Gamma Ray Bursts

1. Gamma Ray Bursts By: Luke, Meg, Scott, Kelen, Alex, Amelya

2. Definition Gamma Ray Bursts or GRB’s are created by shockwaves in the jets of matter that are being ejected from black holes.

3. How GRB’s Form • When a black hole forms, especially if it is formed from the collision of two neutron stars remaining matter and debris will settle in a disk around the black hole. • As this matter gets slowly sucked into the black hole the magnetic field will shoot some of the matter away 2 jets each aiming in the opposite direction of the other. • GRB’s are formed from the immense shock waves that are known to take place within these jets.

4. Longer GRB’s • The second kind of GRB is one in which each burst lasts longer then 2 seconds. • Instead of coming from the collision of 2 neutron starts these longer GRB’s are accredited to massive stellar explosions.

5. Detection • The main way we can see both long or short GRB’s is through the massive amounts of radiation that they give of. • They can also sometimes be tracked by the gravitational wave that the create while flaring.

6. “Cosmic Explosion Mystery Deepens” – Robert Naye • In a Few Words… • Gamma-ray bursts were not understood until a few months ago when scientists discoveries that GRB’s were ignited by the collision of two neutron stars or a neutron star and a black hole. However, more recent observations show that these rays are much more complex than they were imagined to be. When two objects collide, they collapse into a black hole. Shorter rays didn’t cooperate with this theory and scientists saw that each of these ray bursts were followed by x-ray flares. Scientists were confused by the contrasting lengths of the rays. Many astronomers were convinced that short GRBs are ignited by the catastrophic merger of two neutron stars, or a neutron star and a black hole. The mystery of gamma-ray bursts has yet to be completely revealed.