Abstract
COMETS falling onto neutron stars have been suggested1–4 as a cause of γ-ray bursts. In the original form of the idea1,2, it was assumed that the neutron star remained at the centre of the Oort cloud of comets belonging to its progenitor, so that bursts would be infrequent. Here it is noted that a neutron star may well acquire a large velocity at birth, causing it to drift through the Oort cloud. As it crossed the most densely populated regions, γ-ray bursts would occur frequently. Young supernova remnants may therefore be the site of some of the observed bursts, particularly the less energetic, more rapidly recurring type known as soft-γ-ray repeaters5. SN 1987A may become a source of γ-ray bursts in a matter of decades.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Harwit, M. & Salpeter, E. E. Astrophys. J. 186, L37–L39 (1973).
Tremaine, S. & Zytkow, A. N. Astrophys. J. 301, 155–163 (1986).
Pineault, S. & Poisson, E. Astrophys. J. 347, 1141–1154 (1989).
Pineault, S. Icarus 70, 52–60 (1987).
Epstein, R. I. & Hurley, K. Astrophys. Lett. 27, 229–236 (1988).
Aumann, H. H. in The Search for Extraterrestrial Life: Recent Developments (ed. Papagiannis, M. D.) 43–50 (Reidel, Dordrecht 1985).
Oort, J. Bull. astr. Insts Neth. 11, 91–110 (1950).
Katz, J. I. Astrophys. J. 309, 253–259 (1986).
Lada, C. J. A. Rev. Astr. Astrophys. 23, 267–317 (1985).
Lamers, H. J. G. L. M. Astrophys. J. 256, 593–608 (1981).
Bailey, M. E., Clube, S. V. M. & Napier, W. M. Vistas Astr. 29, 53–112 (1986).
Hills, J. G. Astr. J. 86, 1730–1740 (1981).
Bailey, M. E. Mon. Not. R. astr. Soc. 204, 603–633 (1983).
van Buren, D. Astrophys. J. 249, 297–301 (1981).
Lyne, A. G., Anderson, B. & Salter, C. J. Mon. Not. R. astr. Soc. 201, 503–520 (1982).
Narayan, R. & Ostriker, J. P. Astrophys. J. 352, 222–246 (1990).
Blaauw, A. Bull. astr. Insts. Neth. 15, 265–290 (1961).
Boersma, J. Bull. Astr. Insts. Neth. 15, 291–301 (1961).
Hills, J. G. Astrophys. J. 267, 322–333 (1983).
Webbink, R. F. in White Dwarfs and Variable Degenerate Stars (eds van Horn, H. M. & Weidemann, V.) 426–447 (University of Rochester, 1979).
Eggleton, P. P., Fitchett, M. J. & Tout, C. A. Astrophys. J. 347, 998–1011 (1989).
Fabian, A. C., Rees, M. J., van den Heuvel, E. P. J. & van Paradijs, J. Nature 328, 323–324 (1987).
Joss, P. C., Popsiadlowski, Ph., Hsu, J. J. L. & Rappaport, S. Nature 331, 237–240 (1988).
Podsiadlowski, Ph., Joss, P. C. & Rappaport, S. Astr. Astrophys. 227, L9–L12 (1990).
Kafatos, M., Sofia, S., Bruhweiler, F. & Gull, T. Astrophys. J. 242, 294–305 (1980).
Evans, W. D. et al. Astrophys. J. 237, L7–L9 (1980).
Cline, T. L. et al. Astrophys. J. 255, L45–L48 (1982).
Baity, W. A., Hueter, G. J. & Lingenfelter, R. F. in High Energy Transients in Astrophysics (ed. Woosley, S. E.) 434–484 (Am. Inst. Phys. New York, 1984).
Laros, J. G. et al. Astrophys. J. 320, L111–L115 (1987).
Atteia, J. L. et al. Astrophys. J. 320, L105–L110 (1987).
Fernández, J. A. Astr. J. 87, 1318–1332 (1982).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Pineault, S. Gamma-ray bursts from young supernova remnants. Nature 345, 233–235 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1038/345233a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/345233a0
This article is cited by
-
Gamma-rays from neutron stars
The Astronomy and Astrophysics Review (1995)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.