arXiv:astro-ph/9808355astro-ph
A gamma ray burst with small contamination
Early discovery. Linked by one identifiable commenter. This paper is outside the main ranking; a mention is not an endorsement.
Abstract
We present a scenario (SupraNova) for the formation of GRBs occurring when a supramassive neutron star (SMNS) loses so much angular momentum that centrifugal support against self--gravity becomes impossible, and the star implodes to a black hole. This may be the baryon--cleanest environment proposed so far, because the SN explosion in which the SMNS formed swept the medium surrounding the remnant, and the quickly spinning remnant loses energy through magnetic dipole radiation at a rate exceeding its Eddington luminosity by some four orders of magnitude. The implosion is adiabatic because neutrinos have short mean free paths, and silent, given the prompt collapse of the polar caps. However, a mass ~ 0.1 M_solar in the equatorial belt can easily reach centrifugal equilibrium. The mechanism of energy extraction is via the conversion of the Poynting flux (due to the large--scale magnetic field locked into the minitorus) into a magnetized relativistic wind. Occasionally this model will produce quickly decaying, or non--detectable afterglows.
> What does “pointed in the wrong direction” mean? Gamma-ray bursts [1] are a class of observations, not single event. (Like how we first saw pulsars, and then learned they're neutron stars.) Some GRBs may originate from relativistic jets [2] emitted by massive, spinning…
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