The properties of long gamma-ray bursts in massive compact binaries

Abstract

We consider a popular model for long-duration gamma-ray bursts, in which the progenitor star, a stripped helium core, is spun up by tidal interactions with a black- hole companion in a compact binary. We perform population synthesis calculations to produce a representative sample of such binaries, and model the effect that the companion has on material that falls back on to the newly-formed black hole. Taking the results of hydrodynamic models of black-hole formation by fallback as our starting point, we show that the companion has two main effects on the fallback process. First, a break forms in the accretion curve at around 10 000 s. Secondly, subsequent to the break, we expect to see a flare of total energy around 0.1 foe. We predict that the break time is set largely by the semi-major axis of the binary at the time of explosion, and that this correlates negatively with the flare energy. Although comparison with observations is non-trivial, we show that our predicted break times are comparable to those found in the X-ray light curves of canonical long-duration gamma-ray bursts. Similarly, the flare properties that we predict are consistent with the late-time flares observed in a sub-sample of bursts.

arXiv comment7 pages, 6 figures. Accepted by MNRAS

References in corpus (18)

• Evolution of binary stars and the effect of tides on binary populations
• Methods and results of an automatic analysis of a complete sample of Swift-XRT observations of GRBs
• Spectroscopic Discovery of the Supernova 2003dh Associated with GRB 030329
• A Comprehensive Study of Binary Compact Objects as Gravitational Wave Sources: Evolutionary Channels, Rates, and Physical Properties
• Supernovae, Jets, and Collapsars
• Compact Object Modeling with the StarTrack Population Synthesis Code
• Evolution of rapidly rotating metal-poor massive stars towards gamma-ray bursts
• The Velocity Distribution of Isolated Radio Pulsars
• Flares in long and short Gamma-Ray Bursts: a common origin in a hyperaccreting accretion disk
• The Rates of Hypernovae and Gamma-Ray Bursts: Implications for their Progenitors
• Formation rates of core collapse SNe and GRBs
• A High-Metallicity Host Environment for the Long-Duration GRB 020819
• Has the black hole in XTE J1118+480 experienced an asymmetric natal kick?
• Implications for the origin of short gamma-ray bursts from their observed positions around their host galaxies
• Discovery of a Black-hole Mass - Period Correlation in Soft X-ray Transients and its Implication for Gamma-Ray Burst and Hypernova Mechanisms
• On the nature of late X-ray flares in Swift Gamma-ray Bursts
• On the origin of black hole spin in high-mass black hole binaries: Cygnus X-1
• Neutron star binaries and long duration gamma-ray bursts

Cited by in corpus (3)

• The coupled effect of tides and stellar winds on the evolution of compact binaries
• GRB 111209A/SN 2011kl: Collapse of a supramassive magnetar with r-mode oscillation and fall-back accretion onto a newborn black hole
• Population Synthesis of Massive Close Binary Evolution