Dirk Grupe - Evidence for New relations between Gamma Ray Bursts prompt and X-ray Afterglow Emission from 20 Years of Swift

Speaker: Dirk Grupe, Department of Earth and Space Science, Morehead State University

Abstract: Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) are the most energetic transient events in the Universe. Not only do they represent the violent end of a massive star and the birth of a black hole, but their explosions allows us to trace them throughout the entire Universe. With the launch of the NASA Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Explorer Mission our knowledge of GRBs has been revolutionized. With its fast slew capacity it is able to be on the position of a GRB within a minute or two after the GRB is detected, giving us access to the earliest phases of a GRB afterglow. Since its launch in November 2004, Swift has discovered more than 900 bursts, about 270 with spectroscopic redshift measurements - providing us the largest sample in history with prompt and afterglow observations. This unique sample enables us to perform unprecedented statistical studies of GRBs. In my talk I will review the history of GRB discoveries and their importance to astrophysics. I will present the Swift mission and explain what is unique and exciting about it and how Swift has given us new evidence for connections between the GRB prompt and afterglow emission. The fate of the burst is already determined during the explosion of the star. I will finish the talk by looking into the future and explain how we can use predictive data mining tools to determine the afterglow light curves and the redshifts of the bursts based on observed properties of the burst.