A Brief Review of the Amati Relation for GRBs

Abstract

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are the most powerful explosions in the universe. Although the exact mechanism behind these explosions remains elusive, GRBs hold great promise as cosmological probes for two main reasons: they have been observed up to very high redshift (z > 9), and their gamma-ray emission is unencumbered by any intervening dust. Several GRB energy and luminosity indicators have been discovered. These indicators correlate an observable quantity, like the intrinsic peak energy, E p,i , in the νF ν spectrum of a burst to an unobservable parameter like the equivalent isotropic energy, E iso , or the isotropic peak luminosity, L p,iso. This paper provides a brief review of one of these energy and luminosity indicators, the Amati relation, and discusses its potential use as a cosmological probe.