arXiv subjects

Shao-Peng Tang

Publications and source records attributed to Shao-Peng Tang.

60 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2020

Estimating the maximum gravitational mass of nonrotating neutron stars from the GW170817/GRB 170817A/AT2017gfo observation

Assuming that the differential rotation of the massive neutron star (NS) formed in the double NS (DNS) mergers has been effectively terminated by the magnetic braking and a uniform rotation has been subsequently established (i.e., a supramassive NS is formed), we analytically derive in this work an approximated expression for the critical total gravitational mass ($M_{\rm tot,c}$) to form supramassive NS (SMNS) in the DNS mergers, benefited from some equation of state (EoS) insensitive relationships. The maximum gravitational mass of the nonrotating NSs ($M_{\rm TOV}$) as well as the dimensionless angular momentum of the remnant ($j$) play the dominant roles in modifying $M_{\rm tot,c}$, while the radius and mass differences of the premerger NSs do not. The GW170817/GRB 170817A/AT2017gfo observations have provided so far the best opportunity to quantitatively evaluate $M_{\rm TOV}$. Supposing the central engine for GRB 170817A is a black hole quickly formed in the collapse of an SMNS, we find $M_{\rm TOV}=2.13^{+0.09}_{-0.08}M_\odot$ (68.3% credibility interval, including also the uncertainties of the EoS insensitive relationships), which is consistent with the constraints set by current NS mass measurements.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2020

Black Hole Mass Function of Coalescing Neutron Star-Black Hole Binary Systems: The Prospect of Reconstruction with the Gravitational Wave Observations

The discovery of gravitational waves from compact objects coalescence opens a brand-new window to observe the universe. With more events being detected in the future, statistical examinations would be essential to better understand the underlying astrophysical processes. In this work we investigate the prospect of measuring the mass function of black holes that are merging with the neutron stars. Applying Bayesian parameter estimation for hundreds of simulated neutron star$-$black hole (NSBH) mergers, we find that the parameters for most of the injected events can be well recovered. We also take a Bayesian hierarchical model to reconstruct the population properties of the masses of black holes, in the presence of a low mass gap, both the mass gap and power-law index ($α$) of black hole mass function can be well measured, thus we can reveal where the $α$ is different for binary black hole (BBH) and NSBH systems. In the absence of a low mass gap, the gravitational wave data as well as the electromagnetic data can be used to pin down the nature of the merger event and then measure the mass of these very light black holes. However, as a result of the misclassification of BBH into NSBH, the measurement of $α$ is more challenging and further dedicated efforts are needed.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2020

Is GW190425 consistent with being a neutron star$-$black hole merger?

GW190425 is the second neutron star merger event detected by the Advanced LIGO/Virgo detectors. If interpreted as a double neutron star merger, the total gravitational mass is substantially larger than that of the binary systems identified in the Galaxy. In this work we analyze the gravitational-wave data within the neutron star$-$black hole merger scenario. For the black hole, we yield a mass of $2.40^{+0.36}_{-0.32}M_\odot$ and an aligned spin of $0.141^{+0.067}_{-0.064}$. As for the neutron star we find a mass of $1.15^{+0.15}_{-0.13}M_\odot$ and the dimensionless tidal deformability of $1.4^{+3.8}_{-1.2}\times 10^{3}$. These parameter ranges are for 90\% credibility. The inferred masses of the neutron star and the black hole are not in tension with current observations and we suggest that GW190425 is a viable candidate of a neutron star$-$black hole merger event. Benefitting from the continual enhancement of the sensitivities of the advanced gravitational detectors and the increase of the number of the observatories, similar events are anticipated to be much more precisely measured in the future and the presence of black holes below the so-called mass gap will be unambiguously clarified. If confirmed, the mergers of neutron stars with (quickly rotating) low-mass black holes are likely important production sites of the heaviest r-process elements.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2020

The Masses of Isolated Neutron Stars Inferred from the Gravitational Redshift Measurements

For some neutron stars (NSs) in the binary systems, the masses have been accurately measured. While for the isolated neutron stars (INSs), no mass measurement has been reported yet. The situation will change soon thanks to the successful performance of the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER), with which the radius and mass of the isolated PSR J0030+0451 can be simultaneously measured. For most INSs, no mass measurements are possible for NICER because of observational limitations. Benefiting from recent significant progress made on constraining the equation of state of NSs, in this work we propose a way to estimate the masses of the INSs with the measured gravitational redshifts. We apply our method to RX J1856.5-3754, RX J0720.4-3125, and RBS 1223, three members of "The Magnificent Seven" (M7), and estimate their masses to be $1.24_{-0.29}^{+0.29}M_{\odot}$, $1.23_{-0.05}^{+0.10}M_{\odot}$, and $1.08_{-0.11}^{+0.20}M_{\odot}$, respectively. These masses are consistent with that of binary NS systems, suggesting no evidence for experiencing significant accretion of these isolated objects.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2019

The equation of state and some key parameters of neutron stars: constraints from GW170817, the nuclear data and the low mass X-ray binary data

In this work we parameterize the Equation of State of dense neutron star (NS) matter with four pressure parameters of $\{\hat{p}_1, \hat{p}_2, \hat{p}_3, \hat{p}_4\}$ and then set the combined constraints with the data of GW 170817 and the data of 6 Low Mass X-ray Binaries (LMXBs) with thermonuclear burst or alternatively the symmetry energy of the nuclear interaction. We find that the nuclear data effectively narrow down the possible range of $\hat{p}_1$, the gravitational wave data plays the leading role in bounding $\hat{p}_2$, and the LMXB data as well as the lower bound on maximal gravitational mass of non-rotating NSs govern the constraints on $\hat{p}_3$ and $\hat{p}_4$. Using posterior samples of pressure parameters and some universal relations, we further investigate how the current data sets can advance our understanding of tidal deformability ($Λ$), moment of inertia ($I$) and binding energy ($BE$) of NSs. For a canonical mass of $1.4M_\odot$, we have $I_{1.4} = {1.43}^{+0.30}_{-0.13} \times 10^{38}~{\rm kg \cdot m^2}$, $Λ_{1.4} = 390_{-210}^{+280}$ , $R_{1.4} = 11.8_{-0.7}^{+1.2}~{\rm km}$ and $BE_{1.4} = {0.16}^{+0.01}_{-0.02} M_{\odot}$ if the constraints from the nuclear data and the gravitational wave data have been jointly applied. For the joint analysis of gravitational wave data and the LMXB data, we have $I_{1.4} = {1.28}^{+0.15}_{-0.08} \times 10^{38}~{\rm kg \cdot m^2}$, $Λ_{1.4} = 220_{-90}^{+90}$, $R_{1.4} = 11.1_{-0.6}^{+0.7}~{\rm km}$ and $BE_{1.4} = {0.18}^{+0.01}_{-0.01} M_{\odot}$. These results suggest that the current constraints on $Λ$ and $R$ still suffer from significant systematic uncertainties, while $I_{1.4}$ and $BE_{1.4}$ are better constrained.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2019

GW170817: The energy extraction process of the off-axis relativistic outflow and the constraint on the equation of state of neutron stars

As revealed recently by the modeling of the multi-wavelength data of the emission following GW170817/GRB 170817A, there was an off-axis energetic relativistic outflow component launched by this historic double neutron star merger event. In this work we use the results of these modeling to examine the energy extraction process of the central engine. We show that the magnetic process (i.e., the Blandford-Znajek mechanism) is favored, while the neutrino process usually requires a too massive accretion disk if the duration of the central engine activity is comparable to the observed $T_{90}$ of GRB 170817A, unless the timescale of the central engine activity is less than $\sim$ 0.2s. We propose that the GRB observations are helpful to constrain the combined tidal parameter $\tildeΛ$, and by adopting the accretion disk mass distribution estimated in BZ mechanism, the $90\%$ credible interval of $\tildeΛ$ for the progenitor of GW170817 is inferred as $309-954$.

astro-ph.HE↗