The Delay Time of Gravitational Wave -- Gamma-Ray Burst Associations

Abstract

The first gravitational wave (GW) - gamma-ray burst (GRB) association, GW170817/GRB 170817A, had an offset in time, with the GRB trigger time delayed by $\sim$1.7 s with respect to the merger time of the GW signal. We generally discuss the astrophysical origin of the delay time, $\Delta t$, of GW-GRB associations within the context of compact binary coalescence (CBC) -- short GRB (sGRB) associations and GW burst -- long GRB (lGRB) associations. In general, the delay time should include three terms, the time to launch a clean (relativistic) jet, $\Delta t_{\mathrm{jet}}$; the time for the jet to break out from the surrounding medium, $\Delta t_{\mathrm{bo}}$; and the time for the jet to reach the energy dissipation and GRB emission site, $\Delta t_{\mathrm{GRB}}$. For CBC-sGRB associations, $\Delta t_{\mathrm{jet}}$ and $\Delta t_{\mathrm{bo}}$ are correlated, and the final delay can be from 10 ms to a few seconds. For GWB-lGRB associations, $\Delta t_{\mathrm{jet}}$ and $\Delta t_{\mathrm{bo}}$ are independent. The latter is at least $\sim$10 s, so that $\Delta t$ of these associations is at least this long. For certain jet launching mechanisms of lGRBs, $\Delta t$ can be minutes or even hours long due to the extended engine waiting time $\Delta t_{\mathrm{wait}}$ to launch a jet. We discuss the cases of GW170817/GRB 170817A and GW150914/GW150914-GBM within this theoretical framework and suggest that the delay times of future GW/GRB associations will shed light into the jet launching mechanisms of GRBs.

Match the version published in Frontiers of Physics as a mini-review

References in corpus (23)

• GW170817: Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Neutron Star Inspiral
• Gravitational Waves and Gamma-rays from a Binary Neutron Star Merger: GW170817 and GRB 170817A
• The Supernova -- Gamma-Ray Burst Connection
• An Ordinary Short Gamma-Ray Burst with Extraordinary Implications: Fermi-GBM Detection of GRB 170817A
• The Internal-Collision-Induced Magnetic Reconnection and Turbulence (ICMART) Model of Gamma-Ray Bursts
• Illuminating Gravitational Waves: A Concordant Picture of Photons from a Neutron Star Merger
• Constraining the Maximum Mass of Neutron Stars From Multi-Messenger Observations of GW170817
• Short Duration Gamma-Ray Bursts with Extended Emission from Proto-Magnetar Spin-Down
• X-Ray Flares from Postmerger Millisecond Pulsars
• The Millisecond Magnetar Central Engine in short GRBs
• GRB afterglow plateaus and Gravitational Waves: multi-messenger signature of a millisecond magnetar?
• Hyper-accreting black hole as GRB central engine. I: Baryon loading in GRB jets
• First 100 ms of a long-lived magnetized neutron star formed in a binary neutron star merger
• When Did the Remnant of GW170817 Collapse to a Black Hole?
• Merger of black hole and neutron star in general relativity: Tidal disruption, torus mass, and gravitational waves
• A magnetar-powered X-ray transient as the aftermath of a binary neutron-star merger
• Lessons from the short GRB170817A - the First Gravitational Wave Detection of a Binary Neutron Star Merger
• Propagation of a Short GRB Jet in the Ejecta: Jet Launching Delay Time, Jet Structure, and GW170817/GRB 170817A
• Spectral evolution in gamma-ray bursts: predictions of the internal shock model and comparison to observations
• Multimessenger tests of the weak equivalence principle from GW170817 and its electromagnetic counterparts
• Evolution of an Accretion Disk in Binary Black Hole Systems
• Inspiral of a Spinning Black Hole--Magnetized Neutron Star Binary: Increasing Charge and Electromagnetic Emission
• Comparison of gravitational waves from central engines of gamma-ray bursts: neutrino-dominated accretion flows, Blandford-Znajek mechanisms, and millisecond magnetars

Cited by in corpus (25)

• First Multimessenger Observations of a Neutron Star Merger
• Constraints on the maximum mass of neutron stars with a quark core from GW170817 and NICER PSR J0030+0451 data
• Long-duration Gamma-ray Burst and Associated Kilonova Emission from Fast-spinning Black Hole--Neutron Star Mergers
• Search for Gravitational Waves Associated with Gamma-Ray Bursts Detected by Fermi and Swift During the LIGO-Virgo Run O3a
• Stringent Search for Precursor Emission in Short GRBs from Fermi/GBM data and Physical Implications
• Short gamma-ray burst jet propagation in binary neutron star merger environments
• Pre-merger alert to detect the very-high-energy prompt emission from binary neutron-star mergers: Einstein Telescope and Cherenkov Telescope Array synergy
• Upscattered Cocoon Emission in Short Gamma-ray Bursts as High-energy Gamma-ray Counterparts to Gravitational Waves
• General-relativistic treatment of tidal $g$-mode resonances in coalescing binaries of neutron stars. II. As triggers for precursor flares of short gamma-ray bursts
• Quasi-periodic oscillations in precursor flares via seismic aftershocks from resonant shattering
• Constraining the Jet Launching Time of GRB 170817A by Utilizing the Baryon Loading
• Jet-environment interplay in magnetized binary neutron star mergers
• Short duration gamma-ray bursts and their outflows in light of GW170817
• Premerger phenomena in neutron-star binary coalescences
• Quasi-periodic oscillation in short gamma-ray bursts from black hole-neutron star mergers
• Measuring spin in coalescing binaries of neutron stars showing double precursors
• A global test of jet structure and delay time distribution of short-duration gamma-ray bursts
• A Bright Future? Prospects for Cosmological Tests of GR with Multimessenger Gravitational Wave Events
• Measuring the speed of gravity and the cosmic expansion with time delays between gravity and light from binary neutron stars
• Deep Multimessenger Search for Compact Binary Mergers in LIGO, Virgo, and Fermi/GBM Data from 2016-2017
• Gravitational Waves and Electromagnetic Transients
• Multi-Messenger Astrophysics with THESEUS in the 2030s
• How Do Nuclear Isomers Influence the Gamma-Ray Bursts in Binary Neutron Star Mergers?
• A New Search Pipeline for Short Gamma Ray Bursts in Fermi/GBM Data -- A 50% Increase in the Number of Detections
• GRB160203A: an exploration of lumpy space