Related papers: Jets, winds and bursts from coalescing neutron sta…
Neutron star - black hole (NSBH) mergers that undergo tidal disruption may launch jets that could power a gamma-ray burst. We use a population of simulated NSBH systems to measure jet parameters from the gravitational waves emitted by these…
In the magneto-centrifugal mechanism for jet formation, accreting neutron stars are assumed to produce relativistic jets only if their surface magnetic field is weak enough ($B \sim 10^8$ G). However, the most common manifestation of…
Plasmas of geometrically thick, black hole (BH) accretion flows in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are generally collisionless for protons, and involve magnetic field turbulence. Under such conditions a fraction of protons can be accelerated…
Collapsars are the likely progenitors of Long Gamma-Ray Burst (lGRBs). lGRBs have been observed to last for thousands to tens of thousands of seconds, thus making unlikely the neutrino-driven engine as the main mechanism for driving the…
We consider the explosion of supernovae and the possible production of a variety of high energy transients by delayed black hole formation in massive stars endowed with rotation. Following the launch of a ``successful'' shock by the usual…
The central engine of short gamma-ray bursts (sGRBs) is hidden from direct view, operating at a scale much smaller than that probed by the emitted radiation. Thus we must infer its origin not only with respect to the formation of the {\it…
Hydrodynamic simulations of the merger of stellar mass black hole - neutron star binaries (BH/NS) are compared with mergers of binary neutron stars (NS/NS). The simulations are Newtonian, but take into account the emission and backreaction…
We perform magnetohydrodynamic simulations in full general relativity (GRMHD) of a binary black hole-neutron star on a quasicircular orbit that undergoes merger. The binary mass ratio is 3:1, the black hole initial spin parameter $a/m=0.75$…
I constrain a possible supernova origin for gamma-ray bursts by modeling the dynamical interaction between a relativistic jet and a stellar envelope surrounding it. The delay in observer's time introduced by the jet traversing the envelope…
We use ideal axisymmetric relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations to calculate the spindown of a newly formed millisecond, B ~ 10^{15} G, magnetar and its interaction with the surrounding stellar envelope during a core-collapse…
Short Gamma-Ray Bursts (SGRBs) are among the most luminous explosions in the universe, releasing in less than one second the energy emitted by our Galaxy over one year. Despite decades of observations, the nature of their "central-engine"…
Inspiraling and merging binary neutron stars are not only important source of gravitational waves, but also promising candidates for coincident electromagnetic counterparts. These systems are thought to be progenitors of short gamma-ray…
The pair annihilation of neutrinos $(\nu\overline{\nu}\rightarrow e^+e^-)$ can energize violent stellar explosions such as gamma ray bursts (GRBs). The energy in this neutrino heating mechanism can be further enhanced by modifying the…
We report on general relativistic hydrodynamic studies which indicate several new physical processes which may contribute to powering gamma-ray bursts in neutron star binaries. Relativistically driven compression, heating, and collapse of…
Black hole-neutron star (BHNS) mergers are thought to be sources of gravitational waves (GWs) with coincident electromagnetic (EM) counterparts. To further probe whether these systems are viable progenitors of short gamma-ray bursts (sGRBs)…
It was suggested that the relativistic jets in gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are powered via the Blandford-Znajek (BZ) mechanism or the annihilation of neutrinos and anti-neutrinos from a neutrino cooling-dominated accretion flow (NDAF). The…
We propose a novel mechanism for powering the central engines of Active Galactic Nuclei through super-critical (type II) black hole collapse. In this picture, ~$10^3 M_\odot$ of material collapsing at relativistic speeds can trigger a…
Relativistic jets originating from protomagnetar central engines can lead to long duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and are considered potential sources of ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays and secondary neutrinos. We explore the propagation of…
Two types of relativistic jets are suggested to form near accreting black holes: a potentially ultrarelativistic Poynting-dominated jet and a Poynting-baryon jet. One source of jet matter is electron-positron pair production, which is…
Two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulations are performed using the ZEUS-2D code to investigate the dynamics of a collapsar that generates a GRB jet, taking account of realistic equation of state, neutrino cooling and heating processes,…