Gamma-Ray bursts (GRBs)

About:

• GRBs are powerful astronomical cosmic bursts of high-energy gamma-ray.
• GRB emits more energy in a few seconds than our Sun will emit in its lifetime and has two distinct emission phases:
  • the short-lived prompt emission (the initial burst phase that emits gamma-rays), followed by a long-lived multi-wavelength afterglow phase.
• The prompt emission (initial gamma-ray emission) of GRBs are automatically discovered by space-based gamma-ray missions such as NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, and India’s AstroSat.

Kilonova:

• In recent years, scientists have discovered a special phenomenon called a kilonova of visible and infrared light with short-period GRBs, also known as a potential source of gravitational waves.
• It has been hypnotized that the heat produced by the radioactive decay of heavier elements may emit kilonova.
• This process also produces heavier elements, such as gold and platinum.
• However, observing kilonovas at near-infrared wavelengths is technically challenging, and only a few telescopes on Earth, including the 3.6-meter Devasthal Optical Telescope of the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), can detect kilonova and gravitational wave objects at these wavelengths upto faint limits.