Monte Carlo Neutrino Transport Through Remnant Disks from Neutron Star Mergers

TL;DR

This paper introduces Sedonu, an open-source Monte Carlo neutrino transport code, applied to neutron star merger remnant disks, revealing detailed neutrino behaviors and their implications for astrophysical phenomena like gamma-ray bursts.

Contribution

Sedonu provides a novel, flexible Monte Carlo method for neutrino transport in complex astrophysical environments, improving upon previous leakage schemes.

Findings

Neutrinos escape preferentially around 45 degrees from the disk plane.

MC transport increases neutrino cooling and leptonization rates in the disk.

Estimated neutrino energy deposition is insufficient to drive a GRB jet.

Abstract

We present Sedonu, a new open source, steady-state, special relativistic Monte Carlo (MC) neutrino transport code, available at bitbucket.org/srichers/sedonu. The code calculates the energy- and angle-dependent neutrino distribution function on fluid backgrounds of any number of spatial dimensions, calculates the rates of change of fluid internal energy and electron fraction, and solves for the equilibrium fluid temperature and electron fraction. We apply this method to snapshots from two-dimensional simulations of accretion disks left behind by binary neutron star mergers, varying the input physics and comparing to the results obtained with a leakage scheme for the case of a central black hole and a central hypermassive neutron star. Neutrinos are guided away from the densest regions of the disk and escape preferentially around 45 degrees from the equatorial plane. Neutrino heating is strengthened by MC transport a few scale heights above the disk midplane near the innermost stable circular orbit, potentially leading to a stronger neutrino-driven wind. Neutrino cooling in the dense midplane of the disk is stronger when using MC transport, leading to a globally higher cooling rate by a factor of a few and a larger leptonization rate by an order of magnitude. We calculate neutrino pair annihilation rates and estimate that an energy of 2.8e46 erg is deposited within 45 degrees of the symmetry axis over 300 ms when a central BH is present. Similarly, 1.9e48 erg is deposited over 3 s when an HMNS sits at the center, but neither estimate is likely to be sufficient to drive a GRB jet.