Neutrino emission from gamma-ray bursts

Project Description:

The IceCube neutrino detector at the South Pole has detected a flux of very-high-energy neutrinos, whose sources are not identified. Gamma-ray bursts have been considererd as one possible class of sources. Gamma-ray bursts are the most violent explosions known in the Universe, emitting powerful radiation across the entire electromagnetic spectrum, from radio waves to very-high-energy gamma-rays. This emission can be produced either by ultra-relavistic electrons/positrons through synchrotron radiation and inverse-Compton scattering (leptonic models), or by ultra-relativistic protons through proton-synchrotron radiation and photo-pion production (hadronic models). In the latter case, on expects not only electromagnetic radiation, but also the emission of very-high-energy neutrinos. Boettcher & Dermer (1998, ApJ 499, L131) have developed a simplified, semi-analytical hadronic model for gamma-ray burst afterglows, which, at the time, neglected the possibility to predict neutrino fluxes. This project aims at extending the model to include neutrino predictions. It can be extended to future M.Sc. and possibly Ph.D. studies by advancing to more detailed numerical simulations of the gamma-ray burst evolution and multi-messenger (radiation + neutrino) emission.

Research Area:

Astrophysics

Project Level:

Honours

This Project Is Offered At The Following Node(s):

(NWU)

Special Requirements:

Basic programming skills are required.