ELECTROMAGNETIC EXTRACTION OF ENERGY FROM BLACK-HOLE-NEUTRON-STAR BINARIES
- Institute for Strings, Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics (ISCAP), Columbia University, New York, NY 10027 (United States)
The coalescence of black-hole-neutron-star binaries is expected to be a principal source of gravitational waves for the next generation of detectors, Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo. For black hole masses not much larger than the neutron star mass, the tidal disruption of the neutron star by the black hole provides one avenue for generating an electromagnetic counterpart. However, in this work, we demonstrate that, for all black-hole-neutron-star binaries observable by Advanced LIGO/Virgo, the interaction of the black hole with the magnetic field of the neutron star will generate copious luminosity, comparable to supernovae and active galactic nuclei. This novel effect may have already been observed as a new class of very short gamma-ray bursts by the Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Telescope. These events may be observable to cosmological distances, so that any black-hole-neutron-star coalescence detectable with gravitational waves by Advanced LIGO/Virgo could also be detectable electromagnetically.
- OSTI ID:
- 22004629
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 742, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Prospects for joint observations of gravitational waves and gamma rays from merging neutron star binaries
ELECTROMAGNETIC EMISSION FROM LONG-LIVED BINARY NEUTRON STAR MERGER REMNANTS. II. LIGHT CURVES AND SPECTRA