Explosion of a Minimum-Mass Neutron Star within Relativistic Hydrodynamics

TL;DR

This paper models the explosive disruption of a minimum-mass neutron star using adapted relativistic hydrodynamics equations, focusing on shock breakout and ultrarelativistic matter acceleration, relevant to gamma-ray burst models.

Contribution

It introduces a relativistic hydrodynamics framework for spherically symmetric neutron star explosions, extending previous nonrelativistic models.

Findings

Shock breakout involves ultrarelativistic matter acceleration.

Relativistic effects significantly influence explosion dynamics.

Comparison shows differences from nonrelativistic results.

Abstract

The relativistic hydrodynamics equations are adapted for the spherically symmetric case and the Lagrangian form. They are used to model the explosive disruption of a minimum-mass neutron star: a key ingredient of the stripping model for short gamma-ray bursts. The shock breakout from the neutron star surface accompanied by the acceleration of matter to ultrarelativistic velocities is studied. A comparison with the results of previously published nonrelativistic calculations is made.