Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are truly amazing astrophysical events. In a matter of seconds, they release more energy than the Sun will do in its lifetime of 10 billion years. These powerful stellar explosions eject material at highly relativistic velocities - differing from the velocity of light by as little as one part in a million. Because they are so bright, GRBs can be seen almost to the edge of the observable Universe, occurring, on average, about twice a day. However, their origin remains a mystery. Their outflows could be gas-dynamic phenomena, driven by gases near their central engine with a high kinetic pressure (to some extent, similar to exhaust jets in aeroplanes).
展开▼
