Density Profiles of Collapsed Rotating Massive Stars Favor Long Gamma-Ray Bursts
Long-duration gamma-ray bursts (lGRBs) originate in relativistic collimated outflows—jets—that drill their way out of collapsing massive stars. Accurately modeling this process requires realistic stellar profiles for the jets to propagate through and break out of. Most previous studies have used sim...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2023-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acb702 |
| _version_ | 1797701468431581184 |
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| author | Goni Halevi Belinda Wu Philipp Mösta Ore Gottlieb Alexander Tchekhovskoy David R. Aguilera-Dena |
| author_facet | Goni Halevi Belinda Wu Philipp Mösta Ore Gottlieb Alexander Tchekhovskoy David R. Aguilera-Dena |
| author_sort | Goni Halevi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Long-duration gamma-ray bursts (lGRBs) originate in relativistic collimated outflows—jets—that drill their way out of collapsing massive stars. Accurately modeling this process requires realistic stellar profiles for the jets to propagate through and break out of. Most previous studies have used simple power laws or pre-collapse models for massive stars. However, the relevant stellar profile for lGRB models is in fact that of a star after its core has collapsed to form a compact object. To self-consistently compute such a stellar profile, we use the open-source code GR1D to simulate the core-collapse process for a suite of low-metallicity rotating massive stellar progenitors that have undergone chemically homogeneous evolution. Our models span a range of zero-age main-sequence (ZAMS) masses: M _ZAMS = 13, 18, 21, 25, 35, 40, and 45 M _☉ . All of these models, at the onset of core-collapse, feature steep density profiles, ρ ∝ r ^− ^α , with α ≈ 2.5, which would result in jets that are inconsistent with lGRB observables. We follow the collapses of four of the seven models until they form black holes (BHs) and the other three models until they form proto-neutron stars (PNSs). We find, across all models, that the density profile outside the newly formed BH or PNS is well represented by a flatter power law with α ≈ 1.35–1.55. Such flat density profiles are conducive to the successful formation and breakout of BH-powered jets and are, in fact, required to reproduce observable properties of lGRBs. Future models of lGRBs should be initialized with shallower post-collapse stellar profiles, like those presented here, instead of the much steeper pre-collapse profiles that are typically used. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T04:36:09Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2041-8205 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T04:36:09Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
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| series | The Astrophysical Journal Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-7b3bcd3ca70b4ee8979b71564efe7a262023-09-03T09:55:28ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal Letters2041-82052023-01-019442L3810.3847/2041-8213/acb702Density Profiles of Collapsed Rotating Massive Stars Favor Long Gamma-Ray BurstsGoni Halevi0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7232-101XBelinda Wu1Philipp Mösta2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9371-1447Ore Gottlieb3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3115-2456Alexander Tchekhovskoy4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9182-2047David R. Aguilera-Dena5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3874-2769Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University , 4 Ivy Lane, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA ; ghalevi@princeton.edu; Institute For Advanced Study , 1 Einstein Drive, Princeton, NJ 08540, USADepartment of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University , 4 Ivy Lane, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA ; ghalevi@princeton.eduGRAPPA, Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, Institute of High-Energy Physics, and Institute of Theoretical Physics, University of Amsterdam , Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The NetherlandsCenter for Interdisciplinary Exploration & Research in Astrophysics (CIERA), Physics & Astronomy, Northwestern University , Evanston, IL 60201, USACenter for Interdisciplinary Exploration & Research in Astrophysics (CIERA), Physics & Astronomy, Northwestern University , Evanston, IL 60201, USAInstitute of Astrophysics, FORTH, Dept. of Physics, University of Crete , Voutes, University Campus, GR-71003 Heraklion, GreeceLong-duration gamma-ray bursts (lGRBs) originate in relativistic collimated outflows—jets—that drill their way out of collapsing massive stars. Accurately modeling this process requires realistic stellar profiles for the jets to propagate through and break out of. Most previous studies have used simple power laws or pre-collapse models for massive stars. However, the relevant stellar profile for lGRB models is in fact that of a star after its core has collapsed to form a compact object. To self-consistently compute such a stellar profile, we use the open-source code GR1D to simulate the core-collapse process for a suite of low-metallicity rotating massive stellar progenitors that have undergone chemically homogeneous evolution. Our models span a range of zero-age main-sequence (ZAMS) masses: M _ZAMS = 13, 18, 21, 25, 35, 40, and 45 M _☉ . All of these models, at the onset of core-collapse, feature steep density profiles, ρ ∝ r ^− ^α , with α ≈ 2.5, which would result in jets that are inconsistent with lGRB observables. We follow the collapses of four of the seven models until they form black holes (BHs) and the other three models until they form proto-neutron stars (PNSs). We find, across all models, that the density profile outside the newly formed BH or PNS is well represented by a flatter power law with α ≈ 1.35–1.55. Such flat density profiles are conducive to the successful formation and breakout of BH-powered jets and are, in fact, required to reproduce observable properties of lGRBs. Future models of lGRBs should be initialized with shallower post-collapse stellar profiles, like those presented here, instead of the much steeper pre-collapse profiles that are typically used.https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acb702Hydrodynamical simulationsGeneral relativityStellar mass black holesGamma-ray burstsCore-collapse supernovae |
| spellingShingle | Goni Halevi Belinda Wu Philipp Mösta Ore Gottlieb Alexander Tchekhovskoy David R. Aguilera-Dena Density Profiles of Collapsed Rotating Massive Stars Favor Long Gamma-Ray Bursts The Astrophysical Journal Letters Hydrodynamical simulations General relativity Stellar mass black holes Gamma-ray bursts Core-collapse supernovae |
| title | Density Profiles of Collapsed Rotating Massive Stars Favor Long Gamma-Ray Bursts |
| title_full | Density Profiles of Collapsed Rotating Massive Stars Favor Long Gamma-Ray Bursts |
| title_fullStr | Density Profiles of Collapsed Rotating Massive Stars Favor Long Gamma-Ray Bursts |
| title_full_unstemmed | Density Profiles of Collapsed Rotating Massive Stars Favor Long Gamma-Ray Bursts |
| title_short | Density Profiles of Collapsed Rotating Massive Stars Favor Long Gamma-Ray Bursts |
| title_sort | density profiles of collapsed rotating massive stars favor long gamma ray bursts |
| topic | Hydrodynamical simulations General relativity Stellar mass black holes Gamma-ray bursts Core-collapse supernovae |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acb702 |
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