Phase transitions and He-synthesis driven winds in neutrino cooled accretion disks: prospects for late flares in short gamma-ray bursts

Abstract

We consider the long term evolution of debris following the tidal disruption of compact stars in the context of short gamma ray bursts (SGRBs). The initial encounter impulsively creates a hot, dense, neutrino-cooled disk capable of powering the prompt emission. After a long delay, we find that powerful winds are launched from the surface of the disk, driven by the recombination of free nucleons into alpha particles. The associated energy release depletes the mass supply and eventually shuts off activity of the central engine. As a result, the luminosity and mass accretion rate deviate from the earlier self-similar behavior expected for an isolated ring with efficient cooling. This then enables a secondary episode of delayed activity to become prominent as an observable signature, when material in the tidal tails produced by the initial encounter returns to the vicinity of the central object. The time scale of the new accretion event can reach tens of seconds to minutes, depending on the details of the system. The associated energies and time scales are consistent with those occurring in X-ray flares.