1. Neutron star kicks plus rockets as a mechanism for forming wide low-eccentricity neutron star binaries
- Author
-
Hirai, Ryosuke, Podsiadlowski, Philipp, Heger, Alexander, and Nagakura, Hiroki
- Subjects
Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena ,Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics - Abstract
Recent neutron star surface observations corroborate a long-standing theory that neutron stars may be accelerated over extended periods after their birth. We analyze how these prolonged rocket-like accelerations, combined with rapid birth kicks, impact binary orbits. We find that even a small contribution of rocket kicks combined with instantaneous natal kicks can allow binaries to reach period--eccentricity combinations unattainable in standard binary evolution models. We propose these kick + rocket combinations as a new channel to form wide low-eccentricity neutron star binaries such as Gaia NS1, as well as inducing stellar mergers months to years after a supernova to cause peculiar high-energy transients., Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, published in ApJL
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF