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Refinements and improvements to a phenomenological model for the jet opening angles of gamma-ray bursts

Author(s)
Tsitkin, Yelena
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences.
Advisor
Paul C. Joss.
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MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582
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Abstract
Long duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are thought to originate from the core collapse of massive, rapidly rotating stars - events called "hypernovae." In this thesis, we improve upon a phenomenological model to determine [theta], the jet opening angle of GRBs. We assume that hypernova progenitors are massive stars in binary systems. We calculate [theta] by equating two expressions for the probability of a given GRB being detected - one based on the geometry of the beaming model and the other based on the observed and expected rates of long duration GRBs. These expressions give [theta] as a function of several key physical parameters. We estimate these parameters, perform a Monte Carlo simulation, and obtain the most probable value of [theta] for both single and double jet GRB models. In contrast to previous work, we allow the minimum mass of star-forming galaxies to vary between 10⁶Mo and 10⁷Mo, and we calculate the galactic number density separately for three subtypes of spiral galaxies. For single jet and double jet models, we find that [theta] = 2.8+³.²-¹.². deg and [theta] = 1.9+².²-⁰.⁸. deg respectively. These results are somewhat lower than the results obtained in the earlier stages of this project [15, 16], but are in agreement with values inferred from the observed properties of GRBs [4]. Our results therefore support the assumption that massive binary stars are the progenitors of hypernovae that produce long-duration GRBs.
Description
Thesis: S.B. in Planetary Science and Astronomy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, 2006.
 
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
 
Includes bibliographical references (pages 33-35).
 
Date issued
2006
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/114327
Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Keywords
Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences.

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