The importance of multispectral band observations of gamma-ray bursts

Abstract

Gamma-Ray Bursts are one of the best examples to show how mult iwavelength observations can help in our understanding of the universe. Gamma-Ray Bursts were a mystery for more than thirty years, during which they could be observed only in the hard X-ray/soft ?-ray band. Nowadays, bursts are observed from the gamma-ray to the optical frequencies and a completely new phenomenon, the afterglow, is observed down radio frequencies. This extension of the band led to a much deeper understanding of the bursts. The importance of the multiwavelength observations that drove us to our present understanding of the bursts will be shown, as wella s the possible new observations that are foreseen to clarify some obscure points of the burst and afterglow astrophysics.