is a rapidly evolving field, one has to be extra careful in describing the spectra of GRB prompt emission. As I will show below, the observed spectra is, in fact sensitive to the analysis method chosen. Thus, before describing the spectra, one has to describe the analysis method.Typically, the spectral analysis is based on analyzing flux integrated over the entire duration of the prompt emission, namely the spectra is time-integrated. Clearly, this is a trade off, as enough photons need to be collected in order to analyze the spectra. For weak bursts this is the only thing one can do. However, there is a major drawback here: use of the time integrated spectra implies that important time-dependent signals could potentially be lost or at least smeared. This can easily lead to the wrong theoretical interpretation.A second point of caution is the analysis method, which is done by a forward folding technique. This means the following. First, a model spectrum is chosen. Second, the chosen model is convolved with the detector response, and compared to the detected counts spectrum. Third, the model parameters are varied in search for the minimal difference between model and data. The outcome is the best fitted parameters within the framework of the chosen model. This analysis method is the only one that can be used, due to the non-linearity of the detector's response matrix, which makes it impossible to invert.However, the need to pre-determine the fitted model implies that the results are biased by the initial hypothesis. Two different models can fit the data equally well. This fact, which is often bei...

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Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Physics of Gamma-Ray Bursts Prompt Emission

Pe’er

2015

Advances in Astronomy

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“…I should stress that I limit the discussion here to plasma physics phenomena only; in recent years, there have been many excellent reviews covering various aspects of GRB phenomenology and physics, and I refer to reader to these reviews for a more comprehensive discussion on the various subjects. A partial list includes Atteia and Boër [12], Gehrels and Mészáros [13], Bucciantini [14], Gehrels and Razzaque [15], Daigne [16], Zhang [17], Berger [18], Meszaros and Rees [19], Pe'er [20], Kumar and Zhang [21], Granot et al [22], Zhang et al [23], Toma et al [24], Pe'er and Ryde [25], Beloborodov and Mészáros [26], Dai et al [27], van Eerten [28], Nagataki [29].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plasmas in Gamma-Ray Bursts: Particle Acceleration, Magnetic Fields, Radiative Processes and Environments

Pe’er

2019

Galaxies

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Being the most extreme explosions in the universe, gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) provide a unique laboratory to study various plasma physics phenomena. The complex lightcurve and broad-band, non-thermal spectra indicate a very complicated system on the one hand, but on the other hand provide a wealth of information to study it. In this chapter I focus on recent progress in some of the key unsolved physical problems. These include: (1) Particle acceleration and magnetic field generation in shock waves; (2) Possible role of strong magnetic fields in accelerating the plasmas, and accelerating particles via magnetic reconnection process; (3) Various radiative processes that shape the observed lightcurve and spectra, both during the prompt and the afterglow phases, and finally (4) GRB environments and their possible observational signature.

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Grid-based Methods in Relativistic Hydrodynamics and Magnetohydrodynamics

Martí

Müller

2015

Living Rev Comput Astrophys

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An overview of grid-based numerical methods used in relativistic hydrodynamics (RHD) and magnetohydrodynamics (RMHD) is presented. Special emphasis is put on a comprehensive review of the application of high-resolution shock-capturing methods. Results of a set of demanding test bench simulations obtained with different numerical methods are compared in an attempt to assess the present capabilities and limits of the various numerical strategies. Applications to three astrophysical phenomena are briefly discussed to motivate the need for and to demonstrate the success of RHD and RMHD simulations in their understanding. The review further provides FORTRAN programs to compute the exact solution of the Riemann problem in RMHD, and to simulate 1D RMHD flows in Cartesian coordinates. Article RevisionsLiving Reviews supports two ways of keeping its articles up-to-date:Fast-track revision. A fast-track revision provides the author with the opportunity to add short notices of current research results, trends and developments, or important publications to the article. A fast-track revision is refereed by the responsible subject editor. If an article has undergone a fast-track revision, a summary of changes will be listed here.Major update. A major update will include substantial changes and additions and is subject to full external refereeing. It is published with a new publication number.For detailed documentation of an article's evolution, please refer to the history document of the article's online version at http://dx

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Basic gamma-ray burst afterglows

Cited by 3 publications

References 94 publications

Physics of Gamma-Ray Bursts Prompt Emission

Physics of Gamma-Ray Bursts Prompt Emission

Plasmas in Gamma-Ray Bursts: Particle Acceleration, Magnetic Fields, Radiative Processes and Environments

Grid-based Methods in Relativistic Hydrodynamics and Magnetohydrodynamics

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