University thesis:
Jena, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Diss., 2012
Footnote:
In: This thesis focuses on the topic of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs), which is currently one of the most fascinating research fields in Astrophysics. Gamma-Ray Bursts are flashes of high-energy radiation which appear in the sky at random times from random directions. Briefly, from a few milliseconds to a few minutes, they outshine every other source of gamma-rays in the sky, and then they fade away. The current model to explain the large amount of energy released during a GRB is the fireball model. Within this framework, the energy is released in a short period of time by the collapse of the core of a massive star or the merger of two compact stellar objects. The collapse of this compact object ejects ultra-relativistic polar jets. The internal dissipation of energy within the jets leads to non-thermal high-energy emission, the GRB itself. The shock created from the deceleration of the relativistic outflow in the interstellar medium leads to a long-lasting transient, visible from X-rays to the radio band, called afterglow