Does the Collapse of a Supramassive Neutron Star Leave a Debris Disk?

TL;DR

The paper investigates whether collapsing supramassive neutron stars can form debris disks, concluding that under realistic equations of state, disk formation is unlikely, impacting models of gamma-ray bursts.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive survey of neutron star equations of state and demonstrates that debris disk formation during collapse is generally unfeasible.

Findings

Disk formation is unlikely for realistic equations of state.

Collapse of supramassive neutron stars does not produce significant debris disks.

Implications for gamma-ray burst models are discussed.

Abstract

One possible channel for black hole formation is the collapse of a rigidly rotating massive neutron star as it loses its angular momentum or gains excessive mass through accretion. It was proposed that part of the neutron star may form a debris disk around the black hole. Such short-lived massive disks could be the sources of powerful jets emitting cosmological gamma-ray bursts. Whether the collapse creates a disk depends on the equation of state of the neutron star. We survey a wide range of equations of states allowed by observations and find that disk formation is unfeasible. We conclude that this channel of black hole formation is incapable of producing powerful jets, and discuss implications for models of gamma-ray bursts.