The possibility of a detonative shell flash on a neutron star and a gamma-ray burst

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics

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Neutron Stars, Gamma-Ray Sources, Gamma-Ray Bursts, Fundamental Aspects Of Astrophysics

Scientific paper

Recent observations of gamma-ray bursts (e.g., x-ray precursor, x-ray tail, and cyclotron lines observed by Ginga) strongly suggest that the gamma-ray burst source is associated with a magnetized neutron star. As an energy source model the shell flash is one of the most studied and its detonative wave has been suggested as an energy conversion mechanism from thermal energy to gamma-ray photons. Here we present results of numerical simulations of shell flashes of a mass-accreting neutron star. Models with mass accretion rate dM/dt>~10-13 Msolar/yr do not trigger a detonative wave. A model with dM/dt>~10-15 Msolar/yr is marginal and its recurrence time is ~106 yr, so that the detonative wave model is statistically inconsistent. An alternative mechanism of energy conversion would be an Alfvén wave generated in a convective region of a deflagration wave. In this case, the Alfvén wave is generated by a vibration of the magnetic field in the convective region where the thermal pressure is larger than the magnetic pressure. The amplitude of the Alfvén wave is determined by the convective heat transport efficiency and its strength is weaker but its duration is longer than the case of a detonation shock wave.

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