Gravitational Wave Interaction with Gamma-Ray Burst Plasma.
Abstract
In a merging binary scenario for gamma-ray bursts most of the binding energy is released in the form of gravitational waves in the last seconds before the collapse to a black hole. In an attempt to investigate the nature of the central engine we consider neutronstar-neutronstar mergers and apply the general relativistic 3+1 formalism to the interaction of the gravitational waves with the ultra-relativistic wind of magnetized plasma around the binary. We show that these waves distort the magnetic field frozen into the plasma and excite growing magnetosonic waves in the wind. Already before the merger the binary is embedded in a relativistically expanding magnetized wind of (mainly) leptons from the orbiting neutronstars so even a small transfer of gravitational wave energy to the wind may result in interesting observational signatures of a gamma-ray bursts fireball.
- Publication:
-
IAU Joint Discussion
- Pub Date:
- 2003
- Bibcode:
- 2003IAUJD...1E...3M