Fallback Accretion Halted by R-process Heating in Neutron Star Mergers and Gamma-Ray Bursts

The gravitational wave event GW170817 with a macronova/kilonova shows that a merger of two neutron stars ejects matter with radioactivity including r-process nucleosynthesis. A part of the ejecta inevitably falls back to the central object, possibly powering long-lasting activities of a short gamma-ray burst (sGRB), such as extended and plateau emissions. We investigate fallback accretion with r-process heating by performing one-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations and developing a semi-analytical model. We show that the usual fallback rate dM/dt proportional to t (-5/3) is halted by the heating because pressure gradients accelerate ejecta beyond an escape velocity. The suppression is steeper than Chevalier's power-law model through Bondi accretion within a turn-around radius. The characteristic halting timescale is similar to 10(4)-10(8) s for the GW170817-like r-process heating, which is longer than the typical timescale of the long-lasting emission of sGRBs. The halting timescale is sensitive to the uncertainty of the r-process. Future observations of fallback halting could constrain the r-process heating on the scale of a year.

Automated summary

By studying the fallback accretion with r-process heating, this research shows that the usual fallback rate is halted by the heating due to pressure gradients accelerating ejecta beyond the escape velocity. The characteristic halting timescale is around 10(4)-10(8) seconds for r-process heating like GW170817, and future observations of fallback halting could constrain the r-process heating on the scale of a year.