Gamma Ray Bursts

Cosmic gamma ray bursts (GRBs) have fascinated scientists and the public alike since their discovery in the late 1960s. Their story is told here by some of the scientists who participated in their discovery and, after many decades of false starts, solved the problem of their origin. Fourteen chapters by active researchers in the field present a detailed history of the discovery, a comprehensive theoretical description of GRB central engine and emission models, a discussion of GRB host galaxies and a guide to how GRBs can be used as cosmological tools. Observations are grouped into three sets from the satellites CGRO, BeppoSAX and Swift, and followed by a discussion of multi-wavelength observations. This is the first edited volume on GRB astrophysics that presents a fully comprehensive review of the subject. Utilizing the latest research, Gamma-ray Bursts is an essential desktop companion for graduate students and researchers in astrophysics.Prologue C. Kouveliotou, R. A . M. J. Wijers and S. E. Woosley; 1. The discovery of the gamma-ray burst phenomenon R. W. Klebesadel; 2. Instrumental principles E. E. Fenimore; 3. The BATSE era G. J. Fishman and C. A. Meegan; 4. The cosmological era L. Piro and K. Hurley; 5. The Swift era N. Gehrels and D. N. Burrows; 6. Discoveries enabled by multi-wavelength afterglow observations of gamma-ray bursts J. Greiner; 7. Prompt emission from gamma-ray bursts T. Piran, R. Sari and R. Mochkovitch; 8. Basic gamma-ray burst afterglows P. Meszaros and R. A. M. J. Wijers; 9. The GRB-supernova connection J. Hjorth and J. S. Bloom; 10. Models for gamma-ray burst progenitors and central engines S. E. Woosley; 11. Jets and gamma-ray burst unification schemes J. Granot and E. Ramirez-Ruiz; 12. High-energy cosmic rays and neutrinos E. Waxman; 13. Long gamma-ray burst host galaxies and their environments J. P. U. Fynbo, D. Malesani and P. Jakobsson; 14. Gamma-ray burst cosmology V. Bromm and A. Loeb; 15. Epilogue R. D. Blandford; Index.