糖心TV

Gamma-ray bursts are explosions of unrivalled luminosity, producing as much energy in a few seconds as the sun over its entire life. Since their discovery in the 1960s the origin of the bursts has been one of the enduring mysteries of astronomy. However, now, with the Swift satellite we are finally able to understand their progenitors. Perhaps even more importantly we are able to use them as probes of the distant universe, potentially even allowing us to detect the first stars to form after the big bang. In this talk I will discuss the progress which has been made recently towards the origin of gamma-ray bursts, highlighting some of the key results, and their broader implications.