Merging binary systems consisting of two collapsed objects are among the most promising sources of high frequency gravitational wave, GW, signals for ground based interferometers. Double neutron star or black hole/neutron star mergers are also believed to give rise to short hard bursts, SHBs, a subclass of gamma ray bursts. SHBs might thus provide a powerful way to infer the merger rate of two-collapsed object binaries. Under the hypothesis that most SHBs originate from double neutron star or black hole/neutron star mergers, we outline here a method to estimate the incidence of merging events from dynamically formed binaries in globular clusters and infer the corresponding GW event rate that can be detected with Advanced LIGO/Virgo. In particular a sizeable fraction of detectable GW events is expected to be coincident with SHBs. The beaming and redshift distribution of SHBs are reassessed and their luminosity function constrained by using the results from recent SHBs observations. We confirm that a substantial fraction of SHBs goes off at low redshifts, where the merging of systems formed in globular clusters through dynamical interactions is expected.
We study how the angular resolution of LISA for merging massive black-hole binaries would be improved if we observe multiple gravitational wave ``images'' due to strong gravitational lensing. The correlation between fitting parameters is reduced by the additional information of the second image which significantly reduces the error box on the sky. This improvement would be very helpful for identifying the host galaxy of a binary. The angular resolution expected with multiple detectors is also discussed.
We use the well tested StarTrack binary population synthesis code to examine the properties of the population of compact object binaries. We calculate the distribution of masses and mass ratios taking into account weights introduced by observability in gravitational waves during inspiral. We find that in the observability weighted distribution of double neutron star binaries there are two peaks: one for nearly equal mass systems, and one for the systems consisting of a low and a high mass neutron star, $q=0.6-0.7$. The observability weighted distribution of black hole neutron star binaries is …
Type I X-ray bursts are very common in neutron star X-ray binaries, but no Type I burst has been seen in the dozen or so binaries in which the accreting compact star is too massive to be a neutron star and therefore is identified as a black hole candidate. We have carried out a global linear stability analysis of the accumulating fuel on the surface of a compact star to identify the conditions under which thermonuclear bursts are triggered. Our analysis, which improves on previous calculations, reproduces the gross observational trends of bursts in neutron star systems. It further shows that, …
We study prospects of a method to constrain the inclination of a coalescing compact binary by detecting its gravitational waves associated with a three-dimensionally localized (direction and distance) short-hard gamma-ray burst. We take advantage of a synergy of these two observations, and our method can be applied even with a single interferometer. For a nearly face-on binary the inclination angle $I$ can be constrained in the range 1-1/SNR < cosI \le 1 (SNR: the signal to noise ratio of gravitational wave detection), provided that the error of the distance estimation is negligible. This meth…
Merging rates of compact binaries (double neutron stars or black holes) are calculated based on the modern concept of binary stellar evolution. It is found that the initial laser interferometers with an rms-sensitivity of $10^{-21}$ at the frequency 100 Hz can detect 10-700 black holes and only \sim 1 neutron star coalescences in a 1-year integration time. Implications of the evolutionary effects to the cosmological origin of GRB are also discussed.
Hydrodynamic simulations were performed of the dynamical phase of the merging of binary neutron stars (NS-NS) and of neutron star black hole binaries (NS-BH), using the physical nuclear equation of state of Lattimer and Swesty (1991) and taking into account the emission of gravitational waves and neutrinos.
GRB 990123 may have radiated more than one solar mass equivalent in just its gamma emissions. Though this may be within the upper limit of the binding energy available from neutron stars in the Schwarzschild metric, it is difficult to imagine a process with the required efficiency of conversion to gamma rays. Neutron stars of ~10 solar mass are permitted in the Yilmaz metric. A merger of two neutron stars of maximum mass could release approximately 10 solar mass equivalent binding energy.
We discuss the gravitational lensing of gravitational waves from merging neutron star binaries, in the context of advanced LIGO type gravitational wave detectors. We consider properties of the expected observational data with cut on the signal-to-noise ratio $ρ$, i.e., $ρ>ρ_0$. An advanced LIGO should see unlensed inspiral events with a redshift distribution with cut-off at a redshift $z_{\rm max} < 1$ for $h \leq 0.8$. Any inspiral events detected at $z>z_{\rm max}$ should be lensed. We compute the expected total number of events which are present due to gravitational lensing and their redshi…
In the light of recent observations in which short gamma-ray bursts are interpreted as arising from black-hole(BH), neutron-star(NS) or NS-NS mergings we would like to review our research on the evolution of compact binaries, especially those containing NS's. These were carried out with predictions for LIGO in mind, but are directly applicable to short gamma-ray bursts in the interpretation above. Most important in our review is that we show that the standard scenario for evolving NS-NS binaries always ends up with a low-mass BH (LMBH), NS binary. Bethe and Brown (1998) showed that this fate c…
Evolution of the coalescence rate of double neutron stars (NS) and neutron star -- black hole (BH) binaries are computed for model galaxies with different star formation rates. Assuming gamma-ray bursts (GRB) to originate from NS+NS or NS+BH merging in distant galaxies, theoretical logN--logS distributions and <V/V_max> tests of gamma-ray bursts (GRB) are calculated for the first time taking the computed merging rates into account. We use a flat cosmological model (Omega=1) with different values of the cosmological constant Lambda and under various assumptions about the star formation history …
We find the distribution of coalescence times, birthrates, spatial velocities, and subsequent radial offsets of coalescing neutron stars (NSs) in various galactic potentials accounting for large asymmetric kicks introduced during a supernovae. The birthrates of bound NS-NS binaries are quite sensitive to the magnitude of the kick velocities but are, nevertheless, similar (~10 per Galaxy per Myr) to previous population synthesis studies. The distribution of merger times since zero-age main sequence is, however, relatively insensitive to the choice of kick velocities. With a median merger time o…
We study the evolution of first star (Population III) binaries. Under specific conditions, these stars may produce high redshift gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). We demonstrate that the occurrence rate of GRBs does not depend sensitively on evolutionary parameters in the population synthesis models. We show that the first binaries may form a very small group (< 1%) of fast rotating stars through binary tidal interactions that make GRBs. This finding is contrary to the Bromm & Loeb assumption that all stars in close Population III binaries will be spun up by tides and produce a GRB. We find that there …
We report on general relativistic hydrodynamic studies which indicate several new physical processes which may contribute to powering gamma-ray bursts in neutron star binaries. Relativistically driven compression, heating, and collapse of the individual stars can occur many seconds before inspiral and merger. This compression may produce a neutrino burst of $\sim 10^{53}$ ergs lasting several seconds. The associated thermal neutrino emission produces an $e^+-e^-$ pair plasma by $ν\bar ν$ annihilation. We show first results of a simulated burst which produces $\sim 10^{51}$ erg in $γ$-rays. We …
We use recent results in binary stellar evolution to argue that binaries with at least one black hole dominate the rate of compact-object mergers. Two phenomena generally attributable to such mergers, gamma-ray bursts and gravity-wave bursts, are therefore likely to originate from near the event horizon of a black hole. In addition to sheer numbers, black holes have an added advantage over neutron stars in both phenomena. For gamma-ray bursts, the presence of an event horizon eases the baryon pollution problem, because energy can be stored into rotation until most baryons have been swallowed, …
We investigate the expected gravitational wave emission from coalescing supermassive black hole (SMBH) binaries resulting from mergers of their host galaxies. We employ a semi-analytic model of galaxy and quasar formation based on the hierarchical clustering scenario to estimate the amplitude of the expected stochastic gravitational wave background owing to inspiraling SMBH binaries and bursts rates owing to the SMBH binary coalescence events. We find that the characteristic strain amplitude of the background radiation is $h_c(f) \sim 10^{-16} (f/1 μ{\rm Hz})^{-2/3}$ for $f \lesssim 1 μ{\rm Hz…
The XMM-Newton satellite has made four observations of the core of M31 as part of a survey that will span the entire galaxy. The majority of the X-ray emission is contributed by point sources, chiefly X-ray Binaries (XB). Exciting early results from a survey of time variability in three XMM exposures of the M31 core reveal XB exhibiting Sco X-1 like flaring, dips and a burst. The flaring source in M31 also exhibits variability in intensity and spectral hardness that is characteristic of a Z-source.
We discuss three classes of x-ray transients to highlight three new types of transients found with the Wide Field Cameras onboard BeppoSAX. First there are the transients related to Low Mass X-ray Binaries in outburst, typically lasting weeks to months and reaching luminosities of the Eddington limit for a few solar masses. Recently another subclass of outbursts in such binaries has been discovered, which are an order of magnitude fainter and last shorter than typical hours to days. We discuss whether they constitute a separate subset of x-ray binaries. A second class of x-ray transients are t…
The merger of compact binaries, especially black holes and neutron stars, is frequently invoked to explain gamma-ray bursts (GRB's). In this paper, we present three dimensional hydrodynamical simulations of the relatively neglected mergers of white dwarfs and black holes. During the merger, the white dwarf is tidally disrupted and sheared into an accretion disk. Nuclear reactions are followed and the energy release is negligible. Peak accretion rates are ~0.05 Msun/s (less for lower mass white dwarfs) lasting for approximately a minute. Many of the disk parameters can be explained by a simple …
Response of an interferometer becomes complicated for gravitational wave shorter than the arm-length of the detector, as nature of wave appears strongly. We have studied how parameter estimation for merging massive black hole binaries are affected by this complicated effect in the case of LISA. It is shown that three dimensional positions of some binaries might be determined much better than the past estimations that use the long wave approximation. For equal mass binaries this improvement is most prominent at $\sim 10^5\sol$.
Coalescing binaries in distant galaxies are one of the most promising sources of gravitational waves detectable by the LIGO project.$^{[1-5]}$ They are also a copious source of neutrinos,$^{[1]}$ however these neutrino pulses are far too weak to be detected on earth. Several years ago Eichler \etal$\,$$^{[6]}$ suggested that they are also sources of $γ$-ray bursts (GRBs). Recently it was found$^{[7]}$ that GRBs are likely to be cosmological in origin, and coalescing binary systems$^{[6,8-11]}$ are probably the most promising cosmological sources. The current estimates of the burst and LIGO rat…
Rapid mass transfer in a binary system can drive the accreting star out of thermal equilibrium, causing it to expand. This can lead to a contact system, strong mass loss from the system and possibly merging of the two stars. In low metallicity stars the timescale for heat transport is shorter due to the lower opacity. The accreting star can therefore restore thermal equilibrium more quickly and possibly avoid contact. We investigate the effect of accretion onto main sequence stars with radiative envelopes with different metallicities. We find that a low metallicity (Z<0.001), 4 solar mass star…
Ultracompact primordial black hole binaries with masses > 10^{16} g are considered. If PBHB's contribute significant part of the dark matter of the Galaxy one can expect an existence of high-frequent non-thermal diffuse gravitational radiation with flux of ~1 erg cm^{-2} s^{-1}. The possibility of coalescence of the PBHB's in Galaxy's halo to be a source at least of a part of gamma-ray bursts (GRB) observed is discussed. The energy flux of gravitational radiation from those GRB's should exceed the energy flux of gamma-radiation by 7-8 orders of magnitude. The possibility of observation of PBHB…
Cosmological long-duration gamma-ray bursts (LGRBs) are thought to originate from the core collapse to black holes of stripped massive stars. Those with sufficient rotation form a centrifugally-supported torus whose collapse powers the GRB. We investigate the role of tidal locking within a tight binary as a source of the necessary angular momentum. We find that the binary orbit must be no wider than a few solar radii for a torus to form upon core collapse. Comparing this criterion to the observed population of binaries containing two compact objects suggests that rotation may have been importa…
Short-hard gamma-ray bursts (SHBs) may arise from gravitational wave (GW) driven mergers of double neutron star (DNS) systems. DNSs may be "primordial" or can form dynamically by binary exchange interactions in globular clusters during core-collapse. For primordial binaries, the time delay between formation and merger is expected to be short, tau~0.1 Gyr, implying that the redshift distribution of merger events should follow that of star-formation. We point out here that for dynamically formed DNSs, the time delay between star-formation and merger is dominated by the cluster core-collapse time…
We measured the galactic hydrogen column densities to the neutron-star binaries GX 17+2, 4U 1705-44, and 4U 1728-34 by modeling the Mg and Si absorption edges found in high-resolution X-ray spectra obtained by the Chandra X-ray Observatory. We found for GX 17+2, N_H = (2.38 +/- 0.12) x 10^22 cm^-2, for 4U 1705-44, N_H = (2.44 +/- 0.09) x 10^22 cm^-2, and for 4U 1728-34, N_H = (2.49 +/- 0.14) x 10^22 cm^-2. These values are in reasonable agreement with the hydrogen column densities inferred earlier from modeling of the continuum spectra of the sources. Our results can be used to constrain the u…
Helium star--compact object binaries, and helium star--neutron star binaries in particular, are widely believed to be the progenitors of the observed double neutron star systems. In these, the second neutron star is presumed to be the compact remnant of the helium star supernova. Here, the observational implications of such a supernova are discussed, and in particular are explored as a candidate gamma-ray burst mechanism. In this scenario the supernova results in a transient period of rapid accretion onto the compact object, extracting via magnetic torques its rotational energy at highly super…
This paper is a continuation and development of our previous articles (Popov et al., 1997, 1998). We use `Scenario Machine'' (Lipunov et al., 1996b) -- the population synthesis simulator (for single binary systems calculations the program is available in WWW: http://xray.sai.msu.ru/ (Nazin et al., 1998)) -- to calculate evolution of populations of several types of X-ray sources during the first 20 Myrs after a starformation burst. We examined the evolution of 12 types of X-ray sources in close binary systems (both with neutron stars and with black holes) for different parameters of the IMF -- …
In this article we use "Scenario Machine" - the population synthesis simulator- to calculate the evolution of the populations of the selected types of X-ray sources after the starformation burst with the total mass in binaries $1.5\cdot10^6 M_{\odot}$ during the first 20 Myr after the burst. Sources of the four types were calculated: transient sources- accreting neutron stars with Be- stars; accreting neutron stars in pair with supergiants; Cyg X-1-like sources- black holes with supergiants; superaccreting black holes. We used two values of the $α- coefficient$ in the mass-function: 2.35 (Salp…
This paper is a continuation and development of our previous articles (Popov et al., 1997, 1998). We use ``Scenario Machine'' (Lipunov et al., 1996b) -- the population synthesis simulator (for single binary systems calculations the program is available in WWW at: http://xray.sai.msu.su/sciwork/scenario.html (Nazin et al., 1998) -- to calculate evolution of populations of several types of X-ray sources during the first 20 Myrs after a starformation burst. We examined the evolution of 12 types of X-ray sources in close binary systems (both with neutron stars and with black holes) for different p…
We searched for X-ray bursts in XMM-Newton archival data of X-ray sources in M 31 globular clusters (GCs) and GC candidates. We detected two bursts simultaneously in EPIC pn and MOS detectors and some more candidates in EPIC pn. The energy distribution of the burst photons and the intrinsic luminosity during the peak of the bursts indicate that at least the strongest burst was a type I radius expansion burst. The bursts identify the sources as neutron star low mass X-ray binaries in M 31. The type I X-ray bursts in M 31 are the first detected outside the Milky Way and show that with the help o…
A weakly magnetized ($\sim 10^7$G) neutron star, slowly spun up by accretion in an X-ray binary, crosses the instability boundary for r-mode instability at P=1--2 msec. The amplitude of the oscillation, which initially increases only at the spinup time scale, is secularly unstable due to the negative temperature dependence of the viscosity in neutron star matter, and diverges after a few hundred years. Angular momentum loss by the gravitational wave causes strong differential rotation, in which the magnetic field is wound up to $10^{17}$G on a time scale of a few months. When this field become…
Narayan and Heyl (2002) have developed a theoretical framework to convert suitable upper limits on type I X-ray bursts from accreting black hole candidates (BHCs) into evidence for an event horizon. However, no appropriate observational limit exists in the literature. In this paper we survey 2101.2 ks of data from the Unconventional Stellar Aspect (USA) X-ray timing experiment and 5142 ks of data from the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) experiment to obtain a formal constraint of this type. 1122 ks of neutron star data yield a population averaged mean burst rate of 1.69 x 10-5 bursts s-1 wh…
We use "Scenario Machine" -- the population synthesis simulator -- to calculate the evolution of populations of selected types of X-ray sources after a starformation burst with the total mass in binaries (1--1.5) \cdot 10^6 M_{\odot}$ during the first 20 Myr after a burst. We present here the results of two sets of runs of the program. In the first set we examined the following types of close binaries: transient sources-- neutron stars with Be- stars; ``X-ray pulsars''-- neutron stars in pairs with supergiants; Cyg X-1-like sources-- black holes with supergiants; ``SS443-like sources''-- super…
It is proposed that gamma-ray bursts are created in the mergers of double neutron star binaries and black hole neutron star binaries at cosmological distances. Bursts with complex profiles and relatively long durations are the result of magnetic flares generated by the Parker instability in a post-merger differentially-rotating disk. Some bursts may also be produced through neutrino-antineutrino annihilation into electrons and positrons. In both cases, an optically thick fireball of size $\sles\ 100$ km is initially created, which expands ultrarelativistically to large radii before radiating. …
As a first step towards understanding the angular momentum evolution history of black holes in merging black-hole/neutron-star binaries, we perform population synthesis calculations to track the distribution of accretion histories of compact objects in such binaries. We find that there are three distinct processes which can possibly contribute to the black-hole spin magnitude: a birth spin for the black hole, imparted at either (i) the collapse of a massive progenitor star to a black hole or (ii) the accretion-induced collapse of a neutron star to a black hole; and (iii) an accretion spin-up w…
We have performed detailed population synthesis on a large number (20 million) of binary systems in order to investigate the properties of massive double degenerate binaries. We have included new important results in our input physics in order to obtain more reliable estimates of the merging timescales and relative formation rates. These improvements include refined treatment of the binding energy in a common envelope, helium star evolution and reduced kicks imparted to newborn black holes. The discovery and observations of GRB afterglows and the identification of host galaxies have allowed co…
The stages that follow the merging of two neutron stars are discussed. It is shown that if a rapidly rotating gravitationally bound object is formed after the merging (a spinar or a massive neutron star), then the characteristic time of its evolution is determined by a fundamental value t_{spin} = 3 k (m_p e^2 \hbar^{1/2}) / (m_e^3 c^{5/2} G^{1/2}) \approx 7e+5 s k, where the dimensionless value k depends on the exact equation of state of nuclear matter. The hypothesis is discussed as to whether the residual optical emission of the gamma-ray burst GRB 970228 is pulsar-like and its evolution dr…
We present the results of population syntheses for binary stars carried out using the ``Scenario Machine'' code with the aim of analyzing events that may result in long gamma-ray bursts. We show that the observed distribution of morphological types of the host galaxies of long gamma-ray bursts can be explained in a model in which long gamma-ray bursts result from the core collapse of massive Wolf-Rayet stars in close binaries. The dependence of the burst rate on galaxy type is associated with an increase in the rate of stellar-wind mass-loss with increasing stellar metallicity. The separation …
Recent three dimensional, high-resolution simulations of neutron star coalescences are analysed to assess whether short gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) could originate from such encounters. The two most popular modes of energy extraction -- namely the annihilation of $ν\barν$ and magnetohydrodynamic processes- are explored in order to investigate their viability in launching GRBs. We find that $ν\barν$ annihilation can provide the necessary stresses to drive a highly relativistic expansion. But unless the outflow is beamed into less than one percent of the solid angle this mechanism may fail to explai…
Ultracompact X-ray binaries (UCXBs) appear able to sustain accretion onto the compact accretor at rates lower than in wider X-ray binaries. This may be understood by the smaller accretion disks in UCXBs: a lower X-ray luminosity suffices to keep a disk completely ionized through irradiation and, thus, keep the viscosity at a sufficiently high level to allow effective transport of matter to the compact object. We employ this distinguishing factor on data from RXTE and BeppoSAX to identify six new candidate UCXBs, thus increasing the population by one quarter. The candidates are drawn from the p…
High amplitude X-ray brightness oscillations during thermonuclear X-ray bursts were discovered with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) in early 1996. Spectral and timing evidence strongly supports the conclusion that these oscillations are caused by rotational modulation of the burst emission and that they reveal the spin frequency of neutron stars in low mass X-ray binaries (LMXB), a long sought goal of X-ray astronomy. I briefly review the status of our knowledge of these oscillations. So far 10 neutron star systems have been observed to produce burst oscillations, interestingly, the obs…
We consider the merging of high-mass black-hole binaries of the Cyg X-1 type, in which the O-star companion becomes a neutron star following a supernova explosion. Our estimated rate of mergers, $\sim 2\times 10^{-5} yr^{-1}$ for the Galaxy, is relatively low because of the paucity of high-mass black holes. None the less, because of their high masses, these black-hole, neutron-star binaries could contribute importantly to the merging sought by LIGO. From stellar evolutionary calculations including mass loss, we estimate that a ZAMS mass of $\sim 80 \msun$ is necessary before a high-mass black …
I summarize recent results about how a neutron star binary coalescence can produce short gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). Two possibilities are discussed: the annihilation of neutrino anti-neutrino pairs above the merged remnant and the exponential amplification of magnetic fields in the central object up to values close to equipartition. We find that the neutrino annihilation drives bipolar, relativistic outflows with Lorentz-factors large enough to circumvent the GRB 'compactness problem'. The total energy within these outflows is moderate by GRB-standards ($\sim 10^{48}-10^{49}$ ergs), but the inte…
Gamma-ray bursts are characterized by a duration of milliseconds to several minutes in which an enormous amount of radiation is emitted. The origin of these phenomena is still unknown because proposed models fail to explain all the observed features. Our proposed solution to this conundrum is a new class of mass-exchanging binaries in which a neutron star transfers mass to a black hole. According to recent studies binaries which contain a neutron star and a black hole are much more frequent than was previously believed. Mass exchange is driven by the emission of gravitational waves but the red…
I consider how physical processes scale over eight orders of magnitude in black hole mass, from stellar masses in gamma-ray bursts (GRB) and black-hole X-ray binaries (BHXRB) to supermassive active galactic nuclei (AGN). Accretion rates onto stellar mass black holes range over more than sixteen orders of magnitude, from the lower luminosity BHXRB to GRB. These enormous parameter ranges correspond to qualitative as well as quantitative differences in behavior. The fundamental questions involve the balance between nonequilibrium and thermalized plasmas. When energy fluxes exceed a critical value…
