paper

Bright transients from strongly-magnetized neutron star-black hole mergers

arXiv:1601.00017 · doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.94.023001

Abstract

Direct detection of black hole-neutron star pairs is anticipated with the advent of aLIGO. Electromagnetic counterparts may be crucial for a confident gravitational-wave detection as well as for extraction of astronomical information. Yet black hole-neutron star pairs are notoriously dark and so inaccessible to telescopes. Contrary to this expectation, a bright electromagnetic transient can occur in the final moments before merger as long as the neutron star is highly magnetized. The orbital motion of the neutron star magnet creates a Faraday flux and corresponding power available for luminosity. A spectrum of curvature radiation ramps up until the rapid injection of energy ignites a fireball, which would appear as an energetic blackbody peaking in the x ray to rays for neutron star field strengths ranging from G to G respectively and a black hole. The fireball event may last from a few milliseconds to a few seconds depending on the neutron star magnetic-field strength, and may be observable with the Fermi Gamma-Ray Burst Monitor with a rate up to a few per year for neutron star field strengths G. We also discuss a possible decaying post-merger event which could accompany this signal. As an electromagnetic counterpart to these otherwise dark pairs, the black-hole battery should be of great value to the development of multi-messenger astronomy in the era of aLIGO.

Published in Physical Review D

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