Differentiating short gamma-ray bursts progenitors through multi-MeV neutrinos

Abstract

With the most recent multi-messenger detection, a new branch in modern astronomy has arisen. The GW170817 event together with the short gamma-ray burst GRB 170817A was the first-ever detection of the gravitational waves and an electromagnetic counterpart. These detections encourage us to think that in the following years we will detect a single event through three different channels: including the mentioned above plus neutrinos from multiple astrophysical sources, like those detected from SN1987A. It is believed that short GRBs are originated in the merger of a black-hole (BH) with a neutron star (NS) or NS-NS scenario. Particularly only in the latter case, several simulations suggest that the magnetic field can be amplified up to $10^{16}$ G. Considering this effect over created thermal neutrinos during the initial stage, we could differentiate short GRB progenitors through the neutrino expected flavor ratio and the opacity created by the baryon-loaded winds ejected in each scenario. Moreover, We find that it is more feasible to detect neutrinos from BH-NS than NS-NS systems. Finally, we also estimate the number of neutrino events expected on ground-based detectors, finding that it is possible to detect neutrinos from an energetic enough source located within a nearby vicinity with Hyper-Kamiokande detector.