McGill.CA / Science / Department of Physics

Physical Society Colloquium

Gamma-ray bursts:
discovering the progenitors and understanding the explosion

Fiona Harrison

Caltech

Gamma-ray burst astronomy has undergone a revolution in the last three years, spurred by the discovery of fading long-wavelength counterparts. We now know that most (if not all) GRBs lie at cosmological distances, with estimated electromagnetic energy release of 1051 - 1053 erg, making these the brightest explosions in the Universe. Observations of the afterglows have allowed us not only to determine the energy scale, but to infer basic parameters of the relativistic outflow, measure the density of the surrounding medium, and determine if the ejecta are collimated in jets. I will review our current understanding of these events, with emphasis on recent clues to the nature of the progenitors and the explosion provided by broadband afterglow observations.

Friday, December 8th 2000, 15:30
Ernest Rutherford Physics Building, Keys Auditorium (room 112)