In this Letter we focus on the peculiar case of a coalescing compact-object binary whose chirp mass is compatible both with a neutron star-neutron star and black hole-neutron star system, with the black hole in the ∼3-5 M o range defined as the "mass gap." Some models of core-collapse supernovae predict the formation of such low-mass black holes and a recent observation seems to confirm their existence. Here we show that the nature of the companion to the neutron star can be inferred from the properties of the kilonova emission once we know the chirp mass, which is the best constrained parameter inferred from the gravitational signal in low-latency searches. In particular, we find that the kilonova in the black hole-neutron star case is far more luminous than in the neutron star-neutron star case, even when the black hole is nonspinning. The difference in the kilonovae brightness arises primarily from the mass ejected during the merger. Indeed, in the considered interval of chirp masses, the mass ejection in double neutron star mergers is at its worst as the system promptly forms a black hole. Instead mass ejection for the black hole-neutron star case is at its best as the neutron stars have low mass/large deformability. The kilonovae from black hole-neutron star systems can differ by two to three magnitudes. The outcome is only marginally dependent on the equation of state. The difference is above the systematics in the modeling.

Barbieri, C., Salafia, O., Colpi, M., Ghirlanda, G., Perego, A., Colombo, A. (2019). Filling the Mass Gap: How Kilonova Observations Can Unveil the Nature of the Compact Object Merging with the Neutron Star. THE ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL LETTERS, 887(2), 1-7 [10.3847/2041-8213/ab5c1e].

Filling the Mass Gap: How Kilonova Observations Can Unveil the Nature of the Compact Object Merging with the Neutron Star

Barbieri, C
;
Salafia, OS;Colpi, M;Ghirlanda, G;Colombo, A
2019

Abstract

In this Letter we focus on the peculiar case of a coalescing compact-object binary whose chirp mass is compatible both with a neutron star-neutron star and black hole-neutron star system, with the black hole in the ∼3-5 M o range defined as the "mass gap." Some models of core-collapse supernovae predict the formation of such low-mass black holes and a recent observation seems to confirm their existence. Here we show that the nature of the companion to the neutron star can be inferred from the properties of the kilonova emission once we know the chirp mass, which is the best constrained parameter inferred from the gravitational signal in low-latency searches. In particular, we find that the kilonova in the black hole-neutron star case is far more luminous than in the neutron star-neutron star case, even when the black hole is nonspinning. The difference in the kilonovae brightness arises primarily from the mass ejected during the merger. Indeed, in the considered interval of chirp masses, the mass ejection in double neutron star mergers is at its worst as the system promptly forms a black hole. Instead mass ejection for the black hole-neutron star case is at its best as the neutron stars have low mass/large deformability. The kilonovae from black hole-neutron star systems can differ by two to three magnitudes. The outcome is only marginally dependent on the equation of state. The difference is above the systematics in the modeling.
Articolo in rivista - Articolo scientifico
Neutron stars; Black holes; Compact binary stars; Gamma-ray bursts; Gravitational waves
English
2019
887
2
1
7
L35
reserved
Barbieri, C., Salafia, O., Colpi, M., Ghirlanda, G., Perego, A., Colombo, A. (2019). Filling the Mass Gap: How Kilonova Observations Can Unveil the Nature of the Compact Object Merging with the Neutron Star. THE ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL LETTERS, 887(2), 1-7 [10.3847/2041-8213/ab5c1e].
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
Barbieri_2019_ApJL_887_L35-filling-gap.pdf

Solo gestori archivio

Tipologia di allegato: Publisher’s Version (Version of Record, VoR)
Dimensione 969.25 kB
Formato Adobe PDF
969.25 kB Adobe PDF   Visualizza/Apri   Richiedi una copia

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10281/256467
Citazioni
  • Scopus 20
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 19
Social impact