Astrophysics Seminar

Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) are the most energetic and enigmatic explosions in the universe. Decades of study have helped us understand the overall nature of GRBs as comprising of highly relativistic beamed jets powered by a compact central engine. However, we still lack a complete understanding of detailed source physics. Several open questions remain unanswered, such as the nature of the jets: How does the central engine launch jets? What is the nature and role of magnetic fields in the process? Theoretical emission mechanism models predict different polarization signatures. Hence, these questions are best answered with measurements of the polarization of the prompt emission.

In this talk, I will explore the method of detecting polarization in hard X-rays and the challenges that come with it. I will put the theoretical models' insight in the perspective of the observations so far from the POLAR and AstroSat/CZTI. I will discuss our efforts on developing a universal tool, PolPy, that will provide a common framework for all the current and upcoming high-energy polarimeters. Through PolPy, we will address the long-standing discrepancy between the two missions' catalogs. I will discuss its methodological improvements over earlier algorithms and share preliminary validation results using simulations and earlier results from individual pipelines.