posted on 2009-12-08, 16:25authored byAndrew R. King, Paul T. O'Brien, Michael R. Goad, Julian P. Osborne, E. Olsson, Kim L. Page
Recent gamma-ray burst observations have revealed late-time, highly energetic events that deviate from the simplest expectations of the standard fireball picture. Instead, they may indicate that the central engine is active or restarted at late times. We suggest that fragmentation and subsequent accretion during the collapse of a rapidly rotating stellar core offers a natural mechanism for this.