The first electromagnetic signal observed in different types of cosmic explosions is released upon emergence of a shock created in the explosion from the opaque envelope enshrouding the central source. Notable examples are the early emission from various types of supernovae and low luminosity GRBs, the prompt photospheric emission in long GRBs, and the gamma-ray emission that accompanied the gravitational wave signal in neutron star mergers. In all of these examples, the shock driven by the explosion is mediated by the radiation trapped inside it, and its velocity and structure, that depend on environmental conditions, dictate the characteristics of the observed electromagnetic emission at early times, and potentially also their neutrino emission. Much efforts have been devoted in recent years to develop a detailed theory of radiation mediated shocks in an attempt to predict the properties of the early emission in the aforementioned systems. These efforts are timely in view of the anticipated detection rate of shock breakout candidates by upcoming transient factories, and the potential detection of a gamma-ray flash from shock breakout in neutron star mergers like GW170817. This review aims at providing a comprehensive overview of the theory and applications of radiation mediated shocks, starting from basic principles. The classification of shock solutions, which are governed by the conditions prevailing in each class of objects, and the methods used to solve the shock equations in different regimes will be described, with particular emphasis on the observational diagnostics. The applications to supernovae, low-luminosity GRBs, long GRBs, neutron star mergers, and neutrino emission will be highlighted.

中文翻译：

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辐射介导的冲击物理学及其在 GRB、超新星和中子星合并中的应用

在不同类型的宇宙爆炸中观察到的第一个电磁信号是在爆炸中产生的冲击从包围中心源的不透明包层中出现时释放的。值得注意的例子是各种类型的超新星和低光度伽马暴的早期发射、长伽马暴中的快速光球发射以及中子星合并中伴随引力波信号的伽马射线发射。在所有这些例子中，爆炸驱动的冲击是由内部捕获的辐射介导的，它的速度和结构取决于环境条件，决定了早期观察到的电磁发射的特征，也可能决定了它们的中微子排放。近年来，人们付出了很多努力来发展辐射介导冲击的详细理论，以试图预测上述系统中早期发射的特性。鉴于即将到来的瞬态工厂对冲击爆发候选者的预期探测率，以及可能探测到来自 GW170817 等中子星合并冲击爆发的伽马射线闪光，这些努力是及时的。本综述旨在从基本原理出发，全面概述辐射介导的冲击的理论和应用。将描述由每一类物体中普遍存在的条件控制的激波解的分类，以及用于求解不同状态下的激波方程的方法，特别强调观察诊断。