On Gamma-Ray Bursts

(Shortened) We show by example how the uncoding of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) offers unprecedented possibilities to foster new knowledge in fundamental physics and in astrophysics. After recalling some of the classic work on vacuum polarization in uniform electric fields by Klein, Sauter, Heisenberg, Euler and Schwinger, we summarize some of the efforts to observe these effects in heavy ions and high energy ion collisions. We then turn to the theory of vacuum polarization around a Kerr-Newman black hole, leading to the extraction of the blackholic energy, to the concept of dyadosphere and dyadotorus, and to the creation of an electron-positron-photon plasma. We then present a new theoretical approach encompassing the physics of neutron stars and heavy nuclei. It is shown that configurations of nuclear matter in bulk with global charge neutrality can exist on macroscopic scales and with electric fields close to the critical value near their surfaces. These configurations may represent an initial condition for the process of gravitational collapse, leading to the creation of an electron-positron-photon plasma: the basic self-accelerating system explaining both the energetics and the high energy Lorentz factor observed in GRBs. We then turn to recall the two basic interpretational paradigms of our GRB model. [...] We then turn to the special role of the baryon loading in discriminating between "genuine" short and long or "fake" short GRBs [...] We finally turn to the GRB-Supernova Time Sequence (GSTS) paradigm: the concept of induced gravitational collapse. [...] We then present some general conclusions.