Search results for "GAMMA-RAY BURST"
showing 10 items of 132 documents
Detection of GRB 060927 at z = 5.47: Implications for the Use of Gamma-Ray Bursts as Probes of the End of the Dark Ages
2007
We report on follow-up observations of the GRB 060927 using the ROTSE-IIIa telescope and a suite of larger aperture ground-based telescopes. An optical afterglow was detected 20 s after the burst, the earliest rest-frame detection of optical emission from any GRB. Spectroscopy performed with the VLT about 13 hours after the trigger shows a continuum break at lambda ~ 8070 A produced by neutral hydrogen absorption at z~5.6. We also detect an absorption line at 8158 A which we interpret as SiII at z=5.467. Hence, GRB 060927 is the second most distant GRB with a spectroscopically measured redshift. The shape of the red wing of the spectral break can be fitted by a damped Lyalpha profile with a…
Stability analysis of relativistic jets from collapsars and its implications on the short-term variability of gamma-ray bursts
2002
We consider the transverse structure and stability properties of relativistic jets formed in the course of the collapse of a massive progenitor. Our numerical simulations show the presence of a strong shear in the bulk velocity of such jets. This shear can be responsible for a very rapid shear--driven instability that arises for any velocity profile. This conclusion has been confirmed both by numerical simulations and theoretical analysis. The instability leads to rapid fluctuations of the main hydrodynamical parameters (density, pressure, Lorentz factor, etc.). However, the perturbations of the density are effectively decoupled from those of the pressure because the beam of the jet is radi…
Search for muon neutrinos from gamma-ray bursts with the ANTARES neutrino telescope using 2008 to 2011 data
2013
Aims. We search for muon neutrinos in coincidence with GRBs with the ANTARES neutrino detector using data from the end of 2007 to 2011. Methods. Expected neutrino fluxes were calculated for each burst individually. The most recent numerical calculations of the spectra using the NeuCosmA code were employed, which include Monte Carlo simulations of the full underlying photohadronic interaction processes. The discovery probability for a selection of 296 GRBs in the given period was optimised using an extended maximum-likelihood strategy. Results. No significant excess over background is found in the data, and 90% confidence level upper limits are placed on the total expected flux according to …
A photometric redshift of z = 1.8$^{\sf{+0.4}}_{\sf{-0.3}}$ for the AGILE GRB 080514B
2008
Aims: The AGILE gamma-ray burst GRB 080514B is the first burst with detected emission above 30 MeV and an optical afterglow. However, no spectroscopic redshift for this burst is known. Methods: We compiled ground-based photometric optical/NIR and millimeter data from several observatories, including the multi-channel imager GROND, as well as ultraviolet \swift UVOT and X-ray XRT observations. The spectral energy distribution of the optical/NIR afterglow shows a sharp drop in the \swift UVOT UV filters that can be utilized for the estimation of a redshift. Results: Fitting the SED from the \swift UVOT $uvw2$ band to the $H$ band, we estimate a photometric redshift of $z=1.8^{+0.4}_{-0.3}$, c…
Search for Gravitational-wave Signals Associated with Gamma-Ray Bursts during the Second Observing Run of Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo
2019
We present the results of targeted searches for gravitational-wave transients associated with gamma-ray bursts during the second observing run of Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo, which took place from 2016 November to 2017 August. We have analyzed 98 gamma-ray bursts using an unmodeled search method that searches for generic transient gravitational waves and 42 with a modeled search method that targets compact-binary mergers as progenitors of short gamma-ray bursts. Both methods clearly detect the previously reported binary merger signal GW170817, with p-values of <9.38 10-6 (modeled) and 3.1 10-4 (unmodeled). We do not find any significant evidence for gravitational-wave signals associate…
THE MISSING LINK: MERGING NEUTRON STARS NATURALLY PRODUCE JET-LIKE STRUCTURES AND CAN POWER SHORT GAMMA-RAY BURSTS
2011
Short Gamma-Ray Bursts (SGRBs) are among the most luminous explosions in the universe, releasing in less than one second the energy emitted by our Galaxy over one year. Despite decades of observations, the nature of their "central-engine" remains unknown. Considering a binary of magnetized neutron stars and solving Einstein equations, we show that their merger results in a rapidly spinning black hole surrounded by a hot and highly magnetized torus. Lasting over 35 ms and much longer than previous simulations, our study reveals that magnetohydrodynamical instabilities amplify an initially turbulent magnetic field of ~ 10^{12} G to produce an ordered poloidal field of ~ 10^{15} G along the bl…
The transient gravitational-wave sky
2013
Interferometric detectors will very soon give us an unprecedented view of the gravitational-wave sky, and in particular of the explosive and transient Universe. Now is the time to challenge our theoretical understanding of short-duration gravitational-wave signatures from cataclysmic events, their connection to more traditional electromagnetic and particle astrophysics, and the data analysis techniques that will make the observations a reality. This paper summarizes the state of the art, future science opportunities, and current challenges in understanding gravitational-wave transients.
Quantum gravity with THESEUS
2021
AbstractIn this paper we explore the possibility to search for a dispersion law for light propagation in vacuo with a sample of Gamma-Ray Bursts detected by the THESEUS satellite. Within Quantum Gravity theories, different models for space-time quantization predict relative discrepancies of the speed of photons w.r.t. the speed of light that (in a series expansion) depend on a given power of the ratio of the photon energy to the Planck energy. This ratio is as small as 10− 23 for photons in the soft γ −ray band (100 keV). The dominant effect is determined by the first significant term of this expansion. If the first order in this expansion is relevant, these theories imply a Lorentz Invaria…
GW170817: Implications for the Stochastic Gravitational-Wave Background from Compact Binary Coalescences
2018
The LIGO Scientific and Virgo Collaborations have announced the first detection of gravitational waves from the coalescence of two neutron stars. The merger rate of binary neutron stars estimated from this event suggests that distant, unresolvable binary neutron stars create a significant astrophysical stochastic gravitational-wave background. The binary neutron star background will add to the background from binary black holes, increasing the amplitude of the total astrophysical background relative to previous expectations. In the Advanced LIGO-Virgo frequency band most sensitive to stochastic backgrounds (near 25 Hz), we predict a total astrophysical background with amplitude $\Omega_{\rm…
Observation of High-Energy Astrophysical Neutrinos in Three Years of IceCube Data
2014
A search for high-energy neutrinos interacting within the IceCube detector between 2010 and 2012 provided the first evidence for a high-energy neutrino flux of extraterrestrial origin. Results from an analysis using the same methods with a third year (2012-2013) of data from the complete IceCube detector are consistent with the previously reported astrophysical flux in the 100 TeV - PeV range at the level of $10^{-8}\, \mathrm{GeV}\, \mathrm{cm}^{-2}\, \mathrm{s}^{-1}\, \mathrm{sr}^{-1}$ per flavor and reject a purely atmospheric explanation for the combined 3-year data at $5.7 \sigma$. The data are consistent with expectations for equal fluxes of all three neutrino flavors and with isotrop…