Short gamma-ray bursts and gravitational-wave observations from eccentric compact binaries

Abstract

Mergers of compact binaries, such as binary neutron stars (BNSs), neutron star-black hole binaries (NSBHs), and binary black holes (BBHs), are expected to be the best candidates for the sources of gravitational waves (GWs) and the leading theoretical models for short gamma-ray bursts (SGRBs). Based on the observations of SGRBs, we could derive the merger rates of these compact binaries, and study the stochastic GW backgrounds (SGWBs) or the co-detection rates of GWs associate with SGRBs (GW-SGRBs). But before that, the most important thing is to derive the GW spectrum from a single GW source. Usually, GW spectrum from a circular orbit binary is assumed. However, observations of the large spatial offsets of SGRBs from their host galaxies imply that SGRB progenitors may be formed by the dynamical processes, and will merge with residual eccentricities. The orbital eccentricity has important effect on GW spectra, and therefore on the SGWB and GW-SGRB co-detection rate. Our results show that the power spectra of the SGWBs from eccentric compact binaries are greatly suppressed at low frequencies. Especially, SGWBs from binaries with high residual eccentricities will hard to be detected (above the detection frequency of $\sim100~\rm Hz$). For the co-detection rates of GW-SGRB events, they could be $\sim1.4$ times higher than the circular case within some particular ranges of $e_{\rm r}$ , but greatly reduced for high residual eccentricities (e.g., $e_{\rm r}>0.1$ for BNSs). In general, the BBH progenitors produce 200 and 10 times higher GW-SGRB events than the BNS and NSBH progenitors, respectively. Therefore, binaries with low residual eccentricities and high total masses will easier to be detected by aLIGO.