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arXiv · astro-ph/9712097

The Gamma Ray Bursts GRB970228 and GRB970508: What Have We Learnt?

Mario Livio·Kailash C. Sahu·Larry Petro·Andrew Fruchter·Elena Pian·F. Duccio Macchetto·Jan van Paradijs·Chryssa Kouveliotou·Paul J. Groot·Titus J. Galama
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Abstract

We examine what we regard as key observational results on GRB 970228 and GRB 970508 and show that the accumulated evidence strongly suggests that gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are cosmological fireballs. We further show that the observations suggest that GRBs are not associated with the nuclear activity of active galactic nuclei, and that late-type galaxies are more prolific producers of GRBs. We suggest that GRBs can be used to trace the cosmic history of the star-formation rate. Finally, we show that the GRB locations with respect to the star-forming regions in their host galaxies and the total burst energies can be used to distinguish between different theoretical models for GRBs.

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Mario Livio, Kailash C. Sahu, Larry Petro, Andrew Fruchter, Elena Pian, F. Duccio Macchetto, Jan van Paradijs, Chryssa Kouveliotou, Paul J. Groot, Titus J. Galama. 1997-12-06. The Gamma Ray Bursts GRB970228 and GRB970508: What Have We Learnt?. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.55368

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