scholarly journals Accretion-induced prompt black hole formation in asymmetric neutron star mergers, dynamical ejecta, and kilonova signals

2020 ◽  
Vol 497 (2) ◽  
pp. 1488-1507 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastiano Bernuzzi ◽  
Matteo Breschi ◽  
Boris Daszuta ◽  
Andrea Endrizzi ◽  
Domenico Logoteta ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT We present new numerical relativity results of neutron star (NS) mergers with chirp mass 1.188 M⊙ and mass ratios q = 1.67 and q = 1.8 using finite-temperature equations of state (EOS), approximate neutrino transport, and a subgrid model for magnetohydrodynamics-induced turbulent viscosity. The EOS are compatible with nuclear and astrophysical constraints and include a new microphysical model derived from ab initio calculations based on the Brueckner–Hartree–Fock approach. We report for the first time evidence for accretion-induced prompt collapse in high-mass-ratio mergers, in which the tidal disruption of the companion and its accretion on to the primary star determine prompt black hole (BH) formation. As a result of the tidal disruption, an accretion disc of neutron-rich and cold matter forms with baryon masses ∼0.15 M⊙, and it is significantly heavier than the remnant discs in equal-masses prompt-collapse mergers. Massive dynamical ejecta of the order of ∼0.01 M⊙ also originate from the tidal disruption. They are neutron-rich and expand from the orbital plane with a crescent-like geometry. Consequently, bright, red, and temporally extended kilonova emission is predicted from these mergers. Our results show that prompt BH mergers can power bright electromagnetic counterparts for high-mass-ratio binaries, and that the binary mass ratio can be, in principle, constrained from multimessenger observations.

2020 ◽  
Vol 496 (1) ◽  
pp. L16-L21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elias R Most ◽  
Lukas R Weih ◽  
Luciano Rezzolla

ABSTRACT The first binary neutron star merger event, GW170817, and its bright electromagnetic counterpart have provided a remarkable amount of information. By contrast, the second event, GW190425, with $M_{\rm tot}=3.4^{+0.3}_{-0.1}\, \mathrm{ M}_{\odot }$ and the lack of an electromagnetic counterpart, has hardly improved our understanding of neutron star physics. While GW190425 is compatible with a scenario in which the merger has led to a prompt collapse to a black hole and little ejected matter to power a counterpart, determining the mass ratio and the effective spin $\tilde{\chi }$ of the binary remains difficult. This is because gravitational waveforms cannot yet well constrain the component spins of the binary. However, since the mass of GW190425 is significantly larger than the maximum mass for non-rotating neutron stars, $M_{_{\rm TOV}}$, the mass ratio q cannot be too small, as the heavier star would not be gravitationally stable. Making use of universal relations and a large number of equations of state, we provide limits in the $(\tilde{\chi },q)$ plane for GW190425, namely qmin ≥ 0.38 and $\tilde{\chi }_{\rm max}\le 0.20$, assuming $M_\mathrm{tot} \simeq 3.4\, \mathrm{ M}_\odot$. Finally, we show how future observations of high-mass binaries can provide a lower bound on $M_{_{\rm TOV}}$.


2019 ◽  
Vol 485 (3) ◽  
pp. 4413-4422 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel J D’Orazio ◽  
Abraham Loeb ◽  
James Guillochon

ABSTRACT The rate of tidal disruption flares (TDFs) per mass of the disrupting black hole encodes information on the present-day mass function (PDMF) of stars in the clusters surrounding super massive black holes. We explore how the shape of the TDF rate with black hole mass can constrain the PDMF, with only weak dependence on black hole spin. We show that existing data can marginally constrain the minimum and maximum masses of stars in the cluster, and the high-mass end of the PDMF slope, as well as the overall TDF rate. With $\mathcal {O}(100)$ TDFs expected to be identified with the Zwicky Transient Facility, the overall rate can be highly constrained, but still with only marginal constraints on the PDMF. However, if ${\lesssim } 10 {{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ of the TDFs expected to be found by LSST over a decade ($\mathcal {O}(10^3)$ TDFs) are identified, then precise and accurate estimates can be made for the minimum stellar mass (within a factor of 2) and the average slope of the high-mass PDMF (to within $\mathcal {O}(10{{\ \rm per\ cent}})$) in nuclear star clusters. This technique could be adapted in the future to probe, in addition to the PDMF, the local black hole mass function and possibly the massive black hole binary population.


2019 ◽  
Vol 628 ◽  
pp. A19 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Quast ◽  
N. Langer ◽  
T. M. Tauris

Context. The origin and number of the Galactic supergiant X-ray binaries is currently not well understood. They consist of an evolved massive star and a neutron star or black-hole companion. X-rays are thought to be generated from the accretion of wind material donated by the supergiant, while mass transfer due to Roche-lobe overflow is mostly disregarded because the high mass ratios of these systems are thought to render this process unstable. Aims. We investigate how the proximity of supergiant donor stars to the Eddington limit, and their advanced evolutionary stage, may influence the evolution of massive and ultra-luminous X-ray binaries with supergiant donor stars (SGXBs and ULXs). Methods. We constructed models of massive stars with different internal hydrogen and helium gradients (H/He gradients) and different hydrogen-rich envelope masses, and exposed them to slow mass-loss to probe the response of the stellar radius. In addition, we computed the corresponding Roche-lobe overflow mass-transfer evolution with our detailed binary stellar evolution code, approximating the compact objects as point masses. Results. We find that a H/He gradient in the layers beneath the surface, as it is likely present in the well-studied donor stars of observed SGBXs, can enable mass transfer in SGXBs on a nuclear timescale with a black-hole or a neutron star accretor, even for mass ratios in excess of 20. In our binary evolution models, the donor stars rapidly decrease their thermal equilibrium radius and can therefore cope with the inevitably strong orbital contraction imposed by the high mass ratio. We find that the orbital period derivatives of our models agree well with empirical values. We argue that the SGXB phase may be preceded by a common-envelope evolution. The envelope inflation near the Eddington limit means that this mechanism more likely occurs at high metallicity. Conclusion. Our results open a new perspective for understanding that SGBXs are numerous in our Galaxy and are almost completely absent in the Small Magellanic Cloud. Our results may also offer a way to find more ULX systems, to detect mass transfer on nuclear timescales in ULX systems even with neutron star accretors, and shed new light on the origin of the strong B-field in these neutron stars.


Universe ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 63
Author(s):  
Hui Wang ◽  
Zhi-Fu Gao ◽  
Huan-Yu Jia ◽  
Na Wang ◽  
Xiang-Dong Li

Young pulsars are thought to be highly magnetized neutron stars (NSs). The crustal magnetic field of a NS usually decays at different timescales in the forms of Hall drift and Ohmic dissipation. The magnetization parameter ω B τ is defined as the ratio of the Ohmic timescale τ O h m to the Hall drift timescale τ H a l l . During the first several million years, the inner temperature of the newly born neutron star cools from T = 10 9 K to T = 1.0 × 10 8 K, and the crustal conductivity increases by three orders of magnitude. In this work, we adopt a unified equations of state for cold non-accreting neutron stars with the Hartree–Fock–Bogoliubov method, developed by Pearson et al. (2018), and choose two fiducial dipole magnetic fields of B = 1.0 × 10 13 G and B = 1.0 × 10 14 G, four different temperatures, T, and two different impurity concentration parameters, Q, and then calculate the conductivity of the inner crust of NSs and give a general expression of magnetization parameter for young pulsars: ω B τ ≃ ( 1 − 50 ) B 0 / ( 10 13 G) by using numerical simulations. It was found when B ≤ 10 15 G, due to the quantum effects, the conductivity increases slightly with the increase in the magnetic field, the enhanced magnetic field has a small effect on the matter in the low-density regions of the crust, and almost has no influence the matter in the high-density regions. Then, we apply the general expression of the magnetization parameter to the high braking-index pulsar PSR J1640-4631. By combining the observed arrival time parameters of PSR J1640-4631 with the magnetic induction equation, we estimated the initial rotation period P 0 , the initial dipole magnetic field B 0 , the Ohm dissipation timescale τ O h m and Hall drift timescale τ H a l l . We model the magnetic field evolution and the braking-index evolution of the pulsar and compare the results with its observations. It is expected that the results of this paper can be applied to more young pulsars.


2007 ◽  
Vol 16 (12a) ◽  
pp. 2319-2324 ◽  
Author(s):  
JAMES GRABER

LISA may make it possible to test the black-hole uniqueness theorems of general relativity, also called the no-hair theorems, by Ryan's method of detecting the quadrupole moment of a black hole using high-mass-ratio inspirals. This test can be performed more robustly by observing inspirals in earlier stages, where the simplifications used in making inspiral predictions by the perturbative and post-Newtonian methods are more nearly correct. Current concepts for future missions such as DECIGO and BBO would allow even more stringent tests by this same method. Recently discovered evidence supports the existence of intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs). Inspirals of binary systems with one IMBH and one stellar-mass black hole would fall into the frequency band of proposed maximum sensitivity for DECIGO and BBO. This would enable us to perform the Ryan test more precisely and more robustly. We explain why tests based on observations earlier in the inspiral are more robust and provide preliminary estimates of possible optimal future observations.


2006 ◽  
Vol 73 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua A. Faber ◽  
Thomas W. Baumgarte ◽  
Stuart L. Shapiro ◽  
Keisuke Taniguchi ◽  
Frederic A. Rasio

2020 ◽  
Vol 636 ◽  
pp. A99 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Vanbeveren ◽  
N. Mennekens ◽  
E. P. J. van den Heuvel ◽  
J. Van Bever

Context. Theoretical population number studies of binaries with at least one black hole (BH) component obviously depend on whether or not BHs receive a (natal) kick during their formation. Aims. Several observational facts seem to indicate that BHs do indeed receive a kick during their formation. In the present paper, we discuss additional evidence of this. Methods. The progenitors of wind-fed high-mass X-ray binaries (HMXB) with a BH component (BH HMXB) are WR+OB binaries where the Wolf–Rayet (WR) star will finally collapse and form the BH. Starting from the observed population of WR+OB binaries in the solar neighborhood, we predict the population of wind-fed BH HMXBs as a function of the BH-natal kick. Results. The simulations reveal that when WR stars collapse into a BH with a zero or low kick, we should expect 100 or more wind-fed BH HMXBs in the solar neighborhood, whereas only one is observed (Cyg X-1). We consider this as evidence that either WR components in binaries end their life as a neutron star or that they collapse into BHs, both accompanied by a supernova explosion imparting significant (natal) kicks.


2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (11) ◽  
pp. 1950094 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Zhang ◽  
Peng Liu ◽  
Jinniu Hu

The properties of neutron star are studied in the framework of relativistic Hartree–Fock (RHF) model with realistic nucleon–nucleon (NN) interactions, i.e., Bonn potentials. The strong repulsion of NN interaction at short range is properly removed by the unitary correlation operator method (UCOM). Meanwhile, the tensor correlation is neglected due to the very rich neutron environment in neutron star, where the total isospin of two nucleons can be approximately regarded as [Formula: see text]. The equations of state of neutron star matter are calculated in [Formula: see text] equilibrium and charge neutrality conditions. The properties of neutron star, such as mass, radius and tidal deformability, are obtained by solving the Tolman–Oppenheimer–Volkoff equation and tidal equation. The maximum masses of neutron from Bonn A, B, C potentials are around [Formula: see text]. The radius are [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]km at [Formula: see text], respectively. The corresponding tidal deformabilities are [Formula: see text]. All of these properties are satisfied with the recent observables from the astronomical and gravitational wave devices and are consistent with the results from the relativistic Brueckner–Hartree–Fock model.


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