scholarly journals The dynamic ejecta of compact object mergers and eccentric collisions

Author(s):  
Stephan Rosswog

Compact object mergers eject neutron-rich matter in a number of ways: by the dynamical ejection mediated by gravitational torques, as neutrino-driven winds, and probably also a good fraction of the resulting accretion disc finally becomes unbound by a combination of viscous and nuclear processes. If compact binary mergers indeed produce gamma-ray bursts, there should also be an interaction region where an ultra-relativistic outflow interacts with the neutrino-driven wind and produces moderately relativistic ejecta. Each type of ejecta has different physical properties, and therefore plays a different role for nucleosynthesis and for the electromagnetic (EM) transients that go along with compact object encounters. Here, we focus on the dynamic ejecta and present results for over 30 hydrodynamical simulations of both gravitational wave-driven mergers and parabolic encounters as they may occur in globular clusters. We find that mergers eject approximately 1 per cent of a Solar mass of extremely neutron-rich material. The exact amount, as well as the ejection velocity, depends on the involved masses with asymmetric systems ejecting more material at higher velocities. This material undergoes a robust r-process and both ejecta amount and abundance pattern are consistent with neutron star mergers being a major source of the ‘heavy’ ( A >130) r-process isotopes. Parabolic collisions, especially those between neutron stars and black holes, eject substantially larger amounts of mass, and therefore cannot occur frequently without overproducing gala- ctic r-process matter. We also discuss the EM transients that are powered by radioactive decays within the ejecta (‘macronovae’), and the radio flares that emerge when the ejecta dissipate their large kinetic energies in the ambient medium.

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (S324) ◽  
pp. 66-69
Author(s):  
Gavin P. Lamb ◽  
Shiho Kobayashi

AbstractCompact binary mergers, with neutron stars or neutron star and black-hole components, are thought to produce various electromagnetic counterparts: short gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) from ultra-relativistic jets followed by broadband afterglow; semi-isotropic kilonova from radioactive decay of r-process elements; and late time radio flares; etc. If the jets from such mergers follow a similar power-law distribution of Lorentz factors as other astrophysical jets then the population of merger jets will be dominated by low-Γ values. The prompt gamma-rays associated with short GRBs would be suppressed for a low-Γ jet and the jet energy will be released as X-ray/optical/radio transients when a shock forms in the ambient medium. Using Monte Carlo simulations, we study the properties of such transients as candidate electromagnetic counterparts to gravitational wave sources detectable by LIGO/Virgo. Approximately 78% of merger-jets result in failed GRB with optical peaks 14-22 magnitude and an all-sky rate of 2-3 per year.


2000 ◽  
Vol 09 (02) ◽  
pp. 185-192
Author(s):  
G. MAO ◽  
S. CHIBA ◽  
W. GREINER ◽  
K. OYAMATSU

We propose that spontaneous particle–anti-particle pair creations from the discharged vacuum caused by the strong interactions in dense matter are major sources of γ-ray bursts. Two neutron star collisions or black-hole-neutron star mergers at cosmological distance could produce a compact object with its density exceeding the critical density for pair creations. The emitted anti-particles annihilate with corresponding particles at the ambient medium. This releases a large amount of energy. We discuss the spontaneous [Formula: see text] pair creations within two neutron star collision and estimate the exploded energy from [Formula: see text] annihilation processes. The total energy could be around 1051–1053 erg depending on the impact parameter of colliding neutron stars. This value fits well into the range of the initial energy of the most energetic γ-ray bursts.


2020 ◽  
Vol 499 (3) ◽  
pp. 3158-3177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric R Coughlin ◽  
Mitchell C Begelman

ABSTRACT Relativistic jets, or highly collimated and fast-moving outflows, are endemic to many astrophysical phenomena. The jets produced by gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and tidal disruption events (TDEs) are accompanied by the accretion of material on to a black hole or neutron star, with the accretion rate exceeding the Eddington limit of the compact object by orders of magnitude. In such systems, radiation dominates the energy–momentum budget of the outflow, and the dynamical evolution of the jet is governed by the equations of radiation hydrodynamics. Here, we show that there are analytical solutions to the equations of radiation hydrodynamics in the viscous (i.e. diffusive) regime that describe structured, relativistic jets, which consist of a fast-moving, highly relativistic core surrounded by a slower moving, less relativistic sheath. In these solutions, the slower moving, outer sheath contains most of the mass, and the jet structure is mediated by local anisotropies in the radiation field. We show that, depending on the pressure and density profile of the ambient medium, the angular profile of the jet Lorentz factor is Gaussian or falls off even more steeply with angle. These solutions have implications for the nature of jet production and evolution in hyperaccreting systems, and demonstrate that such jets – and the corresponding jet structure – can be sustained entirely by radiative processes. We discuss the implications of these findings in the context of jetted TDEs and short and long GRBs.


1986 ◽  
Vol 89 ◽  
pp. 184-197
Author(s):  
Richard McCray

AbstractCompact binary X-ray sources include white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes that are accreting matter from a companion star. The X-ray emission from these systems is produced by the accreting matter as it flows through an accretion disk and strikes the surface of the compact object. The emitting regions have opacities dominated by electron scattering, and radiation pressure is likely to play an important role in the hydrodynamics. Strong magnetic fields greatly modify the hydrodynamics and radiation transfer in the pulsating neutron star sources. Accretion disks have complex structure, including an electron scattering corona, a cool outer region, and possibly a thick torus in their inner region. The structure and stability properties of accretion disks are only partially understood. Major problems exist with the interpretation of the spectra and luminosities of the X-ray burst sources. The pulsed X-ray emission from the pulsating binary X-ray sources probably comes from “mounds” of accreting gas at the magnetic poles of neutron stars, in which the accreting matter is decelerated by radiation pressure. The physics of these systems is reviewed, with an emphasis on problems for which hydrodynamical simulations may be especially useful.


1976 ◽  
Vol 32 ◽  
pp. 169-182
Author(s):  
B. Kuchowicz

SummaryIsotopic shifts in the lines of the heavy elements in Ap stars, and the characteristic abundance pattern of these elements point to the fact that we are observing mainly the products of rapid neutron capture. The peculiar A stars may be treated as the show windows for the products of a recent r-process in their neighbourhood. This process can be located either in Supernovae exploding in a binary system in which the present Ap stars were secondaries, or in Supernovae exploding in young clusters. Secondary processes, e.g. spontaneous fission or nuclear reactions with highly abundant fission products, may occur further with the r-processed material in the surface of the Ap stars. The role of these stars to the theory of nucleosynthesis and to nuclear physics is emphasized.


2020 ◽  
Vol 499 (3) ◽  
pp. 4097-4113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yossef Zenati ◽  
Daniel M Siegel ◽  
Brian D Metzger ◽  
Hagai B Perets

ABSTRACT The core collapse of massive, rapidly-rotating stars are thought to be the progenitors of long-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRB) and their associated hyperenergetic supernovae (SNe). At early times after the collapse, relatively low angular momentum material from the infalling stellar envelope will circularize into an accretion disc located just outside the black hole horizon, resulting in high accretion rates necessary to power a GRB jet. Temperatures in the disc mid-plane at these small radii are sufficiently high to dissociate nuclei, while outflows from the disc can be neutron-rich and may synthesize r-process nuclei. However, at later times, and for high progenitor angular momentum, the outer layers of the stellar envelope can circularize at larger radii ≳ 107 cm, where nuclear reactions can take place in the disc mid-plane (e.g. 4He + 16O → 20Ne + γ). Here we explore the effects of nuclear burning on collapsar accretion discs and their outflows by means of hydrodynamical α-viscosity torus simulations coupled to a 19-isotope nuclear reaction network, which are designed to mimic the late infall epochs in collapsar evolution when the viscous time of the torus has become comparable to the envelope fall-back time. Our results address several key questions, such as the conditions for quiescent burning and accretion versus detonation and the generation of 56Ni in disc outflows, which we show could contribute significantly to powering GRB SNe. Being located in the slowest, innermost layers of the ejecta, the latter could provide the radioactive heating source necessary to make the spectral signatures of r-process elements visible in late-time GRB-SNe spectra.


2019 ◽  
Vol 486 (2) ◽  
pp. 2754-2765 ◽  
Author(s):  
A M Derdzinski ◽  
D D’Orazio ◽  
P Duffell ◽  
Z Haiman ◽  
A MacFadyen

Abstract The coalescence of a compact object with a $10^{4}\hbox{--}10^{7}\, {\rm M_\odot }$ supermassive black hole (SMBH) produces mHz gravitational waves (GWs) detectable by the future Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). If such an inspiral occurs in the accretion disc of an active galactic nucleus (AGN), the gas torques imprint a small deviation in the GW waveform. Here, we present two-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations with the moving-mesh code disco of a BH inspiraling at the GW rate in a binary system with a mass ratio q = M2/M1 = 10−3, embedded in an accretion disc. We assume a locally isothermal equation of state for the gas (with Mach number $\mathcal {M}=20$) and implement a standard α-prescription for its viscosity (with α = 0.03). We find disc torques on the binary that are weaker than in previous semi-analytic toy models, and are in the opposite direction: the gas disc slows down, rather than speeds up the inspiral. We compute the resulting deviations in the GW waveform, which scale linearly with the mass of the disc. The SNR of these deviations accumulates mostly at high frequencies, and becomes detectable in a 5 yr LISA observation if the total phase shift exceeds a few radians. We find that this occurs if the disc surface density exceeds $\Sigma _0 \gtrsim 10^{2-3}\rm g\, cm^{-2}$, as may be the case in thin discs with near-Eddington accretion rates. Since the characteristic imprint on the GW signal is strongly dependent on disc parameters, a LISA detection of an intermediate mass ratio inspiral would probe the physics of AGN discs and migration.


2008 ◽  
Vol 23 (17n20) ◽  
pp. 1409-1418 ◽  
Author(s):  
TOSHITAKA KAJINO ◽  
TAKAHIRO SASAQUI ◽  
TAKASHI YOSHIDA ◽  
WAKO AOKI

Neutrinos play the critical roles in nucleosyntheses of light-to-heavy mass elements in core-collapse supernovae (SNe). The light element synthesis is affected strongly by neutrino oscillations (MSW effect) through the ν-process in outer layers of supernova explosions. Specifically the 7 Li and 11 B yields increase by factors of 1.9 and 1.3 respectively in the case of large mixing angle solution, normal mass hierarchy, and sin 2 2θ13 = 2 × 10−3 compared to those without the oscillations. In the case of inverted mass hierarchy or nonadiabatic 13-mixing resonance, the increment of their yields is much smaller. We thus propose that precise constraint on mass hierarchy and sin 2 2θ13 is given by future observations of Li / B ratio or Li abundance in stars and presolar grains which are made from supernova ejecta. Gamma ray burst (GRB) nucleosynthesis in contrast is not affected strongly by thermal neutrinos from the central core which culminates in black hole (BH), although the effect of neutrinos from proto-neutron star prior to black hole formation is still unknown. We calculate GRB nucleosynthesis by turning off the thermal neutrinos and find that the abundance pattern is totally different from ordinary SN nucleosynthesis which satisfies the universality to the solar abundance pattern.


2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (S290) ◽  
pp. 263-264
Author(s):  
Liang Li ◽  
En-Wei Liang ◽  
He Gao ◽  
Bing Zhang

AbstractWell-sampled optical lightcurves of 146 gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are compiled from literature. We identify possible emission components based on our empirical fits and present statistical analysis for these components. We find that the flares are related to prompt emission, suggesting that they could have the same origin in different episodes. The shallow decay segment is not correlated with prompt gamma-rays. It likely signals a long-lasting injected wind from GRB central engines. Early after onset peak is closely related with prompt emission. The ambient medium density profile is likely n ∝ r−1. No correlation between the late re-brightening bump and prompt gamma-rays or the onset bump is found. They may be from another jet component.


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