Research report 2008 - Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics
Cosmic gamma-ray bursts: the brightest beacons in the Universe
Authors
Greiner, Jochen; Krühler, Thomas; Savaglio, Sandra; Klose, Sylvio*
Departments
Gammastrahlen-Astronomie (Dr. Jochen Greiner)
MPI für extraterrestrische Physik, Garching
Summary
The hitherto most distant gamma-ray burst (GRB) was recently discovered using the novel 7-channel imager GROND (Gamma-Ray Burst Optical Near-IR Detector), implying the existence of massive stars at an age of the universe of only 800 million years. In addition, GROND delivers unique data concerning the short-time variability of the GRB afterglow which allowed to solve the mystery of the nature of the so-called X-ray flares.