Gravitational radiation from precessing accretion disks in gamma-ray bursts

Understand

We study the precession of accretion disks in the context of gamma-ray burst inner engines.

• Our aim is to quantitatively estimate the characteristics of gravitational waves produced by the precession of the transient accretion disk in gamma-ray bursts.
• We evaluate the possible periods of disk precession caused by the Lense-Thirring effect using an accretion disk model that allows for neutrino cooling.
• Assuming jet ejection perpendicular to the disk plane and a typical intrinsic time-dependence for the burst, we find gamma-ray light curves that have a temporal microstructure similar to that observed in some reported events.