General Relativistic Simulations of the Collapsar Scenario

Abstract

We are exploring the viability of the collapsar model for long-soft gamma-ray bursts. For this we perform state-of-the-art general relativistic hydrodynamic simulations in a dynamically evolving space-time with the CoCoNuT code. We start from massive low metallicity stellar models evolved up to core gravitational instability, and then follow the subsequent evolution until the system collapses forming a compact remnant. A preliminary study of the collapse outcome is performed by varying the typical parameters of the scenario, such as the initial stellar mass, metallicity, and rotational profile of the stellar progenitor. 1D models (without rotation) have been used to test our newly developed neutrino leakage scheme. This is a fundamental piece of our approach as it allows the central remnant (in all cases considered, a metastable high-mass neutron star) to cool down, eventually collapsing to a black hole (BH). In two dimensions, we show that sufficiently fast rotating cores lead to the formation of Kerr BHs, due to the fall-back of matter surrounding the compact remnant, which has not been successfully unbounded by a precedent supernova shock. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014.