{
  "id": "1601.00017",
  "version": "v1",
  "published": "2015-12-31T21:50:56.000Z",
  "updated": "2015-12-31T21:50:56.000Z",
  "title": "Bright Transients from Black Hole - Neutron Star Mergers",
  "authors": [
    "Daniel J. D'Orazio",
    "Janna Levin",
    "Norman W. Murray",
    "Larry Price"
  ],
  "comment": "Submitted to Physical Review D",
  "categories": [
    "astro-ph.HE"
  ],
  "abstract": "Direct detection of black hole-neutron star (BHNS) pairs is anticipated with the advent of aLIGO. Electromagnetic counterparts may be crucial for a confident gravitational-wave detection as well as for extraction of astronomical information. Yet BHNS star pairs are notoriously dark and so inaccessible to telescopes. Contrary to this expectation, a bright electromagnetic transient can occur in the final moments before merger as long as the neutron star is highly magnetized. The orbital motion of the neutron star magnet creates a Faraday flux and corresponding power available for luminosity. A spectrum of curvature radiation ramps up until the rapid injection of energy ignites a fireball, which would appear as an energetic blackbody peaking in the X-ray to gamma-rays for neutron star field strengths ranging from $10^{12}$G to $10^{16}$G respectively and a $10M_{\\odot}$ black hole. The fireball event may last from a few milliseconds to a few seconds depending on the NS magnetic field strength, and may be observable with the Fermi Gamma-Ray Burst Monitor with a rate up to a few per year for neutron star field strengths $\\gtrsim 10^{14}$G. We also discuss a possible decaying post-merger event which could accompany this signal. As the only electromagnetic counterpart to these otherwise dark pairs, the black-hole battery should be of great value to the development of multi-messenger astronomy in the era of aLIGO.",
  "revisions": [
    {
      "version": "v1",
      "updated": "2015-12-31T21:50:56.000Z"
    }
  ],
  "analyses": {
    "keywords": [
      "neutron star mergers",
      "black hole",
      "neutron star field strengths",
      "bright transients",
      "star field strengths ranging"
    ],
    "note": {
      "typesetting": "TeX",
      "pages": 0,
      "language": "en",
      "license": "arXiv",
      "status": "editable",
      "inspire": 1411992
    }
  }
}