Bulletin of the American Physical Society
2006 APS April Meeting
Saturday–Tuesday, April 22–25, 2006; Dallas, TX
Session W3: Cosmic Gamma-Ray Bursts |
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Sponsoring Units: DAP Chair: Charles Meegan, National Space Science and Technology Center Room: Hyatt Regency Dallas Landmark C |
Tuesday, April 25, 2006 10:45AM - 11:21AM |
W3.00001: Gamma Ray Burst Discoveries by the Swift Mission Invited Speaker: Gamma-ray bursts are among the most fascinating occurrences in the cosmos. They are thought to be the birth cries of black holes throughout the universe. The NASA Swift mission is an innovative new multiwavelength observatory designed to determine the origin of bursts and use them to probe the early Universe. Swift is now in orbit since November 20, 2004 and all hardware is performing well. A new-technology wide-field gamma-ray camera is detecting a hundred bursts per year. Sensitive narrow-field X-ray and UV/optical telescopes, built in collaboration with UK and Italian partners, are pointed at the burst location in 50-100 sec by an autonomously controlled ``swift'' spacecraft. For each burst, arcsec positions are determined and optical/UV/X-ray/gamma-ray spectrophotometry performed. Information is also rapidly sent to the ground to a team of more than 50 observers at telescopes around the world. The first year of findings from the mission will be presented. There has been a break-through in the long-standing mystery of short GRBs; they appear to be caused by merging neutron stars. High redshift bursts have been detected leading to a better understanding of star formation rates and distant galaxy environments. GRBs have been found with giant X-ray flares occurring in their afterglow. [Preview Abstract] |
Tuesday, April 25, 2006 11:21AM - 11:57AM |
W3.00002: GRBs as probes of relativistic jet physics and cosmology Invited Speaker: Key observational properties of long-duration and short-duration GRBs will be reviewed briefly and discussed in the context of current theoretical models. Emphasis will be on a critical assessment of what we know with confidence and the extent of speculation. The discussion will include issues regarding the central engine, progenitors, afterglows, and host galaxy properties. We address the extent to which GRBs may serve as a probe of ultra-relativistic physics, and their use as a tool of cosmology. The latter issue is divided into their use for determining cosmological parameters and their use as background ``light bulbs'' to trace cosmic chemical evolution. [Preview Abstract] |
Tuesday, April 25, 2006 11:57AM - 12:33PM |
W3.00003: Discovery and Identification of the Very High Redshift Afterglow of GRB 050908 and Prospects for the Future Invited Speaker: I will report our discovery of the afterglow of GRB 050904 and our identification of GRB 050904 as the first very high redshift GRB. I will also discuss prospects for the future use of GRBs as probes of the early universe. [Preview Abstract] |
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