Gamma-ray burst detectors are sensitive at different energies , complicating the comparison of the burst populations that they detect .
The instrument teams often report their detector sensitivities in their instruments ’ energy band .
I propose that sensitivities be reported as the threshold peak photon flux F _ { T } over the 1–1000 keV energy band for a specific spectral shape .
The primary spectral parameter is E _ { p } , the energy of the maximum E ^ { 2 } N _ { E } \propto \nu f _ { \nu } .
Thus F _ { T } vs . E _ { p } is a useful description of a detector ’ s sensitivity .
I find that Swift will be marginally more sensitive than BATSE for E _ { p } > 100 keV , but significantly more sensitive for E _ { p } < 100 keV .
Because of its low energy sensitivity , the FREGATE on HETE-2 is surprisingly sensitive below E _ { p } = 100 keV .
Both the WFC on BeppoSAX and the WXM on HETE-2 are/were sensitive for low E _ { p } .
As expected , the GBM on GLAST will be less sensitive than BATSE , while EXIST will be significantly more sensitive than Swift .
The BeppoSAX GRBM was less sensitive that the WFC , particularly at low E _ { p } .