Statistics of Gamma Ray Burst Temporal Asymmetry

We study the temporal asymmetry of over 600 bursts from the BATSE 3B catalog, encompassing a 200-fold range in peak flux. By comparing the rates of rise and fall of the flux near the highest burst peak, we find that about two-thirds of the bursts exhibit a preferred asymmetry in the sense that the flux rises more rapidly than it falls, confirming the conclusions of previous studies employing smaller databases. The statistical significance of the average time asymmetry of the sample is > 99.999%; therefore, models that predict time symmetry of the burst profile are ruled out. We find no statistically significant correlation between burst temporal asymmetry and peak. This result is consistent with both cosmological and local interpretations of the gamma ray burst phenomenon.