Development of Instrumentation and Methodology to Expand our View of Gamma-Ray Bursts

Multi-messenger detections of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) allow us to study the full historical sequence of the event as different messengers provide complementary information. Within this context of time-domain and multi-messenger astrophysics I have contributed on two fronts over the course of my Ph.D. First, I led the calibration of BurstCube, a 6U (10 x 20 x 30 cm) CubeSat sensitive to gamma-rays in the ideal energy range of the GRB prompt emission, which will increase sky coverage and thus, the probability of detecting more joint GRB/gravitational wave (GW) events. The localization and spectrum of a GRB are derived from the energy and angular dependent instrument response, therefore, accurate ground-based calibrations are required prior to launch. By leading the calibration campaigns and replicating them in simulations, I directly contributed to the scientific success of the mission. While more SGRB/GW detections are needed to further study this phenomenon, timing of the GRB prompt emission is also crucial to address the nature of the emission and subsequently the physical processes intrinsic to the relativistic outflow. Therefore, I developed a method for exploring the physical origin of the observed spectral lags in GRBs. This method allows for a more physical interpretation to be applied to spectral lag measurements which may inform on the physical processes and origin of the gamma-ray prompt emission.