Gamma Ray Bursts: recent results and connections to very high energy Cosmic Rays and Neutrinos

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent observational and theoretical developments regarding gamma-ray bursts, focusing on their potential to produce very high energy cosmic rays and neutrinos, and discusses implications of recent satellite and IceCube data.

Contribution

It synthesizes recent observational data and theoretical models to explore gamma-ray bursts' role in high-energy cosmic phenomena.

Findings

Recent satellite observations constrain gamma-ray burst photon spectra.

IceCube limits challenge some models of neutrino emission from gamma-ray bursts.

Theoretical models suggest gamma-ray bursts could significantly contribute to ultra-high-energy cosmic rays.

Abstract

Gamma-ray bursts are the most concentrated explosions in the Universe. They have been detected electromagnetically at energies up to tens of GeV, and it is suspected that they could be active at least up to TeV energies. It is also speculated that they could emit cosmic rays and neutrinos at energies reaching up to the $10^{18}-10^{20}$ eV range. Here we review the recent developments in the photon phenomenology in the light of \swift and \fermi satellite observations, as well as recent IceCube upper limits on their neutrino luminosity. We discuss some of the theoretical models developed to explain these observations and their possible contribution to a very high energy cosmic ray and neutrino background.