Experimental performance of a conical pressure probe at Mach numbers of 3.0, 4.5, and 6.0

Wind tunnel investigation of performance of conical pressure probe at hypersonic speed

Heterogeneity in Short Gamma-ray Bursts

We analyze the Swift/BAT sample of short gamma-ray bursts, using an objective Bayesian Block procedure to extract temporal descriptors of the bursts' initial pulse complexes (IPCs). The sample comprises 12 and 41 bursts with and without extended emission (EE) components, respectively. IPCs of non-EE bursts are dominated by single pulse structures, while EE bursts tend to have two or more pulse structures. The medians of characteristic timescales - durations, pulse structure widths, and peak intervals - for EE bursts are factors of ~ 2-3 longer than for non-EE bursts. A trend previously reported by Hakkila and colleagues unifying long and short bursts - the anti-correlation of pulse intensity and width - continues in the two short burst groups, with non-EE bursts extending to more intense, narrower pulses. In addition we find that preceding and succeeding pulse intensities are anti-correlated with pulse interval. We also examine the short burst X-ray afterglows as observed by the Swift/XRT. The median flux of the initial XRT detections for EE bursts (~ 6 x 10^-10 erg cm^-2 s^-1) is ~> 20 x brighter than for non-EE bursts, and the median X-ray afterglow duration for EE bursts (~ 60,000 s) is ~ 30 x longer than for non-EE bursts. The tendency for EE bursts toward longer prompt-emission timescales and higher initial X-ray afterglow fluxes implies larger energy injections powering the afterglows. The longer-lasting X-ray afterglows of EE bursts may suggest that a significant fraction explode into more dense environments than non-EE bursts, or that the sometimes-dominant EE component efficiently powers the afterglow. Combined, these results favor different progenitors for EE and non-EE short bursts.Comment: 30 pages, 11 figures, 3 tables; accepted to The Astrophysical Journa

A Model for Short Gamma-Ray Bursts: Heated Neutron Stars in Close Binary Systems

In this paper we present a model for the short (< second) population of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). In this model heated neutron stars in a close binary system near their last stable orbit emit neutrinos at large luminosities (~ 10^53 ergs/sec). A fraction of these neutrinos will annihilate to form an electron-positron pair plasma wind which will, in turn, expand and recombine to photons which make the gamma-ray burst. We study neutrino annihilation and show that a substantial fraction (~ 50%) of energy deposited comes from inter-star neutrinos, where each member of the neutrino pair originates from each neutron star. Thus, in addition to the annihilation of neutrinos blowing off of a single star, we have a new source of baryon free energy that is deposited between the stars. To model the pair plasma wind between stars, we do three-dimensional relativistic numerical hydrodynamic calculations. Preliminary results are also presented of new, fully general relativistic calculations of gravitationally attracting stars falling from infinity with no angular momentum. These simulations exhibit a compression effect.Comment: 3 pages, 3 postscript figs (2 color), to appear in "Gamma-Ray Burst and Afterglow Astronomy 2001", Woods Hole; 5-9 Nov, 200

Calibration of Tests for Time Dilation in GRB Pulse Structures

Two tests for cosmological time dilation in $\gamma$-ray bursts -- the peak alignment and auto-correlation statistics -- involve averaging information near the times of peak intensity. Both tests require width corrections, assuming cosmological origin for bursts, since narrower temporal structure from higher energy would be redshifted into the band of observation, and since intervals between pulse structures are included in the averaging procedures. We analyze long ($>$ 2 s) BATSE bursts and estimate total width corrections for trial time-dilation factors (TDF = [1+$z_{\rm dim}$]/[1+$z_{\rm brt}$]) by time-dilating and redshifting bright bursts. Both tests reveal significant trends of increasing TDF with decreasing peak flux, but neither provides sufficient discriminatory power to distinguish between actual TDFs in the range 2--3.Comment: 5 pages in LATeX, REVTEX style, 2 embedded figures. To appear in Third Huntsville GRB Workshop Proceeding