We perform the first general relativistic force-free simulations of neutron star (NS) magnetospheres in orbit about spinning and non-spinning black holes. We find promising precursor electromagnetic emission: typical Poynting luminosities at, e.g., an orbital separation of 6.6 times the NS radius are L ~ 6 x 10^{42} erg/s for a 1.4 solar-mass NS with a 10^{13}G polar magnetic field. The Poynting flux peaks within a broad beam of ~40 degrees in the azimuthal direction and within ~60 degrees from the orbital plane, establishing a possible lighthouse effect. Our calculations, though preliminary, preview more detailed simulations of these systems that we plan to perform in the future.
@article{arxiv.1304.1805,
title = {General relativistic simulations of binary black hole-neutron stars: Precursor electromagnetic signals},
author = {Vasileios Paschalidis and Zachariah B. Etienne and Stuart L. Shapiro},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1304.1805},
year = {2013}
}
Comments
6 pages, 4 figures, matches published version in PRD Rapid Communications, two references fixed