Compact object mergers driven by gas fallback

TL;DR

This paper proposes a new astrophysical channel for compact object mergers driven by gas fallback, potentially explaining the origins of gravitational wave events and addressing the final AU problem.

Contribution

It introduces a novel merger pathway involving binary hardening due to ambient gas after weak supernova explosions or envelope instabilities.

Findings

Significant binary hardening occurs when gas mass exceeds that of the compact objects.

Gas fallback can lead to mergers within astrophysically relevant timescales.

The mechanism offers a new explanation for gravitational wave source formation.

Abstract

Recently several gravitational wave detections have shown evidence for compact object mergers. However, the astrophysical origin of merging binaries is not well understood. Stellar binaries are typically at much larger separations than what is needed for the binaries to merge due to gravitational wave emission, which leads to the so-called final AU problem. In this letter we propose a new channel for mergers of compact object binaries which solves the final AU problem. We examine the binary evolution following gas expansion due to a weak failed supernova explosion, neutrino mass loss, core disturbance, or envelope instability. In such situations the binary is possibly hardened by ambient gas. We investigate the evolution of the binary system after a shock has propagated by performing smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations. We find that significant binary hardening occurs when the gas mass bound to the binary exceeds that of the compact objects. This mechanism represents a new possibility for the pathway to mergers for gravitational wave events.