Discovered over 50 years ago, Gamma-Ray Bursts are brief flashes of high-energy photons so bright they can outshine the entire rest of the Universe during their brightest moments. These second-to-minute-long flashes, called the prompt emission, are followed by an afterglow that shines across the electromagnetic spectrum, from the radio up to TeV, and that fades over the following hours/days (or up to years in the radio). The prompt emission originates from energy dissipation within an ultra-relativistic jet produced during the formation of a stellar-mass compact object (neutron star or black hole) while the afterglow is explained as synchrotron emission from the deceleration of the jet by the surrounding medium.
GRBs have been divided into two populations (historically, based on the duration of their prompt emission, although recently this criteria is being put into question): Long GRBs (LGRBs) which are produced by the collapse of a massive star and Short GRBs (SGRBs) which are produced by the merger of two compact objects. In the last 20 years, both populations have proven themselves to be exceptional probes of the Universe, in large part thanks to dedicated follow-up campaigns designed to catch the afterglow before it fades. In this talk, I will highlight some of the recent scientific results and opportunities offered by the follow-up with large telescopes (mainly the VLT). I will discuss the implications for other astrophysical fields beyond GRB science (such as cosmology, galaxy evolution, dust, chemical enrichment, star formation…), the challenges of such studies and the prospectives for SVOM GRBs.
Local contact: Thierry FOGLIZZO
Organization: Ugo LEBREUILLY
DAp