2006/03/31 by Clovis Hopman, Dafne Guetta, Eli Waxman +1 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Binary number #Gamma-ray burst #Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae #Globular cluster #Gravitational wave #LIGO #Mass distribution #Neutron star #Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research #Redshift #Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/505141
published as Astrophys.J.643:L91-L94,2006 · Accepted to ApJL; Minor revisions
arxiv created 2006/04/24 · openalex publication_date 2006/05/15 · arxiv updated 2014/10/13 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Short-hard γ-ray bursts (SHBs) may arise from gravitational-wave (GW) driven mergers of double neutron star (DNS) systems. DNSs may be "primordial" or can form dynamically by binary exchange interactions in globular clusters during core collapse. For primordial binaries, the time delay between formation and merger is expected to be short, τ ~ 0.1 Gyr, implying that the redshift distribution of merger events should follow that of star formation. We point out here that for dynamically formed DNSs, the time delay between star formation and merger is dominated by the cluster core-collapse time, rather than by the GW inspiraling time, yielding delays comparable to the Hubble time. We derive the redshift distribution of merger events of dynamically formed DNSs and find it to differ significantly from that typically expected for primordial binaries. The observed redshift distribution of SHBs favors dynamical formation, although a primordial origin cannot be ruled out, because of possible detection biases. Future redshift observations of SHBs may allow us to determine whether they are dominated by primordial or dynamically formed DNSs.