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The Importance of Off-Axis Beaming in Jet Models

T. Q. Donaghy

astro-pharXiv:astro-ph/0505152

Abstract

Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) are widely thought to originate from collimated jets of material moving at relativistic velocities. Emission from such a jet should be visible even when viewed from outside the angle of collimation. Using Monte Carlo population synthesis methods and including the effects of this off-axis beaming, we can compare various GRB jet models against the global properties of observed bursts. We explore whether or not the X-Ray Flashes (XRFs) seen by HETE-2 and BeppoSAX can be explained as classical GRBs viewed off-axis, and begin to address the more general question of the importance of off-axis beaming in current burst samples.

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