Neutrino emission from gamma-ray bursts

Abstract

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are the most violent and energetic events in theuniverse. Short GRBs seem to be the result of the final merger of two compactobjects, whereas long GRBs are probably associated with the gravitationalcollapse of very massive stars (collapsars).The central engine of a GRB can collimate relativistic jets, where shocksare produced and particles can be accelerated. Although the exact location ofthe region where the gamma rays are created is still under debate, it is widelyaccepted that the prompt emission has a different origin from the afterglow. Thelatter is emitted at a much greater distance from the central engine, when thefireball is decelerated by its interaction with the interstellar medium.It seems reasonable to assume that if the prompt gamma-ray radiation andthe afterglows are generated by relativistic electrons accelerated in shocks, thenthe same shocks should also accelerate baryons. These high-energy protons canproduce neutrinos through pp inelastic collisions and pγ interactions, makingGRBs candidates to be sources of high-energy neutrinos.In this review, I discuss different scenarios where high-energy neutrinos(GeV-EeV) can be generated.