Chryssa Kouveliotou - Böcker

Cosmic gamma ray bursts (GRBs) have fascinated scientists and the public alike since their discovery in the late 1960s. Their story is told here by some of the scientists who participated in their discovery and, after many decades of false starts, solved the problem of their origin. Fourteen chapters by active researchers in the field present a detailed history of the discovery, a comprehensive theoretical description of GRB central engine and emission models, a discussion of GRB host galaxies and a guide to how GRBs can be used as cosmological tools. Observations are grouped into three sets from the satellites CGRO, BeppoSAX and Swift, and followed by a discussion of multi-wavelength observations. This is the first edited volume on GRB astrophysics that presents a fully comprehensive review of the subject. Utilizing the latest research, Gamma-ray Bursts is an essential desktop companion for graduate students and researchers in astrophysics.

Observers and theorists discuss the latest developments in the astrophysics of neutron stars, black holes and their interaction in the universe. Often found in compact, interacting binaries, these objects exhibit broadly similar behaviour. The determination of observational signatures that distinguish between these two types is explored. Supernovae and evolutionary scenarios leading to neutron stars and black holes, single or in binaries, are discussed in detail. There is also a discussion of the mystery of cosmic gamma ray bursts, currently thought to represent enormous stellar explosions at cosmological distances. These could be the result of mergers of a neutron star and its compact binary companion: a literal neutron star-black hole connection. This text provides a series of lectures for the advanced graduate student and presents material that should prove useful to the research astrophysicist and space physicist.