Mathematics – Logic
Scientific paper
Jan 1996
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1996phdt.........5m&link_type=abstract
Thesis (PH.D.)--UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA IN HUNTSVILLE, 1996.Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 57-04, Section:
Mathematics
Logic
Scientific paper
The origin of gamma-ray bursts has puzzled astrophysicists since their discovery more than a quarter century ago. A fundamental question still unanswered is the distance to the burst sources. It is not known if the sources are distributed around the Sun or the Galaxy in a large halo, or are scattered throughout the entire Universe, although the galactic scenario is now severely constrained. Cosmology predicts several effects that would distort the observed properties of gamma-ray bursts if the burst sources are at cosmological distances. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine gamma-ray burst data obtained with the Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) on the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory to investigate if the data exhibit these expected cosmological effects. Two analyses are performed to search the BATSE data for evidence of cosmological effects. The first analysis employs gamma-ray burst photon number spectra, which are characterized by an energy-dependent parameter. Photon energies emitted by astrophysical sources are redshifted in a manner predicted by models of the expanding Universe. By examining the photon energy spectra, consistency of the data with these models can be probed. In the second analysis, cosmological models of the burst number-intensity distribution are created. Comparison of these models with the measured intensity distribution yields constraints on the range of source redshifts consistent with the observations. In addition, to create the model number-intensity distributions, a functional form of the burst photon spectrum must be assumed. Previous analyses of this type assumed an average spectral form for the models. For this dissertation, measured burst spectra are incorporated into the models to investigate the effects of this assumption. It is shown that the observations made with BATSE are consistent with the predictions of cosmology; however, this consistency cannot firmly establish the distance scale to the burst sources. Further research into this intriguing astrophysical phenomenon is required before the distance scale of gamma-ray burst sources is determined.
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