Gamma-ray bursts and their use as cosmic probes

TL;DR

The Swift mission has revolutionized gamma-ray burst research by providing rapid localizations and detailed observations, leading to new discoveries and challenging existing theoretical models.

Contribution

This review summarizes key milestones in GRB research during the Swift era and discusses how observational data has prompted revisions of theoretical models.

Findings

Detection of kilonova coincident with a short GRB

Identification of low-luminosity and ultra-long GRBs

Improved understanding of GRB progenitors and environments

Abstract

Since the launch of the highly successful and ongoing Swift mission, the field of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) has undergone a revolution. The arcsecond GRB localizations available within just a few minutes of the GRB alert has signified the continual sampling of the GRB evolution through the prompt to afterglow phases revealing unexpected flaring and plateau phases, the first detection of a kilonova coincident with a short GRB, and the identification of samples of low-luminosity, ultra-long, and highly dust extinguished GRBs. The increased numbers of GRB afterglows, GRB-supernova detections, redshifts, and host galaxy associations has greatly improved our understanding of what produces and powers these immense, cosmological explosions. Nevertheless, more high quality data often also reveal greater complexity. In this review, I summarize some of the milestones made in GRB research during the Swift era, and how previous widely accepted theoretical models have had to adapt to accommodate the new wealth of observational data.