Studies of Gamma-Ray Bursts in the Swift Era

该计划包括在伽马射线暴(伽马射线暴)的背景下对广泛的理论主题的研究。主要目标是：(I)利用伽玛暴作为高红移宇宙的灯塔，探索恒星形成区星际介质的物理条件及其红移演化；(Ii)推广以前的尘埃回波计算，并利用它们重建伽玛暴大质量恒星前体周围尘埃的性质和分布；(Iii)利用短伽玛暴的性质来了解双星合并的各种通道；(Iv)对任意介质中的超相对论激波进行广义研究；(V)研究据信提供伽玛暴动力源的超吸积盘中的引力不稳定性。这项工作的广泛影响包括对本科生和研究生的培训，以及在Fiske天文馆制作关于伽玛暴的天文馆表演。

This program includes research on a wide range of theoretical topics within the context of Gamma-ray Bursts (GRBs). The main objectives are to: (i) use GRBs as lighthouses of the high-redshift Universe, to probe the physical conditions of the Interstellar Medium in star-forming regions and their evolution with redshift; (ii) generalize previous dust echo calculations and use them to reconstruct the properties and distribution of dust around the massive stellar progenitors of GRBs; (iii) use the properties of short GRBs to learn about the various channels of binary star merger; (iv) perform a generalized study of ultra-relativistic shockwaves in arbitrary media; (v) study gravitational instabilities in the hyper-accreting disk believed to provide the GRB source of power.Broader impacts of the work include training of undergraduate and graduate students, and development of a planetarium show on GRBs at the Fiske Planetarium.