X-Ray-powered Macronovae

A macronova (or kilonova) was observed as an infrared excess several days after the short gamma-ray burst GRB 130603B. Although the r-process radioactivity is widely discussed as an energy source, it requires a huge mass of ejecta from a neutron star (NS) binary merger. We propose a new model in which the X-ray excess gives rise to the simultaneously observed infrared excess via thermal re-emission, and explore what constraints this would place on the mass and velocity of the ejecta. This X-ray-powered model explains both the X-ray and infrared excesses with a single energy source such as the central engine like a black hole, and allows for a broader parameter region than the previous models, in particular a smaller ejecta mass ∼ {10}^-3{--}{10}^-2{M}_⊙ and higher iron abundance mixed as suggested by general relativistic simulations for typical NS-NS mergers. We also discuss the other macronova candidates in GRB 060614 and GRB 080503, and the implications for the search of electromagnetic counterparts to gravitational waves.