Abstract
I discuss here the progress made in the last decade on a few of the key open problems in GRB physics. These include (1) the nature of GRB progenitors, and the outliers found to the collapsar/merger scenarios; (2) jet structures, whose existence became evident following GRB/GW170817; (3) the great progress made in understanding the GRB jet launching mechanisms, enabled by general-relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GR-MHD) codes; (4) recent studies of magnetic reconnection as a valid energy dissipation mechanism; (5) the early afterglow, which may be highly affected by a wind bubble, as well as recent indication that in many GRBs, the Lorentz factor is only a few tens, rather than a few hundreds. I highlight some recent observational progress, including the major breakthrough in detecting TeV photons and the on-going debate about their origin, polarization measurements, as well as the pair annihilation line recently detected in GRB 221009A, and its implications for prompt emission physics. I probe into some open questions that I anticipate will be at the forefront of GRB research in the next decade.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 2 |
Journal | Galaxies |
Volume | 13 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Feb 2025 |
Keywords
- data analysis
- gamma-ray bursts
- gravitational waves
- theoretical modeling
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Astronomy and Astrophysics