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Photograph of Ross Church

Ross Church

Senior lecturer

Photograph of Ross Church

Properties of long gamma-ray bursts from massive compact binaries.

Author

  • Ross Church
  • Andrew J Levan
  • Melvyn B Davies
  • Chunglee Kim

Summary, in English

We consider the implications of a model for long-duration gamma-ray bursts in which the progenitor is spun up in a close binary by tidal interactions with a massive black-hole companion. We investigate a sample of such binaries produced by a binary population synthesis, and show that the model predicts several common features in the accretion on to the newly formed black hole. In all cases, the accretion rate declines as approximately t(-5/3) until a break at a time of order 10(4) s. The accretion rate declines steeply thereafter. Subsequently, there is flaring activity, with the flare peaking between 10(4) and 10(5) s, the peak time being correlated with the flare energy. We show that these times are set by the semi-major axis of the binary, and hence the process of tidal spin-up; furthermore, they are consistent with flares seen in the X-ray light curves of some long gamma-ray bursts.

Department/s

  • Lund Observatory - Has been reorganised

Publishing year

2013

Language

English

Publication/Series

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Science

Volume

371

Issue

1992

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Royal Society Publishing

Topic

  • Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1364-503X