Gamma-ray bursts as a result of the interaction of a shock from a supernova and a neutron-star companion

Abstract

A supernova explosion in a close binary system in which one of the components is a compact magnetized object (neutron star or white dwarf) can form a narrow “tail” with length l t ∼109 cm, width h t ∼108 cm, and magnetic field B t ∼106, due to the resulting shock wave flowing around the magnetosphere of the compact object. The energy released by the reconnection of magnetic field lines in this tail can accelerate electrons to relativistic speeds (γ≈104), creating the conditions required for powerful synchrotron radiation at energies from hundreds of keV to several MeV, i.e., for a gamma-ray burst (GRB). The duration of this radiation will depend on the power of the shock that forms during the supernova. If the shock is not sufficiently powerful to tear off the magnetosphere tail from the compact object, the duration of the GRB will not exceed l t /V A ≤1 s, and the conditions necessary for an “afterglow” at softer energies will not arise. If the shock is more powerful, the tail can be torn from the magnetosphere, forming a narrow ejection, which is perceived in its relativistic motion toward the observer(Γ∼104) as an afterglow whose duration grows from tens of seconds at gamma-ray energies to tens of days in the optical. This may explain why afterglows are observed only in association with long GRBs (T 90>10 s). Very short GRBs (T 90<0.1 s) may be local, i.e., low-power, phenomena occurring in close pairs containing compact, magnetized objects, in which there is again an interaction between the magnetosphere of the compact object and a shock wave, but the shock is initiated by a flare on the companion, which is a red-dwarf cataclysmic variable, rather than by a supernova.