Search

We present the exact analytic expressions to compute, assuming the emitted Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) radiation is not spherically symmetric but is confined into a narrow jet, the value of the detector arrival time at which we start to "see" the sides of the jet, both in the fully radiative and adiabatic regimes. We obtain this result using our exact analytic expressions for the EQuiTemporal Surfaces (EQTSs) in GRB afterglows. We re-examine the validity of three different approximate formulas currently adopted for the adiabatic regime in the GRB literature. We also present an empirical fit of the numerical solutions of the exact equations, compared and contrasted with the three above approximate formulas. The extent of the differences is such as to require a reassessment on the existence and entity of beaming in the cases considered in the current literature, as well as on its consequences on the GRB energetics., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, to appear on ApJ Lett

We present an analysis of the late time X-ray emission (URCA-3) connected with GRB 031203 and SN 2003lw., Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures, to appear in the proceedings of "Relativistic Astrophysics and Cosmology - Einstein's Legacy" meeting, November 7-11, 2005, Munich, Germany, edited by B. Aschenbach, V. Burwitz, G. Hasinger, and B. Leibundgut

Using the Swift data of GRB 050315, we progress in proving the uniqueness of our theoretically predicted Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) structure as composed by a proper-GRB, emitted at the transparency of an electron-positron plasma with suitable baryon loading, and an afterglow comprising the "prompt radiation" as due to external shocks. Detailed light curves for selected energy bands are theoretically fitted in the entire temporal region of the Swift observations ranging over 10^6 seconds., Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, to appear in the Proceedings of the 16th Annual October Astrophysics Conference in Maryland "Gamma Ray Bursts in the Swift Era", November 29-December 2, 2005, edited by Stephen S. Holt, Neil Gehrels and John Nousek

The X and gamma-ray observations of the source GRB 031203 by INTEGRAL are interpreted within our theoretical model. In addition to a complete space-time parametrization of the GRB, we specifically assume that the afterglow emission originates from a thermal spectrum in the co-moving frame of the expanding baryonic matter shell. By determining the two free parameters of the model and estimating the density and filamentary structure of the ISM, we reproduce the observed luminosity in the 20-200 keV energy band. As in previous sources, the prompt radiation is shown to coincide with the peak of the afterglow and the luminosity substructure are shown to originate in the filamentary structure of the ISM. We predict a clear hard-to-soft behavior in the instantaneous spectra. The time-integrated spectrum over 20 seconds observed by INTEGRAL is well fitted. Despite this source has been considered "unusual", it appears to us a normal low energetic GRB., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, to appear on ApJ Letters

We have recently obtained the exact analytic solutions of the relativistic equations relating the radial and time coordinate of a relativistic thin uniform shell expanding in the interstellar medium in the fully radiative and fully adiabatic regimes. We here re-examine the validity of the constant-index power-law relations between the Lorentz gamma factor and its radial coordinate, usually adopted in the current Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) literature on the grounds of an "ultrarelativistic" approximation. Such expressions are found to be mathematically correct but only approximately valid in a very limited range of the physical and astrophysical parameters and in an asymptotic regime which is reached only for a very short time, if any, and are shown to be not applicable to GRBs., Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, to appear on ApJ Letters

We use the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) data on the spectrum of cosmic microwave background anisotropies to put constraints on the present amount of lepton asymmetry L, parameterized by the dimensionless chemical potential (also called degeneracy parameter) xi and on the effective number of relativistic particle species. We assume a flat cosmological model with three thermally distributed neutrino species having all the same mass and chemical potential, plus an additional amount of effectively massless exotic particle species. The extra energy density associated to these species is parameterized through an effective number of additional species DeltaN_oth$. We find that 0<|xi|<1.1 and correspondingly 0<|L|<0.9 at 2sigma, so that WMAP data alone cannot firmly rule out scenarios with a large lepton number; moreover, a small preference for this kind of scenarios is actually found. We also discuss the effect of the asymmetry on the estimation of other parameters and in particular of the neutrino mass. In the case of perfect lepton symmetry, we obtain the standard results. When the amount of asymmetry is left free, we find \sum m_nu < 3.6 eV at 2sigma. Finally we study how the determination of |L| is affected by the assumptions on DeltaN_oth. We find that lower values of the extra energy density allow for larger values of the lepton asymmetry, effectively ruling out, at 2sigma level, lepton symmetric models with DeltaN_oth=0., Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures. Uses RevTex4. Minor changes made to match published version

The introduction of the three interpretational paradigms for Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) and recent progress in understanding the X- and gamma ray luminosity in the afterglow allow us to make assessments about the astrophysical settings of GRBs. In particular, we evidence the distinct possibility that some GRBs occur in a binary system. This subclass of GRBs manifests itself in a "tryptich": one component formed by the collapse of a massive star to a black hole, which originates the GRB; a second component by a supernova and a third one by a young neutron star born in the supernova event. Similarly, the understanding of the physics of quantum relativistic processes during the gravitational collapse makes possible precise predictions about the structure of short GRBs., Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, to appear in the Proceedings of "Gamma-Ray Burst in the Afterglow Era: 4th Workshop", held in Rome, October 18-22, 2004, L. Piro, L. Amati, S. Covino, B. Gendre (eds.), Il Nuovo Cimento C, in press

[...] We turn then to the theoretical developments in the short GRBs: we first report some progress in the understanding the dynamical phase of collapse, the mass-energy formula and the extraction of blackholic energy which have been motivated by the analysis of the short GRBs. In this context progress has also been accomplished on establishing an absolute lower limit to the irreducible mass of the black hole as well as on some critical considerations about the relations of general relativity and the second law of thermodynamics. We recall how this last issue has been one of the most debated in theoretical physics in the past thirty years due to the work of Bekenstein and Hawking. Following these conceptual progresses we analyze the vacuum polarization process around an overcritical collapsing shell. We evidence the existence of a separatrix and a dyadosphere trapping surface in the dynamics of the electron-positron plasma generated during the process of gravitational collapse. We then analyze, using recent progress in the solution of the Vlasov-Boltzmann-Maxwell system, the oscillation regime in the created electron-positron plasma and their rapid convergence to a thermalized spectrum. We conclude by making precise predictions for the spectra, the energy fluxes and characteristic time-scales of the radiation for short-bursts. If the precise luminosity variation and spectral hardening of the radiation we have predicted will be confirmed by observations of short-bursts, these systems will play a major role as standard candles in cosmology. These considerations will also be relevant for the analysis of the long-bursts when the baryonic matter contribution will be taken into account., Comment: 86 pages, 50 figures, to appear on the "Proceedings of the XIth Brazilian School of Cosmology and Gravitation", AIP, in press

We outline the confluence of three novel theoretical fields in our modeling of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs): 1) the ultrarelativistic regime of a shock front expanding with a Lorentz gamma factor $\sim 300$; 2) the quantum vacuum polarization process leading to an electron-positron plasma originating the shock front; and 3) the general relativistic process of energy extraction from a black hole originating the vacuum polarization process. There are two different classes of GRBs: the long GRBs and the short GRBs. We here address the issue of the long GRBs. [...] We are specially interested, in this report, to a subclass of long GRBs which appear to be accompanied by a supernova explosion. We are considering two specific examples: GRB980425/SN1998bw and GRB030329/SN2003dh [...]., Comment: 55 pages, 31 figures, to appear in the "Proceedings of the 10th Marcel Grossmann Meeting", World Scientific, in press

Recent developments in obtaining a detailed model for gamma ray bursts have shown the need for a deeper understanding of phenomena described by solutions of the Einstein-Maxwell equations, reviving interest in the behavior of charges close to a black hole. In particular a drastic difference has been found between the lines of force of a charged test particle in the fields of Schwarzschild and Reissner-Nordstrom black holes. This difference characterizes a general relativistic effect for the electric field of a charged test particle around a (charged) Reissner-Nordstrom black hole similar to the "Meissner effect" for a magnetic field around a superconductor. These new results are related to earlier work by Fermi and Hanni-Ruffini-Wheeler., Comment: 25 pages, 17 figures, to appear on the Proceedings of "Analysis, manifolds and geometric structures in physics", International Conference in Honour of Y. Choquet-Bruhat, Isola d'Elba June 24th-26th, 2004

The issue of the possible presence or absence of jets in GRBs is here re-examined for GRB991216. We compare and contrast our theoretically predicted afterglow luminosity in the 2-10 keV band for spherically symmetric versus jetted emission. At these wavelenghts the jetted emission can be excluded and data analysis confirms spherical symmetry. These theoretical fits are expected to be improved by the forthcoming data of the Swift mission., Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure, to appear on Advances in Space Research (in the Proceedings of the 35th COSPAR scientific assembly). New version to fit into the limit of 6 pages and to fix the format of the reference list

We have recently shown (see Bianco & Ruffini 2004) that marked differences exist between the EQuiTemporal Surfaces (EQTSs) for the Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) afterglows numerically computed by the full integration of the equations of motion and the ones found in the current literature expressed analytically on the grounds of various approximations. In this Letter the exact analytic expressions of the EQTSs are presented both in the case of fully radiative and adiabatic regimes. The new EQTS analytic solutions validate the numerical results obtained in Bianco & Ruffini (2004) and offer a powerful tool to analytically perform the estimates of the physical observables in GRB afterglows., Comment: 3 pages, 1 figure, to appear on ApJ Letters

It is shown that the concept of a fireball with a definite filamentary structure naturally emerges from the analysis of the spectra of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs). These results, made possible by the recently obtained analytic expressions of the equitemporal surfaces in the GRB afterglow, depend crucially on the single parameter R describing the effective area of the fireball emitting the X- and gamma ray radiation. The X- and gamma ray components of the afterglow radiation are shown to have a thermal spectrum in the co-moving frame of the fireball and originate from a stable shock front described self-consistently by the Rankine-Hugoniot equations. Precise predictions are presented on a correlations between spectral changes and intensity variations in the prompt radiation verifiable, e.g., by the Swift and future missions. The highly variable optical and radio emission depends instead on the parameters of the surrounding medium. The GRB 991216 is used as a prototype for this model., Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, to appear on International Journal of Modern Physics D

By integrating the relativistic hydrodynamic equations introduced by Taub we have determined the exact EQuiTemporal Surfaces (EQTSs) for the Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) afterglows. These surfaces are compared and contrasted to the ones obtained, using approximate methods, by Panaitescu & Meszaros (1998), Sari (1998), Granot et al. (1999)., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, to appear on ApJ Lett

The extractable energy from a black hole, as origin of the Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) phenomenon is reviewed., Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures, to appear in "Frontier in Astroparticle Physics and Cosmology", Proceedings of the 6th RESCEU International Symposium held on 4--7 November 2003, Tokyo, Japan, Universal Academy Press

A model for the static weak-field macroscopic medium is analyzed and the equation for the macroscopic gravitational potential is derived. This is a biharmonic equation which is a non-trivial generalization of the Poisson equation of Newtonian gravity. In case of the strong gravitational quadrupole polarization it essentially holds inside a macroscopic matter source. Outside the source the gravitational potential fades away exponentially. The equation is equivalent to a system of the Poisson equation and the nonhomogeneous modified Helmholtz equations. The general solution to this system is obtained by using Green's function method and it does not have a limit to Newtonian gravity. In case of the insignificant gravitational quadrupole polarization the equation for macroscopic gravitational potential becomes the Poisson equation with the matter density renormalized by the factor including the value of the quadrupole gravitational polarization of the source. The general solution to this equation obtained by using Green's function method has a limit to Newtonian gravity., Comment: 22 pages, no figures, to appear on Class. Quantum Grav

The EMBH model, previously developed using GRB 991216 as a prototype, is here applied to GRB 980425. We fit the luminosity observed in the 40-700 keV, 2-26 keV and 2-10 keV bands by the BeppoSAX satellite. In addition we present a novel scenario in which the supernova SN1998bw is the outcome of an ``induced gravitational collapse'' triggered by GRB 980425, in agreement with the GRB-Supernova Time Sequence (GSTS) paradigm (Ruffini et al. 2001c). A further outcome of this astrophysically exceptional sequence of events is the formation of a young neutron star generated by the SN1998bw event. A coordinated observational activity is recommended to further enlighten the underlying scenario of this most unique astrophysical system., Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, in the Proceedings of the 34th COSPAR scientific assembly, Elsevier. Fixed some typos in this new version

The mass--energy formula of black holes implies that up to 50% of the energy can be extracted from a static black hole. Such a result is reexamined using the recently established analytic formulas for the collapse of a shell and expression for the irreducible mass of a static black hole. It is shown that the efficiency of energy extraction process during the formation of the black hole is linked in an essential way to the gravitational binding energy, the formation of the horizon and the reduction of the kinetic energy of implosion. Here a maximum efficiency of 50% in the extraction of the mass energy is shown to be generally attainable in the collapse of a spherically symmetric shell: surprisingly this result holds as well in the two limiting cases of the Schwarzschild and extreme Reissner-Nordstr\"{o}m space-times. Moreover, the analytic expression recently found for the implosion of a spherical shell onto an already formed black hole leads to a new exact analytic expression for the energy extraction which results in an efficiency strictly less than 100% for any physical implementable process. There appears to be no incompatibility between General Relativity and Thermodynamics at this classical level., Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, to appear on Int. Journ. Mod. Phys. D

The idea that the vacuum polarization process occurring during gravitational collapse to a black hole endowed with electromagnetic structure (EMBH) could be the origin of gamma ray bursts (GRBs) is further developed. EMBHs in the range 3.2 -- 10$^6$ solar masses are considered. The formation of such an EMBH, the extraction of its mass-energy by reversible transformations and the expansion of the pair-electromagnetic pulse (PEM pulse) are all examined within general relativity. The PEM pulse is shown to accelerate particles to speeds with Lorentz gamma factors way beyond any existing experiment on Earth. Details of the expected burst structures and other observable properties are examined., Comment: 33 pages, 19 figures, to appear in the "Proceedings of the Ninth Marcel Grossmann Meeting on General Relativity (MGIXMM)", World Scientific (Singapore, in press)

A new exact solution of the Einstein-Maxwell equations for the gravitational collapse of a shell of matter in an already formed black hole is given. Both the shell and the black hole are endowed with electromagnetic structure and are assumed spherically symmetric. Implications for current research are outlined., Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, to appear on Physics Letters B

The mass-energy formula for a black hole endowed with electromagnetic structure (EMBH) is clarified for the nonrotating case. The irreducible mass $M_{\mathrm{irr}}$ is found to be independent of the electromagnetic field and explicitly expressable as a function of the rest mass, the gravitational energy and the kinetic energy of the collapsing matter at the horizon. The electromagnetic energy is distributed throughout the entire region extending from the horizon of the EMBH to infinity. We discuss two conceptually different mechanisms of energy extraction occurring respectively in an EMBH with electromagnetic fields smaller and larger than the critical field for vacuum polarization. For a subcritical EMBH the energy extraction mechanism involves a sequence of discrete elementary processes implying the decay of a particle into two oppositely charged particles. For a supercritical EMBH an alternative mechanism is at work involving an electron-positron plasma created by vacuum polarization. The energetics of these mechanisms as well as the definition of the spatial regions in which thay can occur are given. The physical implementations of these ideas are outlined for ultrahigh energy cosmic rays UHECR) and gamma ray bursts (GRBs)., Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure, to appear on Physics Letters B

Basic energy requirements of Gamma Ray Burst(GRB) sources can be easily accounted for by a pair creation process occurring in the "Dyadosphere" of a Black Hole endowed with an electromagnetic field (abbreviated to EMBH for "electromagnetic Black Hole"). This includes the recent observations of GRB971214 by Kulkarni et al. The "Dyadosphere" is defined as the region outside the horizon of an EMBH where the electromagnetic field exceeds the critical value for e^+ e^- pair production. In a very short time $\sim O(hbar mc^2}), very large numbers of pairs are created there. Further evolution then leads naturally to a relativistically expanding pair-electromagnetic-pulse (PEM-pulse). Specific examples of Dyadosphere parameters are given for 10 and 10^5 solar mass EMBH's. This process does occur for EMBH with charge-to-mass ratio larger than 2.210^{-5} and strictly smaller than one. From a fundamental point of view, this process represents the first mechanism proved capable of extracting large amounts of energy from a Black Hole with an extremely high efficiency (close to 100%)., Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures

A new version of the Teukolksy Master Equation, describing any massless field of different spin $s=1/2,1,3/2,2$ in the Kerr black hole, is presented here in the form of a wave equation containing additional curvature terms. These results suggest a relation between curvature perturbation theory in general relativity and the exact wave equations satisfied by the Weyl and the Maxwell tensors, known in the literature as the de Rham-Lichnerowicz Laplacian equations. We discuss these Laplacians both in the Newman-Penrose formalism and in the Geroch-Held-Penrose variant for an arbitrary vacuum spacetime. Perturbative expansion of these wave equations results in a recursive scheme valid for higher orders. This approach, apart from the obvious implications for the gravitational and electromagnetic wave propagation on a curved spacetime, explains and extends the results in the literature for perturbative analysis by clarifying their true origins in the exact theory., Comment: 30 pages. No figures. Used PTP macros. To appear on Prog. Theor. Phys., Vol. 107, No. 5, May 2002

The Relative Space-Time Transformation (RSTT) Paradigm and the Interpretation of the Burst Structure (IBS) Paradigm are applied to the analysis of the structure of the burst and afterglow of Gamma-Ray Bursts within the theory based on the vacuum polarization process occurring in an Electro-Magnetic Black Hole, the EMBH theory. This framework is applied to the study of the GRB991216 which is used as a prototype. The GRB-Supernova Time Sequence (GSTS) Paradigm, which introduces the concept of induced gravitational collapse in the Supernovae-GRB association, is announced and will be applied, within the EMBH theory, to GRB980425 as a prototype in a forthcoming paper., Comment: 19 pages, 11 figures, in Proceedings of the meeting "Lighthouses in the Universe", Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 2002

The developments of the elctromgnetic black holes physics and vacuum polarization process are presented in the interpretation of Gamma-Ray Bursts., Comment: 23 pages, 11 figures, in the proceeding of the conference "18th Advanced Icfa Beam Dynamics Workshop On Quantum Aspects Of Beam Physics" edited by P.C. Chen, Capri, October 15-20, 2000, World Scientific, Singapore, 2001

Patterns in the scientific developments of Relativistic Astrophysics are analyzed with special attention to the physics and astrophysics of Black Holes and Gamma Ray Bursts., Comment: 28 pages, 14 figures, to appear in "Fluctuating Paths and Fields - Dedicated to Hagen Kleinert on the Occasion of His 60th Birthday", Eds. W. Janke, A. Pelster, H.-J. Schmidt, and M. Bachmann (World Scientific, Singapore, 2001), p. 771

In the framework of the model that uses black holes endowed with electromagnetic structure (EMBH) as the energy source, we study how an elementary spike appears to the detectors. We consider the simplest possible case of a pulse produced by a pure $e^+e^-$ pair-electro-magnetic plasma, the PEM pulse, in the absence of any baryonic matter. The resulting time profiles show a {\em Fast-Rise-Exponential-Decay} shape, followed by a power-law tail. This is obtained without any special fitting procedure, but only by fixing the energetics of the process taking place in a given EMBH of selected mass, varying in the range from 10 to $10^3$ $M_\odot$ and considering the relativistic effects to be expected in an electron-positron plasma gradually reaching transparency. Special attention is given to the contributions from all regimes with Lorentz $\gamma$ factor varying from $\gamma=1$ to $\gamma=10^4$ in a few hundreds of the PEM pulse travel time. Although the main goal of this paper is to obtain the elementary spike intensity as a function of the arrival time, and its observed duration, some qualitative considerations are also presented regarding the expected spectrum and on its departure from the thermal one. The results of this paper will be comparable, when data will become available, with a subfamily of particularly short GRBs not followed by any afterglow. They can also be propedeutical to the study of longer bursts in presence of baryonic matter currently observed in GRBs., Comment: 14 pages, 18 figures, to appear in Astronomy & Astrophysics

The classic problem of the growth of density perturbations in an expanding Newtonian universe is revisited following the work of Bisnovatyi-Kogan and Zel'dovich. We propose a more general analytical approach: a system of free particles satisfying semi-degenerate Fermi-Dirac statistics on the background of an exact expanding solution is examined in the linear approximation. This differs from the corresponding work of Bisnovatyi-Kogan and Zel'dovich where classical particles fulfilling Maxwell-Boltzmann statistics were considered. The solutions of the Boltzmann equation are obtained by the method of characteristics. An expression for the damping time of a decaying solution is discussed and a zone in which free streaming is hampered is found, corresponding to wavelengths less than the Jeans one. In the evolution of the system, due to the decrease of the Jeans length, those perturbations may lead to gravitational collapse. At variance with current opinions, we deduce that perturbations with lambda >=lambda_(J Max)/1.48 are able to generate structures and the lower limit for substructures mass is M = M_(J max)/(1.48)^3 ~ M_(J max)/3, where M_(J max) is the maximum value of the Jeans mass., Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures, submitted to IJMP-D

The problem of construction of a continuous (macroscopic) matter model for a given point-like (microscopic) matter distribution in general relativity is formulated. The existing approaches are briefly reviewed and a physical analogy with the similar problem in classical macroscopic electrodynamics is pointed out. The procedure by Szekeres in the linearized general relativity on Minkowski background to construct a tensor of gravitational quadruple polarization by applying Kaufman's method of molecular moments for derivation of the polarization tensor in macroscopic electrodynamics and to derive an averaged field operator by utilizing an analogy between the linearized Bianchi identities and Maxwell equations, is analyzed. It is shown that the procedure has some inconsistencies, in particular, (1) it has only provided the terms linear in perturbations for the averaged field operator which do not contribute into the dynamics of the averaged field, and (2) the analogy between electromagnetism and gravitation does break upon averaging. A macroscopic gravity approach in the perturbation theory up to the second order on a particular background space-time taken to be a smooth weak gravitational field is applied to write down a system of macroscopic field equations: Isaacson's equations with a source incorporating the quadruple gravitational polarization tensor, Isaacson's energy-momentum tensor of gravitational waves and energy-momentum tensor of gravitational molecules and corresponding equations of motion. A suitable set of material relations which relate all the tensors is proposed., Comment: 11 pages, LateX2e, requires cimento.cls available at ftp://ftp.sif.it/pub/tex/cimento/, to be published in Nuovo Cimento B

We recall the generalization of the Feynman-Metropolis-Teller approximation for a compressed atom using a relativistic Fermi-Thomas model. These results within a Wigner-Seitz approximation lead to a new equation of state for white dwarfs and to a new value of their critical mass, smaller than the one obtained by Chandrasekhar. The possible observations of these effects in binary neutron stars are outlined., Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures, to appear in "Exploring the Universe", a Festschrift in honour of Riccardo Giacconi, H. Gursky, R. Ruffini and L. Stella eds., World Scientific, Singapore, 2000

The interaction of an expanding Pair-Electromagnetic pulse (PEM pulse) with a shell of baryonic matter surrounding a Black Hole with electromagnetic structure (EMBH) is analyzed for selected values of the baryonic mass at selected distances well outside the dyadosphere of an EMBH. The dyadosphere, the region in which a super critical field exists for the creation of electron-positron pairs, is here considered in the special case of a Reissner-Nordstrom geometry. The interaction of the PEM pulse with the baryonic matter is described using a simplified model of a slab of constant thickness in the laboratory frame (constant-thickness approximation) as well as performing the integration of the general relativistic hydrodynamical equations. The validation of the constant-thickness approximation, already presented in a previous paper Ruffini, et al.(1999) for a PEM pulse in vacuum, is here generalized to the presence of baryonic matter. It is found that for a baryonic shell of mass-energy less than 1% of the total energy of the dyadosphere, the constant-thickness approximation is in excellent agreement with full general relativistic computations. The approximation breaks down for larger values of the baryonic shell mass, however such cases are of less interest for observed Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs). On the basis of numerical computations of the slab model for PEM pulses, we describe (i) the properties of relativistic evolution of a PEM pulse colliding with a baryonic shell; (ii) the details of the expected emission energy and observed temperature of the associated GRBs for a given value of the EMBH mass; 10^3 solar masses, and for baryonic mass-energies in the range 10^{-8} to 10^{-2} the total energy of the dyadosphere., Comment: 11 pages, 15 figures, to appear in Astronomy and Astrophysics

Recent work on the dyadosphere of a black hole is reviewed with special emphasis on the explanation of gamma ray bursts. A change of paradigm in the observations of black holes is presented., Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, to appear in the proceedings of the ESO workshop on "Black Holes in Binaries and Galactic Nuclei", in honour of Prof. R. Giacconi, edited by L. Kaper, E.P.J. van den Heuvel, and P.A. Woudt, and printed in the series ESO Astrophysics Symposia by Springer (2000)

We study the relativistically expanding electron-positron pair plasma formed by the process of vacuum polarization around an electromagnetic black hole (EMBH). Such processes can occur for EMBH's with mass all the way up to $6\cdot 10^5M_\odot$. Beginning with a idealized model of a Reissner-Nordstrom EMBH with charge to mass ratio $\xi=0.1$, numerical hydrodynamic calculations are made to model the expansion of the pair-electromagnetic pulse (PEM pulse) to the point that the system is transparent to photons. Three idealized special relativistic models have been compared and contrasted with the results of the numerically integrated general relativistic hydrodynamic equations. One of the three models has been validated: a PEM pulse of constant thickness in the laboratory frame is shown to be in excellent agreement with results of the general relativistic hydrodynamic code. It is remarkable that this precise model, starting from the fundamental parameters of the EMBH, leads uniquely to the explicit evaluation of the parameters of the PEM pulse, including the energy spectrum and the astrophysically unprecedented large Lorentz factors (up to $6\cdot 10^3$ for a $10^3 M_{\odot}$ EMBH). The observed photon energy at the peak of the photon spectrum at the moment of photon decoupling is shown to range from 0.1 MeV to 4 MeV as a function of the EMBH mass. Correspondingly the total energy in photons is in the range of $10^{52}$ to $10^{54}$ ergs, consistent with observed gamma-ray bursts. In these computations we neglect the presence of baryonic matter which will be the subject of forthcoming publications., Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures and A&A style, to appear in A&A

Recent works on the Dyadosphere are reviewed., Comment: A&A macros, 4 pages and 3 figures. To appear in the proceedings of 19th Texas Symposium, Dec. 1998

Using hydrodynamic computer codes, we study the possible patterns of relativistic expansion of an enormous pair-electromagnetic-pulse (P.E.M. pulse); a hot, high density plasma composed of photons, electron-positron pairs and baryons deposited near a charged black hole (EMBH). On the bases of baryon-loading and energy conservation, we study the bulk Lorentz factor of expansion of the P.E.M. pulse by both numerical and analytical methods., Comment: A&A macros, 2 pages, 1 figure and postscrit file. To appear in A&A Suppl. Series, Proceeding of Rome98 GRB workshop, ed. L. Pira and F. Frontera

The "dyadosphere" (from the Greek word "duas-duados" for pairs) is here defined as the region outside the horizon of a black hole endowed with an electromagnetic field (abbreviated to EMBH for "electromagnetic black hole") where the electromagnetic field exceeds the critical value, predicted by Heisenberg and Euler for electron-positron pair production. In a very short time, a very large number of pairs is created there. I give limits on the EMBH parameters leading to a Dyadosphere for 10 solar mass and 100000 solar mass EMBH's, and give as well the pair densities as functions of the radial coordinate. These data give the initial conditions for the analysis of an enormous pair-electromagnetic-pulse or "PEM-pulse" which naturally leads to relativistic expansion. Basic energy requirements for gamma ray bursts (GRB), including GRB971214 recently observed at z=3.4, can be accounted for by processes occurring in the dyadosphere., Comment: 18pages (RevTex), 9figures and to appear in the proceeding of Yamada conference in Kyoto Japan, April 1998

The "dyadosphere" has been defined (Ruffini, Preparata et al.) as the region outside the horizon of a black hole endowed with an electromagnetic field (abbreviated to EMBH for "electromagnetic black hole") where the electromagnetic field exceeds the critical value, predicted by Heisenberg & Euler for $e^+ e^-$ pair production. In a very short time ($\sim O(\hbar/(mc^2))$), a very large number of pairs is created there. We here give limits on the EMBH parameters leading to a Dyadosphere for $10M_{\odot}$ and $10^5M_{\odot}$ EMBH's, and give as well the pair densities as functions of the radial coordinate. We here assume that the pairs reach thermodynamic equilibrium with a photon gas and estimate the average energy per pair as a function of the EMBH mass. These data give the initial conditions for the analysis of an enormous pair-electromagnetic-pulse or "P.E.M. pulse" which naturally leads to relativistic expansion. Basic energy requirements for gamma ray bursts (GRB), including GRB971214 recently observed at $z=3.4$, can be accounted for by processes occurring in the dyadosphere. In this letter we do not address the problem of forming either the EMBH or the dyadosphere: we establish some inequalities which must be satisfied during their formation process., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures and to appear in Astronomy and Astrophysics (A&A 338/2/1998); for contact, Ruffini@icra.it