Gamma-Ray Bursts: Unique Tools for High Red-shift Cosmology

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AST-0507571PernaThe association of long Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) with the death of massive stars makes them a goldmine for cosmology, since they can be expected to redshifts of 20 or even higher, when the first stars are believed to have formed. This project will exploit GRBs, by measuring the density, composition and mass of star-forming molecular clouds surrounding GRBs, by measuring dust extinction curves in GRB environments to study dust grain composition and physics, by comparing GRB environments to those of active galactic nuclei, and by further pursuing the tentative promise of GRBs as distance indicators. Much of this work depends on using and enhancing the unique time-dependent photo-ionization and dust-destruction code recently developed by the investigators.Part of this project is to make this improved code user friendly and publicly available, as it will be broadly useful in other areas of astronomy. In addition, the principal researcher is a woman, and by incorporating material from her own research in undergraduate science courses for non science majors, and by giving high school talks, she will be encouraging more women to get interested in science.