Also known as the Amban sniper rifle, this is Din Djarin's primary weapon in The Mandalorian.
This weapon fires glowing orange bolts not altogether dissimilar in appearance to the bolts fired by standard blasters, but the effect is altogether different. In perhaps its most famous appearance, it made several Jawas disappear in flashes of flame and sparks, leaving their cloaks behind. SciFiFights' Brian Young has also given an overview of the weapon, and he points out that while it can completely obliterate biological targets, its effect is quite limited against metallic objects, with only a few sparks and a brief glow emitted, and minor damage inflicted against unarmored targets, including an AT-ST scout walker.
Use and features
The Amban sniper rifle is a single-shot, breach-loaded weapon, fed with physical cartridges. To load and fire the weapon the user opens the breach, inserts a cartridge, closes the breach, aims, and pulls the trigger. There does not appear to be any bolt-action or safety. On the front of the rifle are two prongs, which are able to electrocute enemies in melee combat, appearing to give out shocks exceeding the effects of a civilian taser. The scope is located on the upper left of the gun, presumably to allow for the user to have a nonhuman head or wear a helmet.
The rate of fire when using the weapon for medium-range engagement appears to be about 10-15 shots per minute, comparable to 19th-century breach-loading rifles, and Mando appears to top that in the street shootout.
Velocity of the bolts
I estimate the velocity of the bolts at 72 ft/s (49 mph), which is comparable to typical blaster bolt speeds (as well as those of decently fast Nerf darts). Some blaster bolts from handheld weapons are much faster, and space shots are of course capable of reaching velocities a whole order of magnitude higher.
How does the rifle work?
My initial thought, as yours most likely, is that the target is vaporized (turned entirely into gaseous form). This would require a minimum energy of several hundred megajoules.
However, this doesn't seem to work. If the target is vaporized, why then do we not see much vapor? Why do the Jawas' cloaks appear unharmed? Why does metal seem barely affected by a hit?
A similar series of questions can be asked with Star Trek phasers, and the conclusion most people have reached is that they convert matter to neutrinos. Neutrinos are ghosty particles that barely interact with anything at all.
The same explanation would work for Star Wars' disruptor rifles. (The sparks and fire can be explained as the effects of the materiel bolt, which presumably is similar to those fired by blasters.)
In conclusion, the Mandalorian's disruptor rifle probably uses the same kind of NDF process as Star Trek phasers.
UPDATE: Garand Thumb has made a video about the rifle.
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