Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute, Erice, Sicily, Italy, April 20-30, 1988

continues to be extremely rewarding. Experiments on future missions, such as the two 1981 Veneras, Gamma Ray Observatory, and the International Solar Polar Mission, will undoubtedly provide new and unexpected discoveries, but the work of the Leningrad group is likely to remain an important contribution to the field for some time to come. c.E.S.R. KEVIN HURLEY Toulouse, France June 9, 1981 CATALOG OF COSMIC GAMMA-RAY BURSTS FROM THE KONUS EXPERIMENT DATA Parts I and II E. P. MAZETS, S. V. GOLENETSKII, V. N. IL'INSKII, V. N. PANOV, R. L. APTEKAR, YU. A. GUR'YAN, M. P. PROSKURA, 1. A. SOKOLOV, Z. Y A. SOKOLOV A, and T. V. KHARITONOV A A. F. Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute, U.S.S.R. Academy of Sciences, Leningrad, U.S.S.R. and A. V. DYATCHKOV and N. G. KHAVENSON Institute of Cosmic Research, U.S.S.R. Academy of Sciences, Moscow, U.S.S.R. (Received 2 July, 1980) Abstract. Data are presented on the temporal structure, fluxes, energy spectra and coordinates of the sources of gamma-ray bursts detected in the KONUS experiment on Venera 1 I and Venera 12 space probes in the period September 1978 to May 1979. The statistical distributions of gamma bursts in duration, intensity, and peak power, as well as the distribution of the burst sources over the celestial sphere presented are based on the updated KONUS information obtained until February 1980.

A brief, cutting-edge introduction to the brightest cosmic phenomena known to science Gamma-ray bursts are the brightest—and, until recently, among the least understood—cosmic events in the universe. Discovered by chance during the cold war, these evanescent high-energy explosions confounded astronomers for decades. But a rapid series of startling breakthroughs beginning in 1997 revealed that the majority of gamma-ray bursts are caused by the explosions of young and massive stars in the vast star-forming cauldrons of distant galaxies. New findings also point to very different origins for some events, serving to complicate but enrich our understanding of the exotic and violent universe. What Are Gamma-Ray Bursts? is a succinct introduction to this fast-growing subject, written by an astrophysicist who is at the forefront of today's research into these incredible cosmic phenomena. Joshua Bloom gives readers a concise and accessible overview of gamma-ray bursts and the theoretical framework that physicists have developed to make sense of complex observations across the electromagnetic spectrum. He traces the history of remarkable discoveries that led to our current understanding of gamma-ray bursts, and reveals the decisive role these phenomena could play in the grand pursuits of twenty-first century astrophysics, from studying gravity waves and unveiling the growth of stars and galaxies after the big bang to surmising the ultimate fate of the universe itself. What Are Gamma-Ray Bursts? is an essential primer to this exciting frontier of scientific inquiry, and a must-read for anyone seeking to keep pace with cutting-edge developments in physics today.

After describing cosmic gamma-ray production and absorption, the instrumentation used in gamma-ray astronomy is explained. The main part of the book deals with astronomical results, including the somewhat surprising result that the gamma-ray sky is continuously changing.

Cosmic gamma ray bursts (GRBs) have fascinated scientists and the public alike since their discovery in the late 1960s. Their story is told here by some of the scientists who participated in their discovery and, after many decades of false starts, solved the problem of their origin. Fourteen chapters by active researchers in the field present a detailed history of the discovery, a comprehensive theoretical description of GRB central engine and emission models, a discussion of GRB host galaxies and a guide to how GRBs can be used as cosmological tools. Observations are grouped into three sets from the satellites CGRO, BeppoSAX and Swift, and followed by a discussion of multi-wavelength observations. This is the first edited volume on GRB astrophysics that presents a fully comprehensive review of the subject. Utilizing the latest research, Gamma-ray Bursts is an essential desktop companion for graduate students and researchers in astrophysics.