Rare and mysterious cosmic explosion: Gamma-ray burst or jetted tidal disruption event?

Highly energetic explosions in the sky are commonly attributed to gamma-ray bursts. We now understand that these bursts originate from either the merger of two neutron stars or the collapse of a massive star. In these scenarios, a newborn black hole is formed, emitting a jet that travels at nearly the speed of light. When these jets are directed toward Earth, we can observe them from vast distances — sometimes billions of light-years away — due to a relativistic effect known as Doppler boosting. Over the past decade, thousands of…

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