GRB Lightcurve Clustering

Abstract:

We present a new method for categorizing and finding Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRB’s) with similar light curves from the Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE), onboard NASA’s Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory (CGRO). Using χ2 values as ’similarity distances’ from any two respective GRBs’ 64ms light curves, we compare every GRB to every other GRB through a hierarchical clustering algorithm. This is done so by treating each χ2 as a euclidian distance, hence the term ’similarity distance’. With the results from this new data-mining tool, we begin to see similar GRB light curves cluster together by their overall burst properties, leading to a possibly unique understanding of GRB physics.