Explaining Non-Merger Gamma-Ray Bursts and Broad-Lined Supernovae with Close Binary Progenitors with Black Hole Central Engine

TL;DR

This paper investigates the origins of long-duration gamma-ray bursts and associated supernovae, proposing that a tight-binary progenitor with a black hole accretion disk engine can explain various observed transient phenomena.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed tight-binary progenitor model combined with a black hole engine, providing explanations for multiple GRB subclasses and contrasting with other models.

Findings

Tight-binary progenitors with BHAD engines explain diverse GRB types.

Magnetar engine scenarios are inconsistent with current observations.

Proposed models can be tested with future gravitational wave and electromagnetic observations.

Abstract

For over 25 years, the origin of long-duration gamma-ray bursts (lGRBs) has been linked to the collapse of rotating massive stars. However, we have yet to pinpoint the stellar progenitor powering these transients. Moreover, the dominant engine powering the explosions remains open to debate. Observations of both lGRBs, supernovae associated with these GRBs, such as broad-line (BL) stripped-envelope (type Ic) supernovae (hereafter, Ic-BL) supernovae (SNe) and perhaps superluminous SNe, fast blue optical transients, and fast x-ray transients, may provide clues to both engines and progenitors. In this paper, we conduct a detailed study of the tight-binary formation scenario for lGRBs, comparing this scenario to other leading progenitor models. Combining this progenitor scenario with different lGRB engines, we can compare to existing data and make predictions for future observational tests. We find that the combination of the tight-binary progenitor scenario with the black hole accretion disk (BHAD) engine can explain lGRBs, low-luminosity GRBs, ultra-long GRBs, and Ic-BL. We discuss the various progenitor properties required for these different subclasses and note such systems would be future gravitational wave merger sources. We show that the current literature on other progenitor-engine scenarios cannot explain all of these transient classes with a single origin, motivating additional work. We find that the tight-binary progenitor with a magnetar engine is excluded by existing observations. The observations can be used to constrain the properties of stellar evolution, the nature of the GRB and the associated SN engines in lGRBs and Ic-BL. We discuss the future observations needed to constrain our understanding of these rare, but powerful, explosions.