NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Collections About News Help Login
Back to Results
GRO: Black hole models for gamma-ray burstsThe Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) on board the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO) has established that the distribution of gamma-ray bursts (GRB's) is isotropic but is bound radially. This finding suggests that the bursts are either cosmological or they originate from an extended Galactic halo. The implied luminosities and the observed variability of the GRB's on time scales as short as one millisecond suggest that they originate from compact objects. We are presently studying black hole models for GRB's. Any such model must produce a non-thermal photon spectrum to agree with the observed properties. For a wide range of burst parameters the assumed bursting source consists of a non-thermal electron-positron-photon plasma of very high density. It seems possible to produce such a plasma in accretion onto black holes. In our on-going work, we are developing the kinetic theory for a non-equilibrium pair plasma. The main new features of our work are as follows: (1) We do not assume the presence of a thermal electron bath. (2) Non-thermal, high-energy pairs are allowed to have an arbitrary concentration and energy distribution. (3) There is no soft photon source in our model; initially all the photons in the plasma are either energetic X-rays or gamma-rays. (4) The initial energy distribution of the pairs as well as photons is arbitrary. (5) We collect the analytical expressions for the kinetic kernels for all relevant processes. And (6) we present a different approach to finding the time-evolution of pair and photon spectra, which is a combination of the kinetic-theory and the non-linear Monte-Carlo schemes. We have developed many Monte-Carlo programs to model various process, to take into account the time evolution, and to incorporate various physical effects which are unique to non-thermal plasmas. The hydrodynamics of fireballs in GRB's was studied before. Applying results from kinetic theory will improve our understanding of these systems.
Document ID
19960000855
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Contractor Report (CR)
Authors
Ruderman, Malvin (Columbia Univ. New York, NY, United States)
Date Acquired
September 6, 2013
Publication Date
September 1, 1995
Subject Category
Space Radiation
Report/Patent Number
CAL-2350
NASA-CR-199243
NAS 1.26:199243
Accession Number
96N10855
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAG5-2017
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

Related Records

There are no records associated with this record.
No Preview Available