Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics – High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Scientific paper
Jul 2001
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2001phdt........15l&link_type=abstract
Thesis (PhD). STANFORD UNIVERSITY, Source DAI-B 62/01, p. 291, Jul 2001, 155 pages.
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Scientific paper
In February of 1997 (almost thirty years after they were first discovered), follow-up observations of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) in the X-ray, optical and radio wavelength bands showed that GRBs originate at cosmological distances, and not from a phenomenon inside our own galaxy. This breakthrough ruled out a large fraction of the hundred or so models proposed to explain these events, and finally defined a paradigm in which to address fundamental questions about GRB physics. In this thesis, I have investigated both the cosmological and intrinsic properties of Gamma-Ray Bursts, paying particular attention to instrumental selection effects so that correct physical conclusions may be inferred from the data. In the first part of this thesis, I focus primarily on the cosmological properties of GRBs. I show that because of the broad GRB luminosity function, many of the observed correlations between various GRB parameters are-contrary to what has been reported in the past-not cosmological, but signatures of the intrinsic burst physics. In the latter part of this thesis, I focus on trying to understand the physics behind the prompt burst emission. In particular, I examine the distribution and meaning of GRB spectral parameters in the context of synchrotron emission in relativistic internal shocks. I define a realistic physical scenario for GRB emission and particle acceleration, and show that it accommodates the bursts' spectral properties well. Finally, I discuss how these results may be used to gain further insight into the physics of Gamma-Ray Bursts as well as other high energy astrophysical phenomena.
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