What Are Gamma-Ray Bursts?

PREFACE ix

Chapter 1: Introduction 1

1.1 Serendipity during the Cold War 1

1.2 A New Field Begins 7

1.3 Precise Localizations and the Search for Counterparts 10

1.4 The March 5th Event and Soft Gamma-Ray Repeaters 12

1.5 BATSE and the Great Debate 16

1.6 The Afterglow Era Begins 23

1.7 Progenitors and Diversity 29

1.8 Gamma-Ray Bursts in a Universal Context 37

Chapter 2: Into the Belly of the Beast 40

2.1 What Are Gamma-Ray Bursts? 40

2.2 Understanding the Origin of the High-Energy Emission 52

2.3 The Central Engine 62

Chapter 3: Afterglows 72

3.1 Phenomenology 73

3.2 Origin of the Emission 90

3.3 Evidence for Jetting 105

3.4 Late-Time Observations 111

Chapter 4: The Events in Context 113

4.1 Local Scales 114

4.2 Galactic Scales 121

4.3 Universal Scales 127

Chapter 5: The Progenitors of Gamma-Ray Bursts 135

5.1 A Massive-Star Origin 137

5.2 Mergers of Compact Objects 150

5.3 Extragalactic Magnetars 163

5.4 Classification Challenges 165

Chapter 6: Gamma-Ray Bursts as Probes of the Universe 169

6.1 Studies of Gas, Dust, and Galaxies 171

6.2 The History of Star Formation 177

6.3 Cosmic Dawn: Measuring Reionization and the First Objects in the Universe 181

6.4 Neutrinos, Gravitational Waves, and Cosmic Rays 191

6.5 Quantum Gravity and the Expansion of the Universe 195

6.6 The Future of Gamma-Ray Bursts: At the Nexus of Physical and Astrophysical Inquiry 200

NOTES 203

SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING 227

GLOSSARY 231

INDEX 249