On the origin of the gamma ray burst of March 5, 1979

Abstract

An investigation has been conducted regarding the available data and associated hypotheses regarding gamma ray bursts (GRB), giving particular attention to the Mar. 5, 1979 event. Mazets et al. (1981) have presented evidence to show that many of the GRBs originate on neutron stars. In the case of the Mar. 5, 1979 event, the appearance of the 430 keV line during the initial phase, the fast rise time of less than 1 ms and the oscillations with a period of 8 sec showing a main pulse and an interpulse imply an origin from the surface of a magnetized neutron star of one solar mass and a radius of 10 km. The temporal evolution of the event is shown in a graph, and the burst mechanism is discussed. It is concluded that even with an unusually large quake region, the neutron star crust quake model predicts too close a distance to the source to be consistent with the X-ray emission limits set by the Einstein Observatory.