Γ-ray Bursts and Neutron Star Mergers - Possibly the Strongest Explosions in the Universe

γ-ray bursts have baffled theorists ever since their accidental discovery at the sixties. We suggest that these bursts originate in merger of neutron star binaries, taking place at cosmological distances. These mergers release ≈ 10ergs, in what are possibly the strongest explosions in the Universe. If even a small fraction of this energy is channeled to an electromagnetic signal it will be detected as a grbs. We examine the virtues and limitations of this model and compare it with the recent Compton γ-ray observatory results. Prologue: γ-Ray Bursts circa 1973 γ-ray bursts (grbs) were accidentally discovered ahead of their time. Had it not been for the need to verify the outer space treaty of 1967 (which forbade nuclear experiments in space) we would not have known about these bursts until well into the next century. No one would have proposed a satellite to look for such bursts, and had such a proposal been made it would have surely turned down as too speculative. The VELA satellites with omni-directional detectors sensitive to γ-ray pulses, which would have been emitted by a nuclear explosion, were launched in the mid sixties to verify the outer space treaty. These satellites never detected any nuclear explosion. However, as soon as the first satellite was launched it begun to detect puzzling, perplexing and above all entirely unexpected bursts. The lag between the arrival time of the pulses to different satellites gave a directional information and indicated that ∗Supported by NASA grant NAG5-1904 the sources are outside the solar system. Still, the bursts were kept secret for several years, until Kelbsdal Strong and Olson described them in a seminal paper[1] in 1973. The unexpected discovery sent theorist in a search for a source model. Specific models ranged from comets to cosmic strings.