The blackholic energy and the canonical Gamma-Ray burst

Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) represent very likely "the" most extensive computational, theoretical and observational effort ever carried out successfully in physics and astrophysics. The extensive campaign of observation from space based X-ray and γ-ray observatory, such as the Vela, CGRO, BeppoSAX, HETE-II, INTEGRAL, Swift, R-XTE, Chandra, XMM satellites, have been matched by complementary observations in the radio wavelength (e.g. by the VLA) and in the optical band (e.g. by VLT, Keck, ROSAT). The net result is unprecedented accuracy in the received data allowing the determination of the energetics, the time variability and the spectral properties of these GRB sources. The very fortunate situation occurs that these data can be confronted with a mature theoretical development. Theoretical interpretation of the above data allows progress in three different frontiers of knowledge: a) the ultrarelativistic regimes of a macroscopic source moving at Lorentz gamma factors up to ∼ 400; b) the occurrence of vacuum polarization process verifying some of the yet untested regimes of ultrarelativistic quantum field theories; and c) the first evidence for extracting, during the process of gravitational collapse leading to the formation of a black hole, amounts of energies up to 1055 ergs of blackholic energy - a new form of energy in physics and astrophysics. We outline how this progress leads to the confirmation of three interpretation paradigms for GRBs proposed in July 2001. Thanks mainly to the observations by Swift and the optical observations by VLT, the outcome of this analysis points to the existence of a "canonical" GRB, originating from a variety of different initial astrophysical scenarios. The communality of these GRBs appears to be that they all are emitted in the process of formation of a black hole with a negligible value of its angular momentum. The following sequence of events appears to be canonical: the vacuum polarization process in the dyadosphere with the creation of the optically thick self accelerating electron-positron plasma; the engulfment of baryonic mass during the plasma expansion; adiabatic expansion of the optically thick "fireshell" of electron-positron-baryon plasma up to the transparency; the interaction of the accelerated baryonic matter with the interstellar medium (ISM). This leads to the canonical GRB composed of a proper GRB (P-GRB), emitted at the moment of transparency, followed by an extended afterglow. The sole parameters in this scenario are the total energy of the dyadosphere E dya, the fireshell baryon loading MB defined by the dimensionless parameter B ≡ MBc2/Edya, and the ISM filamentary distribution around the source. In the limit B → 0 the total energy is radiated in the P-GRB with a vanishing contribution in the afterglow. In this limit, the canonical GRBs explain as well the short GRBs. In these lecture notes we systematically outline the main results of our model comparing and contrasting them with the ones in the current literature. In both cases, we have limited ourselves to review already published results in refereed publications. We emphasize as well the role of GRBs in testing yet unexplored grounds in the foundations of general relativity and relativistic field theories. © 2007 American Institute of Physics.