Quasiperiodic Oscillation in Short Gamma-Ray Bursts from Black Hole–Neutron Star Mergers
Short-duration gamma-ray bursts (sGRBs) are commonly attributed to the mergers of double neutron stars (NSs) or the mergers of a neutron star with a black hole (BH). While the former scenario was confirmed by the event GW170817, the latter remains elusive. Here, we consider the latter scenario in wh...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
IOP Publishing
2023-01-01
|
| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acefbf |
| _version_ | 1797676926168465408 |
|---|---|
| author | Yan Li Rong-Feng Shen Bin-Bin Zhang |
| author_facet | Yan Li Rong-Feng Shen Bin-Bin Zhang |
| author_sort | Yan Li |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Short-duration gamma-ray bursts (sGRBs) are commonly attributed to the mergers of double neutron stars (NSs) or the mergers of a neutron star with a black hole (BH). While the former scenario was confirmed by the event GW170817, the latter remains elusive. Here, we consider the latter scenario in which an NS is tidally disrupted by a fast-spinning low-mass BH and the accretion onto the BH launches a relativistic jet and hence produces an sGRB. The merging binary’s orbit is likely misaligned with the BH’s spin. Hence, the Lense–Thirring precession around the BH may cause a hyperaccreting thick disk to precess in a solid-body manner. We propose that a jet, initially aligned with the BH spin, is deflected and collimated by the wind from the disk, therefore being forced to precess along with the disk. This would result in a quasiperiodic oscillation or modulation in the gamma-ray light curve of the sGRB, with a quasi-period of ∼0.01–0.1 s. The appearance of the modulation may be delayed respective to the triggering of the light curve. This feature, unique to the BH–NS merger, may have already revealed itself in a few observed sGRBs (such as GRB 130310A), and it carries the spin–orbit orientation information of the merging system. Identification of this feature would be a new approach to reveal spin–orbit misaligned merging BH–NS systems, which are likely missed by the current gravitational-wave searching strategy that is principally targeting aligned systems. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T22:37:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-01222de1ddba4f609f5dd536d0ae5ccb |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1538-4357 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T22:37:29Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astrophysical Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-01222de1ddba4f609f5dd536d0ae5ccb2023-09-22T11:38:20ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572023-01-0195529810.3847/1538-4357/acefbfQuasiperiodic Oscillation in Short Gamma-Ray Bursts from Black Hole–Neutron Star MergersYan Li0Rong-Feng Shen1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5012-2362Bin-Bin Zhang2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4111-5958School of Physics and Astronomy, Sun Yat-Sen University , Zhuhai, 519082, People's Republic of China ; liyan287@mail2.sysu.edu.cn, shenrf3@mail.sysu.edu.cn; CSST Science Center for the Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Greater Bay Area, Sun Yat-Sen University , Zhuhai, 519082, People's Republic of ChinaSchool of Physics and Astronomy, Sun Yat-Sen University , Zhuhai, 519082, People's Republic of China ; liyan287@mail2.sysu.edu.cn, shenrf3@mail.sysu.edu.cn; CSST Science Center for the Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Greater Bay Area, Sun Yat-Sen University , Zhuhai, 519082, People's Republic of ChinaSchool of Astronomy and Space Science, Nanjing University , Nanjing 210093, People's Republic of China ; bbzhang@nju.edu.cn; Key Laboratory of Modern Astronomy and Astrophysics (Nanjing University) , Ministry of Education, People's Republic of China; Purple Mountain Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Nanjing 210023, People's Republic of ChinaShort-duration gamma-ray bursts (sGRBs) are commonly attributed to the mergers of double neutron stars (NSs) or the mergers of a neutron star with a black hole (BH). While the former scenario was confirmed by the event GW170817, the latter remains elusive. Here, we consider the latter scenario in which an NS is tidally disrupted by a fast-spinning low-mass BH and the accretion onto the BH launches a relativistic jet and hence produces an sGRB. The merging binary’s orbit is likely misaligned with the BH’s spin. Hence, the Lense–Thirring precession around the BH may cause a hyperaccreting thick disk to precess in a solid-body manner. We propose that a jet, initially aligned with the BH spin, is deflected and collimated by the wind from the disk, therefore being forced to precess along with the disk. This would result in a quasiperiodic oscillation or modulation in the gamma-ray light curve of the sGRB, with a quasi-period of ∼0.01–0.1 s. The appearance of the modulation may be delayed respective to the triggering of the light curve. This feature, unique to the BH–NS merger, may have already revealed itself in a few observed sGRBs (such as GRB 130310A), and it carries the spin–orbit orientation information of the merging system. Identification of this feature would be a new approach to reveal spin–orbit misaligned merging BH–NS systems, which are likely missed by the current gravitational-wave searching strategy that is principally targeting aligned systems.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acefbfStellar mass black holesNeutron starsGravitational wave sourcesGamma-ray burstsRelativistic jets |
| spellingShingle | Yan Li Rong-Feng Shen Bin-Bin Zhang Quasiperiodic Oscillation in Short Gamma-Ray Bursts from Black Hole–Neutron Star Mergers The Astrophysical Journal Stellar mass black holes Neutron stars Gravitational wave sources Gamma-ray bursts Relativistic jets |
| title | Quasiperiodic Oscillation in Short Gamma-Ray Bursts from Black Hole–Neutron Star Mergers |
| title_full | Quasiperiodic Oscillation in Short Gamma-Ray Bursts from Black Hole–Neutron Star Mergers |
| title_fullStr | Quasiperiodic Oscillation in Short Gamma-Ray Bursts from Black Hole–Neutron Star Mergers |
| title_full_unstemmed | Quasiperiodic Oscillation in Short Gamma-Ray Bursts from Black Hole–Neutron Star Mergers |
| title_short | Quasiperiodic Oscillation in Short Gamma-Ray Bursts from Black Hole–Neutron Star Mergers |
| title_sort | quasiperiodic oscillation in short gamma ray bursts from black hole neutron star mergers |
| topic | Stellar mass black holes Neutron stars Gravitational wave sources Gamma-ray bursts Relativistic jets |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acefbf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT yanli quasiperiodicoscillationinshortgammarayburstsfromblackholeneutronstarmergers AT rongfengshen quasiperiodicoscillationinshortgammarayburstsfromblackholeneutronstarmergers AT binbinzhang quasiperiodicoscillationinshortgammarayburstsfromblackholeneutronstarmergers |