The Correlation between Isotropic Energy and Duration of Gamma-Ray Bursts

Abstract

In this Letter, we study the correlation between isotropic energy and duration of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) for the first time. The correlation is found to be from the Swift GRB sample. After comparing with solar flares from RHESSI and stellar superflares from the Kepler satellite, we find that the correlation of GRBs shows a similar exponent with those of solar flares and stellar superflares. Inspired by the physical mechanism of solar flares and stellar superflares, magnetic reconnection, Inspired by treating magnetic reconnection as the physical mechanism of solar flares, we interpret the correlation using magnetic reconnection theory. This similarity suggests that magnetic reconnection may dominate the energy-releasing process of GRBs.