White and grey holes in astrophysics

Astrophysical applications of white and grey holes are considered. Four types of anticollapsars in extended manifolds of general relativity are distinguished: canonical white and grey holes, light- and dark-grey holes. White and grey holes can be revealed in the form of bursts of gravitational and electromagnetic radiation, neutrino, and cosmic rays. Quasars, active galactic nuclei, jets, and cosmic voids can be associated with relicts of white and light-grey holes, and black holes do with relicts of canonical grey and dark-grey holes.     

The revival of white holes as Small Bangs

Black holes are extremely dense and compact objects from which light cannot escape. There is an overall consensus that black holes exist and many astronomical objects are identified with black holes. White holes were understood as the exact time reversal of black holes, therefore they should continuously throw away material. It is accepted, however, that a persistent ejection of mass leads to gravitational pressure, the formation of a black hole and thus to the “death of while holes”. So far, no astronomical source has been successfully tagged a white hole. The only known white hole is the Big Bang which was instantaneous rather than continuous or long-lasting. We thus suggest that the emergence of a white hole, which we name a ‘Small Bang’, is spontaneous - all the matter is ejected at a single pulse. Thus, unlike black holes, white holes cannot be continuously observed rather their effect can only be detected around the event itself. γ-ray bursts are the most energetic explosions in the universe. Long γ-ray bursts were connected with supernova eruptions. There is a new group of γ-ray bursts, which are relatively close to Earth, but surprisingly lack any supernova emission. We propose identifying these bursts with white holes. White holes seem like the best explanation of γ-ray bursts that appear in voids. We also predict the detection of rare gigantic γ-ray bursts with energies much higher than typically observed.     

Black Hole Hyperaccretion and Gamma-ray Burststwo

Black hole hyperaccretion model is one of the potential candidates for the central engine of gamma-ray bursts. Combined with the complicated explosion phenomena including gamma-ray bursts, gravitational waves, and their electromagnetic counterparts, the results of a series of theoretical studies on this model are briefly reviewed in this paper. At the same time, as the research tools for the subsequent studies on gamma-ray bursts, some important conclusions and formulas are presented.     

Gravitational and electromagnetic emission by magnetized coalescing binary systems

We discuss the possibility to obtain an electromagnetic emission accompanying the gravitational waves emitted in the coalescence of a compact binary system. Motivated by the existence of black hole configurations with open magnetic field lines along the rotation axis, we consider a magnetic dipole in the system, the evolution of which leads to (i) electromagnetic radiation, and (ii) a contribution to the gravitational radiation, the luminosity of both being evaluated. Starting from the observations on magnetars, we impose upper limits for both the electromagnetic emission and the contribution of the magnetic dipole to the gravitational wave emission. Adopting this model for the evolution of neutron star binaries leading to short gamma ray bursts, we compare the correction originated by the electromagnetic field to the gravitational waves emission, finding that they are comparable for particular values of the magnetic field and of the orbital radius of the binary system. Finally we calculate the electromagnetic and gravitational wave energy outputs which result comparable for some values of magnetic field and radius.     

A Research on the Gravitational Wave Radiation of OJ 287

The research on quasar OJ 287 has lasted over 100 years. OJ 287 exhibits the phenomenon of periodic two-peak outbursts with the eruptive period of 12 years. Observations are rather well interpreted with the black hole binary model. In this model, the secondary black hole moves around the primary black hole and crashes against the accretion disk of the primary black hole, causing outbursts. This model reasonably explains the light curves of OJ 287 and correctly predicts the time of future outbursts. These indirectly justify the precessional effect of general relativity and the existence of gravitational waves. The massive black hole in the center of galaxy is an important kind of gravitational wave source. However, the number of the galaxies with precisely determined kinematical equations of inner components is quite small. The precise kinematic orbits of black holes are provided by the black hole binary model, so the radiation of gravitational waves can be studied on the basis of these kinematic orbits. Based on the existing work, the evolutionary relations of the radiation power and waveform of gravitational waves with time are first derived by using the post-Newtonian approximation method. According to the current progress of the detection equipment of gravitational waves, i.e., IPTA (International Pulsar Timing Array), the direct detection of gravitational waves from OJ 287 may be possible within the future decade.     

Gravitational Radiation of Relativistic <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis> = 1 Polytropes

The gravitational radiation of n = 1 polytropes undergoing quasiradial pulsations is examined. The intensity of the gravitational radiation and the gravitational wave amplitudes are calculated for polytropic models of white dwarfs and neutron stars when the energy of rotation of the object serves as the source of the radiated energy. Calculations of h₀ show that objects with a polytropic equation of state can describe the expected gravitational radiation from white dwarfs and neutron stars. The gravitational radiation of polytropic models of galactic nuclei and quasars is also examined. These objects can create a high enough background of gravitational radiation at frequencies of 10^-8–10^-11 Hz for gravitational wave detectors operating in this frequency range. __________ Translated from Astrofizika, Vol. 48, No. 4, pp. 603–612 (November 2005).     

Non-thermal transient sources from rotating black holes

Rotating black holes can power the most extreme non-thermal transient sources. They have a long-duration viscous time-scale of spin-down, and produce non-thermal emissions along their spin-axis, powered by a relativistic capillary effect. We report on the discovery of exponential decay in Burst and Triensient Source Experiment (BATSE) light curves of long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) by matched filtering, consistent with a viscous time-scale, and identify ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) about the Greisen–Zatsepin–Kuzmin (GZK) threshold with linear acceleration of ion contaminants along the black hole spin-axis, consistent with black hole masses and lifetimes of Fanaroff–Riley type II (FR II) active galactic nuclei (AGN). We explain the absence of UHECRs from BL Lac objects due to UHECR emissions preferably at appreciable angles away from the black hole spin-axis. Black hole spin may be the key to unification of GRBs and their host environments, and to AGN and their host galaxies. Our model points to long-duration bursts in radio from long GRBs without supernovae and gravitational waves from all long GRBs.     

On the detection of high‐frequency oscillations in short gamma‐ray bursts

In this work we present the results of an investigation aimed at a search for an oscillatory phenomenon during short gamma‐ray bursts. The wavelet technique, used for this analysis, is applied to the data from the BATSE 3B catalogue. We have detected oscillations, which periods are found to be in the milliseconds range and their amplitudes up to dozens of percents. A possible scenario for such a phenomenon is the coalescence of stellar‐mass black holes and neutron stars. During the coalescence process the matter orbiting the black hole produces rapid, periodic phenomena. Such system will also emit gravitational waves which cause the orbital radius to decrease and leads to the emission of a chirp of radiation. Estimates lead to a timescale of milliseconds for the coalescence process and oscillation frequencies of hundreds of Hz. The gamma‐ray bursts considered in this paper, show both frequencies and survival times of oscillations close to the mentioned values. A chirp phenomenon is also present. We therefore argue in favor of the black hole – neutron star coalescence as a scenario for the production of short gamma‐ray bursts (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

活动星系核与类星体中致密天体的形成与并合：伽玛爆发与引力辐射

频繁的超新星爆发可用以解释活动星系核与类星体的超高金属丰度。星团中的恒星与吸积盘相互作用导致致密天体中子星和黑洞的形成率很高,这些致密天体与红巨星很容易形成双星系统,而后形成（ＮＳ／ＢＨ,ＮＳ／ＢＨ） 双星由于引力辐射最终导致并合而形成伽玛射线爆发。我们估计了伽玛射线爆的爆发频率,发现与观测相符。     

A model of fast radio bursts: collisions between episodic magnetic blobs

Fast radio bursts(FRBs) are bright radio pulses from the sky with millisecond durations and Jansky-level flux densities. Their origins are still largely uncertain. Here we suggest a new model for FRBs. We argue that the collision of a white dwarf with a black hole can generate a transient accretion disk, from which powerful episodic magnetic blobs will be launched. The collision between two consecutive magnetic blobs can result in a catastrophic magnetic reconnection, which releases a large amount of free magnetic energy and forms a forward shock. The shock propagates through the cold magnetized plasma within the blob in the collision region, radiating through the synchrotron maser mechanism,which is responsible for a non-repeating FRB signal. Our calculations show that the theoretical energetics, radiation frequency, duration timescale and event rate can be very consistent with the observational characteristics of FRBs.     

Gravitational radiation from differentially rotating and oscillating white dwarfs

We examine the possible emission of gravitational waves from white dwarfs undergoing self-similar oscillations driven by the energy released during relaxation of their differential rotation. Two distributions of the initial angular momentum are considered. It is assumed that 1% of the energy dissipated by a rotating white dwarf is converted into the energy of self-similar oscillations and, therefore, into gravitational radiation. The relative amplitude of the gravitational radiation from an isolated white dwarf at a distance of 50 pc is found to be less than 10⁻²⁷. The emission from the galactic population of white dwarfs may create a background which overlaps the random cosmological background of gravitational radiation for the improved decihertz detectors currently being proposed. __________ Translated from Astrofizika, Vol. 49, No. 2, pp. 231–242 (May 2006).     

Detection of gravitational waves from astrophysical sources

Modern ground-based gravitational-wave antennas designed to detect bursts of gravitational radiation from astrophysical catastrophes are described. Basic antenna characteristics, peculiarities of the noise background in antennas from various sources, and methods of their suppression are presented. The contribution from cosmic rays to the background is estimated. New programs of searching for low-frequency gravitational waves and potentialities for increasing the sensitivity of antennas of new types are briefly described.     

Gravitational Radiation from Pulsating Magnetic White Dwarfs

Rotating white dwarfs undergoing quasi-radial oscillations can emit gravitational radiation in a frequency range from 0.1-0.3 Hz. Assuming that the energy source for the gravitational radiation comes from the oblateness of the white dwarf induced by the rotation, the strain amplitude is found to be 10^-25 for a white dwarf at 50 pc. We had calculated thermal energy losses through a magneto-hydrodynamic mechanism and found it smaller than estimated before. The galactic population of these sources is estimated to be 10⁷ and may produce a confusion-limited foreground for proposed advanced detectors in the frequency band between space-based and ground-based interferometers. Nearby oscillating white dwarfs may provide a clear enough signal to investigate white dwarf interiors through gravitational wave astroseismology.     

Relativistic gravitational collapse of a cool white dwarf with allowance for the neutronization kinetics

We consider and numerically solve the problem of the relativistic gravitational collapse of a spherically symmetric cool nonrotating white dwarf with allowance for the neutronization kinetics. We propose a model equation of state and analyze the neutronization kinetics under simplifying assumptions. A comprehensive mathematical model is constructed for the phenomenon. The system of equations is integrated numerically. The gravitational collapse of a white dwarf that lost its stability is shown to lead to the envelope ejection and to the final state of a hot static neutron star. For comparison, we solve the problem with an equilibrium equation of state. We show that in this case, the entire mass ultimately goes under the gravitational radius to form a black hole.     

Analytic black hole perturbation approach

In this talk, I review an analytic method for calculating gravitational radiation from a small mass particle orbiting a massive black hole. This method allows a systematic evalutation of the gravitational radiation to a very high order in post-Newtonian expansion, hence gives us useful information on the evolution of coalescing compact binary stars.     

Gravitational waves from resolvable massive black hole binary systems and observations with Pulsar Timing Arrays

Massive black holes are key components of the assembly and evolution of cosmic structures, and a number of surveys are currently on going or planned to probe the demographics of these objects and to gain insight into the relevant physical processes. Pulsar Timing Arrays (PTAs) currently provide the only means to observe gravitational radiation from massive black hole binary systems with masses  ≳10⁷ M_⊙  . The whole cosmic population produces a stochastic background that could be detectable with upcoming PTAs. Sources sufficiently close and/or massive generate gravitational radiation that significantly exceeds the level of the background and could be individually resolved. We consider a wide range of massive black hole binary assembly scenarios, investigate the distribution of the main physical parameters of the sources, such as masses and redshift, and explore the consequences for PTAs observations. Depending on the specific massive black hole population model, we estimate that on average at least one resolvable source produces timing residuals in the range  ∼5–50 ns  . PTAs, and in particular the future Square Kilometre Array, can plausibly detect these unique systems, although the events are likely to be rare. These observations would naturally complement on the high-mass end of the massive black hole distribution function future surveys carried out by the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna .     

The onset of General Relativity: gravitationally redshifted emission lines

We study and quantify gravitational redshift by means of relativistic ray tracing simulations of emission lines. The emitter model is based on thin, Keplerian rotating rings in the equatorial plane of a rotating black hole. Emission lines are characterised by a generalized fully relativistic Doppler factor or redshift associated with the line core. Two modes of gravitational redshift, shift and distortion, become stronger with the emitting region closer to the Kerr black hole. Shifts of the line cores reveal an effect at levels of 0.0015 to 60% at gravitational radii ranging from 10⁵ to 2. The corresponding Doppler factors range from 0.999985 to 0.4048. Line shape distortion by strong gravity, i.e. very skewed and asymmetric lines occur at radii smaller than roughly ten gravitational radii. Gravitational redshift decreases with distance to the black hole but remains finite due to the asymptotical flatness of black hole space–time. The onset of gravitational redshift can be tested observationally with sufficient spectral resolution. Assuming a resolving power of ∼100000, yielding a resolution of ≈0.1 Å for optical and near‐infrared broad emission lines, the gravitational redshift can be probed out to approximately 75000 gravitational radii. In general, gravitational redshift is an indicator of black hole mass and spin as well as for the inclination angle of the emitter, e.g. an accretion disk. We suggest to do multi‐wavelength observations because all redshifted features should point towards the same central mass. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Models of rapidly rotating neutron stars: remnants of accretion-induced collapse

Equilibrium models of differentially rotating nascent neutron stars are constructed, which represent the result of the accretion-induced collapse of rapidly rotating white dwarfs. The models are built in a two-step procedure: (1) a rapidly rotating pre-collapse white dwarf model is constructed; (2) a stationary axisymmetric neutron star having the same total mass and angular momentum distribution as the white dwarf is constructed. The resulting collapsed objects consist of a high-density central core of size roughly 20 km, surrounded by a massive accretion torus extending over 1000 km from the rotation axis. The ratio of the rotational kinetic energy to the gravitational potential energy of these neutron stars ranges from 0.13 to 0.26, suggesting that some of these objects may have a non-axisymmetric dynamical instability that could emit a significant amount of gravitational radiation.     

The gravitational wave background from star–massive black hole fly-bys

Stars on eccentric orbits around a massive black hole (MBH) emit bursts of gravitational waves (GWs) at periapse. Such events may be directly resolvable in the Galactic Centre. However, if the star does not spiral in, the emitted GWs are not resolvable for extragalactic MBHs, but constitute a source of background noise. We estimate the power spectrum of this extreme mass ratio burst background (EMBB) and compare it to the anticipated instrumental noise of the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). To this end, we model the regions close to an MBH, accounting for mass segregation, and for processes that limit the presence of stars close to the MBH, such as GW inspiral and hydrodynamical collisions between stars. We find that the EMBB is dominated by GW bursts from stellar mass black holes, and the magnitude of the noise spectrum  ( fS _GW)^1/2  is at least a factor of ∼10 smaller than the instrumental noise. As an additional result of our analysis, we show that LISA is unlikely to detect relativistic bursts in the Galactic Centre.     

Oscillations in radiation-driven outflows

In this paper we investigate the dynamical behaviour of radiation-driven winds, specifically winds that arise when Compton scattering transfers momentum from the radiation field to the gas flow. Such winds occur during strong X-ray bursts from slowly accreting neutron stars, and also may be driven from the inner regions of a black hole or neutron star accretion disc when the mass transfer rate is very high. By linearizing the radiation hydrodynamic equations around steady spherical outflow, we evaluate the time-dependent response of these winds to perturbations introduced at their inner boundaries. We find that although radiation-driven winds are generally stable, they act as mechanical filters that should produce quasi-periodic oscillations or peaked noise in their radiation output when perturbations force them stochastically. This behaviour may underlie the photospheric oscillations observed in some strong Type I X-ray bursts.