Swift Observations of
Short Gamma Ray Bursts
Neil Gehrels
NASA-GSFC
STScI Science Writers Workshop
May 11, 2006
Swift Gamma Ray Burst Mission:
NASA Explorer mission to study GRBs
Most capable GRB mission ever flown
Launch November 2004
More than 100 GRBs detected to date
Both short and long GRB studied
BAT
XRT
UVOT
The
Swift
Mission
The
Swift
Mission
Short
vs
Long
GRBs
Short
vs
Long
GRBs
Short
Long
GRB 990123 - BeppoSAX
HST Image
BAT
XRT
GRB 050709B - Swift
VLT Image
Cnts/s
Short GRB
Long GRB
Cnts/s
Short GRBs
in non-SF
elliptical
galaxies
Long GRBs
in SF
galaxies
Models
Models
Short GRB
Neutron Star Merger
Collapsar - Massive Star Explosion
Long GRB
Black Hole Birth
H
Fe core
neutron star
The
Making
of
a
NS
Binary
System
The
Making
of
a
NS
Binary
System