A Unified Picture of Short and Long Gamma-Ray Bursts from Compact Binary Mergers
The recent detections of the ∼10 s long γ -ray bursts (GRBs) 211211A and 230307A followed by softer temporally extended emission (EE) and kilonovae point to a new GRB class. Using state-of-the-art first-principles simulations, we introduce a unifying theoretical framework that connects binary neutro...
| 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 |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ad096e |
| _version_ | 1827630692129832960 |
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| author | Ore Gottlieb Brian D. Metzger Eliot Quataert Danat Issa Tia Martineau Francois Foucart Matthew D. Duez Lawrence E. Kidder Harald P. Pfeiffer Mark A. Scheel |
| author_facet | Ore Gottlieb Brian D. Metzger Eliot Quataert Danat Issa Tia Martineau Francois Foucart Matthew D. Duez Lawrence E. Kidder Harald P. Pfeiffer Mark A. Scheel |
| author_sort | Ore Gottlieb |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The recent detections of the ∼10 s long γ -ray bursts (GRBs) 211211A and 230307A followed by softer temporally extended emission (EE) and kilonovae point to a new GRB class. Using state-of-the-art first-principles simulations, we introduce a unifying theoretical framework that connects binary neutron star (BNS) and black hole–NS (BH–NS) merger populations with the fundamental physics governing compact binary GRBs (cbGRBs). For binaries with large total masses, M _tot ≳ 2.8 M _⊙ , the compact remnant created by the merger promptly collapses into a BH surrounded by an accretion disk. The duration of the pre-magnetically arrested disk (MAD) phase sets the duration of the roughly constant power cbGRB and could be influenced by the disk mass, M _d . We show that massive disks ( M _d ≳ 0.1 M _⊙ ), which form for large binary mass ratios q ≳ 1.2 in BNS or q ≲ 3 in BH–NS mergers, inevitably produce 211211A-like long cbGRBs. Once the disk becomes MAD, the jet power drops with the mass accretion rate as $\dot{M}\sim {t}^{-2}$ , establishing the EE decay. Two scenarios are plausible for short cbGRBs. They can be powered by BHs with less massive disks, which form for other q values. Alternatively, for binaries with M _tot ≲ 2.8 M _⊙ , mergers should go through a hypermassive NS (HMNS) phase, as inferred for GW170817. Magnetized outflows from such HMNSs, which typically live for ≲1 s, offer an alternative progenitor for short cbGRBs. The first scenario is challenged by the bimodal GRB duration distribution and the fact that the Galactic BNS population peaks at sufficiently low masses that most mergers should go through an HMNS phase. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T14:10:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e8a2d7d091d74a7b833c689f5943c5f3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2041-8205 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T14:10:22Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astrophysical Journal Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-e8a2d7d091d74a7b833c689f5943c5f32023-11-29T14:56:42ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal Letters2041-82052023-01-019582L3310.3847/2041-8213/ad096eA Unified Picture of Short and Long Gamma-Ray Bursts from Compact Binary MergersOre Gottlieb0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3115-2456Brian D. Metzger1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4670-7509Eliot Quataert2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9185-5044Danat Issa3https://orcid.org/0009-0005-2478-7631Tia Martineau4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1025-8318Francois Foucart5https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4617-4738Matthew D. Duez6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0050-1783Lawrence E. Kidder7https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5392-7342Harald P. Pfeiffer8https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9288-519XMark A. Scheel9https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6656-9134Center for Computational Astrophysics, Flatiron Institute , New York, NY 10010, USA ; ogottlieb@flatironinstitute.org; Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration & Research in Astrophysics (CIERA), Physics & Astronomy, Northwestern University , Evanston, IL 60202, USA; Department of Physics and Columbia Astrophysics Laboratory, Columbia University , Pupin Hall, New York, NY 10027, USACenter for Computational Astrophysics, Flatiron Institute , New York, NY 10010, USA ; ogottlieb@flatironinstitute.org; Department of Physics and Columbia Astrophysics Laboratory, Columbia University , Pupin Hall, New York, NY 10027, USADepartment of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University , Princeton, NJ 08544, USACenter for Interdisciplinary Exploration & Research in Astrophysics (CIERA), Physics & Astronomy, Northwestern University , Evanston, IL 60202, USADepartment of Physics and Astronomy, University of New Hampshire , 9 Library Way, Durham, NH 03824, USADepartment of Physics and Astronomy, University of New Hampshire , 9 Library Way, Durham, NH 03824, USADepartment of Physics & Astronomy, Washington State University , Pullman, WA 99164, USACornell Center for Astrophysics and Planetary Science, Cornell University , Ithaca, NY 14853, USAMax Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute) , D-14467 Potsdam, GermanyTAPIR, Walter Burke Institute for Theoretical Physics , MC 350-17, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USAThe recent detections of the ∼10 s long γ -ray bursts (GRBs) 211211A and 230307A followed by softer temporally extended emission (EE) and kilonovae point to a new GRB class. Using state-of-the-art first-principles simulations, we introduce a unifying theoretical framework that connects binary neutron star (BNS) and black hole–NS (BH–NS) merger populations with the fundamental physics governing compact binary GRBs (cbGRBs). For binaries with large total masses, M _tot ≳ 2.8 M _⊙ , the compact remnant created by the merger promptly collapses into a BH surrounded by an accretion disk. The duration of the pre-magnetically arrested disk (MAD) phase sets the duration of the roughly constant power cbGRB and could be influenced by the disk mass, M _d . We show that massive disks ( M _d ≳ 0.1 M _⊙ ), which form for large binary mass ratios q ≳ 1.2 in BNS or q ≲ 3 in BH–NS mergers, inevitably produce 211211A-like long cbGRBs. Once the disk becomes MAD, the jet power drops with the mass accretion rate as $\dot{M}\sim {t}^{-2}$ , establishing the EE decay. Two scenarios are plausible for short cbGRBs. They can be powered by BHs with less massive disks, which form for other q values. Alternatively, for binaries with M _tot ≲ 2.8 M _⊙ , mergers should go through a hypermassive NS (HMNS) phase, as inferred for GW170817. Magnetized outflows from such HMNSs, which typically live for ≲1 s, offer an alternative progenitor for short cbGRBs. The first scenario is challenged by the bimodal GRB duration distribution and the fact that the Galactic BNS population peaks at sufficiently low masses that most mergers should go through an HMNS phase.https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ad096eGamma-ray burstsStellar mergersAstrophysical black holesBlack holesNeutron starsJets |
| spellingShingle | Ore Gottlieb Brian D. Metzger Eliot Quataert Danat Issa Tia Martineau Francois Foucart Matthew D. Duez Lawrence E. Kidder Harald P. Pfeiffer Mark A. Scheel A Unified Picture of Short and Long Gamma-Ray Bursts from Compact Binary Mergers The Astrophysical Journal Letters Gamma-ray bursts Stellar mergers Astrophysical black holes Black holes Neutron stars Jets |
| title | A Unified Picture of Short and Long Gamma-Ray Bursts from Compact Binary Mergers |
| title_full | A Unified Picture of Short and Long Gamma-Ray Bursts from Compact Binary Mergers |
| title_fullStr | A Unified Picture of Short and Long Gamma-Ray Bursts from Compact Binary Mergers |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Unified Picture of Short and Long Gamma-Ray Bursts from Compact Binary Mergers |
| title_short | A Unified Picture of Short and Long Gamma-Ray Bursts from Compact Binary Mergers |
| title_sort | unified picture of short and long gamma ray bursts from compact binary mergers |
| topic | Gamma-ray bursts Stellar mergers Astrophysical black holes Black holes Neutron stars Jets |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ad096e |
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