Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The fate of the binary neutron star (NS) merger remnants hinges sensitively upon the NS equation of state and the threshold mass, ${M}_{\mathrm{ls}}$, that separates a long-lived from a short-lived NS remnant. The nature of the electromagnetic counterparts is also influenced by the remnant type, particularly in determining whether a gamma-ray burst from a compact binary merger (cbGRB) is of short or long duration. We propose a novel approach to probe ${M}_{\mathrm{ls}}$ by linking it to the estimated observed ratio of long to short cbGRBs. We find that current observations broadly favor a relatively high value for this transition, ${M}_{\mathrm{ls}}\ensuremath{\simeq}1.3{M}_{\mathrm{TOV}}$, for which ${M}_{\mathrm{TOV}}\ensuremath{\lesssim}2.6{M}_{\ensuremath{\bigodot}}$, consistent with numerical simulations, as also shown here. Our results disfavor nuclear physics scenarios that would lead to catastrophic pressure loss at a few times nuclear density and temperatures of tens of MeV, leading to a rapid gravitational collapse of binaries with total mass $M\ensuremath{\lesssim}1.3{M}_{\mathrm{TOV}}$. Future individual gravitational wave events with on-axis cbGRBs can further bound ${M}_{\mathrm{ls}}$.
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: G2091790350, EXASCALE SIMULATIONS OF NEUTRON STAR MERGERS, WoU-MMA: High-Energy Emission from Neutron Star Mergers, G2769614280, G4825868928, Network for Neutrinos, Nuclear Astrophysics, and Symmetries, G6767015034, Compact Object Binaries in the Gravitational Wave Era, Nuclear Physics from Multi-Messenger Mergers (NP3M), WoU-MMA: Multiscale Simulations of Neutron Star Mergers, EXASCALE SIMULATIONS OF NEUTRON STAR MERGERS
OpenAlex ID: W4408150444