Astron. Astrophys. 346, 91-100 (1999)

The effect of supernova natal kicks on compact object merger rate

Krzysztof Belczyski and Tomasz Bulik

Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center, Bartycka 18, PL-00-716 Warszawa, Poland

Received 11 August 1998 / Accepted 18 February 1999

Abstract

Mergers of compact objects may lead to different astrophysical phenomena: they may provide sources of observable gravitational radiation, and also they may be connected with gamma-ray bursts. Estimates of the rate with which such mergers take place are based on assumptions about various parameters describing the binary evolution. The distribution of one of these parameters - the kick velocity a neutron star receives at birth will strongly influence the number and orbital parameters of compact objects binaries. We calculate these effect using population synthesis of binary stars and show that the expected compact object merger rate changes by a factor of 30 when the kick velocity varies within its current observational bounds.

Key words: gravitational waves stars: binaries: close stars: binaries: general stars: evolution

SIMBAD Objects

Contents

• 1. Introduction
• 2. Population and evolution of binary systems
  • 2.1. Distribution of the initial parameters
  • 2.2. Evolution of binaries
    • 2.2.1. Evolution for small mass ratios,
    • 2.2.2. Evolution of two stars for intermediate mass ratio,
    • 2.2.3. Evolution of two stars of almost equal mass,
  • 2.3. Supernova explosion
  • 2.4. Energy loss through gravitational radiation
• 3. Results
• 4. Conclusions
• Acknowledgements
• References

© European Southern Observatory (ESO) 1999

Online publication: May 6, 1999
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