A Unified Model for Gamma-Ray Bursts

A possible unified model of short and long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), X-ray rich GRBs, and X-ray flashes is proposed. It is assumed that the jet of a GRB consists of many emitting sub-shells (i.e., an inhomogeneous jet model). The multiplicity of the sub-shells along a line of sight n_s is an important parameter. If n_s is large (>>1) the event looks like a long GRB, while if n_s=1, the event looks like a short GRB. Finally, when n_s=0, the event looks like an X-ray flash or an X-ray rich GRB. Furthermore, our model may also explain the bimodal distributions of T90 duration of BATSE-GRBs. Clearly, our model predicts that short GRBs should be associated with energetic SNe.