Propagation of GRB Relativistic Jets in AGN Disks and Its Implication for GRB Detection

TL;DR

This paper explores how relativistic jets from gamma-ray bursts within active galactic nuclei disks interact with the environment, affecting their ability to break out and be detected, depending on jet luminosity, duration, and SMBH mass.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of jet-disk interactions, identifying conditions under which GRB jets can escape or are choked within AGN disks, impacting their observability.

Findings

High luminosity and long duration jets can break out of AGN disks.

Normal jets are often choked unless near low-mass SMBHs.

Detectable signals from choked jets are limited to shock breakout emissions.

Abstract

The accretion disks of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) harboring in active galactic nuclei (AGN) are considered to be an ideal site for producing different types of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). The detectability of these GRB phenomena hidden in AGN disks is highly dependent on the dynamical evolution of the GRB relativistic jets. By investigating the reverse and forward shock dynamics due to the interaction between the jets and AGN disk material, we find that the relativistic jets can successfully break out from the disks only for a sufficiently high luminosity and a long enough duration. In comparison, relatively normal GRB jets are inclined to be choked in the disks, unless the GRBs occur near an SMBH with relatively low mass (e.g., $\sim 10^6M_{\odot}$). For the choked jets, unlike normal GRB prompt and afterglow emission, we can only expect to detect emission from the forward shock when the shock is very close to the edge of the disks, i.e., the shock breakout emission and subsequent cooling of the shock.