Gravitational collapse of a spherical star with heat flow as a possible energy mechanism of gamma-ray bursts

TL;DR

This paper explores how the gravitational collapse of a heat-flowing spherical star could produce energy releases comparable to gamma-ray bursts, suggesting a potential astrophysical mechanism.

Contribution

It models the collapse of an inhomogeneous star with heat flow and shows it can emit energy consistent with gamma-ray bursts, a novel explanation.

Findings

Total emitted energy ~10^{54} erg

Collapse time-scale about 8 seconds

Energy release matches gamma-ray burst observations

Abstract

We investigate the gravitational collapse of a spherically symmetric, inhomogeneous star, which is described by a perfect fluid with heat flow and satisfies the equation of state $p=\rho/3$ at its center. In the process of the gravitational collapsing, the energy of the whole star is emitted into space. And the remaining spacetime is a Minkowski one without a remnant at the end of the process. For a star with a solar mass and solar radius, the total energy emitted is at the order of $10^{54}$ {\rm erg}, and the time-scale of the process is about $8s$. These are in the typical values for a gamma-ray burst. Thus, we suggest the gravitational collapse of a spherical star with heat flow as a possible energy mechanism of gamma-ray bursts.