Cosmic Gamma-ray Bursts Studies with Ioffe Institute Konus Experiments

TL;DR

This paper reviews decades of gamma-ray burst research conducted by Ioffe Institute experiments, highlighting key missions and discoveries, including the Konus experiments onboard Venera and Wind spacecraft, and discusses future plans.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of Ioffe Institute's contributions to GRB studies through space-based experiments and introduces upcoming research directions.

Findings

Multiple important GRB observations by Konus experiments

Successful long-term operation of Konus-Wind since 1994

Significant astrophysical discoveries related to GRBs

Abstract

We present a short review of GRB studies performed for many years by Ioffe Institute experiments onboard a number of space missions. The first breakthrough in the studies of GRB was made possible by four Konus experiments carried out by the Ioffe Institute onboard the Venera 11-14 deep space missions from 1978 to 1983. A new important stage of our research is associated with the joint Russian-American experiment with the Russian Konus scientific instrument onboard the U.S. Wind spacecraft which has been successfully operating since its launch in November 1994. The Konus-Wind experiment has made an impressive number of important GRB observations and other astrophysical discoveries, due to the advantages of its design and its interplanetary location. We also briefly discuss future GRB experiments of the Ioffe Institute.