Revealing mysteries in gamma-ray bursts: the role of gluon condensation

Abstract We use a newly recognized gluon distribution in the nucleon, which was predicted by a QCD evolution equation to consistently explain several intriguing phenomena associated with gamma-ray bursts. They are the GeV–TeV spectra of GRB 221009A, the remarkably symmetrical explosion cloud in kilonova AT2017gfo, and the absence of a very high-energy gamma-ray signature in GRB 170817A. We find that these occurrences can be attributed to the gluon condensation within nucleons, i.e., a significant number of soft gluons within nucleons are condensed at a critical momentum, resulting in the emergence of a steep and high peak in the gluon distributions. Through this profound connection between microscopic and macroscopic phenomena, we have not only expanded the applications of the hadronic scenario in cosmic gamma-ray emissions but also presented new evidence for the existence of gluon condensation.