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Gamma-ray bursts in the Swift-Fermi era: Confronting data with theory

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Abstract

With the prompt slewing capability of the X-ray and UV-optical telescopes onboard the Swift mission and with the gamma-ray large area telescope onboard the Fermi mission, gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are now accessible in a full time window and in all electromagnetic wavelengths for the events. Many observational breakthroughs have been made in recent years. I present here a brief review of some observational breakthroughs with the two missions, focusing on how these breakthroughs have revolutionized our understanding of the nature of this phenomenon and puzzles as well as challenges of confronting the conventional models with data.

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  1. Physical Science & Technology College, Guangxi University, Nanning, 530004, China

    EnWei Liang

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This work was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2009CB824800), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 10873002), Guangxi SHI-BAI-QIAN Project (Grant No. 2007201), the Program for 100 Young and Middle-aged Disciplinary Leaders in Guangxi Higher Education Institutions, and the Research Foundation of Guangxi University (Grant No. M30520).

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Liang, E. Gamma-ray bursts in the Swift-Fermi era: Confronting data with theory. Sci. China Phys. Mech. Astron. 53 (Suppl 1), 14–23 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11433-010-0023-3

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