V/VMAX TEST APPLIED TO GINGA GAMMA-RAY BURSTS

The V/V(max) test has been applied to gamma-ray burst data from Ginga. The Ginga gamma-ray burst detector covers the relatively low energy range where most of the photons occur and thus is able to observe fainter gamma-ray bursts than previous satellites. Since the launch of the satellite in 1987, 89 gamma-ray bursts had been detected as of the beginning of 1990 October. The standard V/V(max) test has been applied to the bursts. The observed value of V/V(max) = 0.35 +/- 0.035 for bursts with more than 8.6 standard deviations above background suggests a nonuniformity in the source distribution which is consistent with a Galactic origin. Details of our analysis and cautions concerning the derived values are discussed.