Determining the Gamma-Ray Burst Rate as a Function of Redshift

Abstract

We exploit the 14 gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) with known redshifts z and the 7 GRBs for which there are constraints on z to determine the GRB rate R_(GRB)(z), using a method based on Bayesian inference. We find that, despite the qualitative differences between the observed GRB rate and estimates of the SFR in the universe, current data are consistent with R_(GRB)(z) being proportional to the SFR.

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