Fragmenting Collapsar Disks and Prospects for Gravitational Waves
Abstract
We consider in new detail the outer portions of collapsar disks, which are thought to be gravitationally unstable according to steady-state disk models. We argue that near the radius where photodisintegration of helium occurs, the gravitational instability will manifest itself as fragmentation. We investigate whether the eventual disruption of the fragment can explain the late time X-ray flaring of gamma-ray bursts. Perhaps most interesting is that this new binary system (central black hole of the collapsar plus the fragment in the disk) may be a copious producer of gravitational waves. We discuss the prospects for detection by LIGO as well as the advantages of having a gamma-ray burst event (or X-ray flaring) coincident with the gravitational wave emission.
- Publication:
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AAS/High Energy Astrophysics Division #9
- Pub Date:
- September 2006
- Bibcode:
- 2006HEAD....9.1351P