Resonant Plasma Modes and Produced High Energy Radiation Before the Merger of Collapsed Objects in Binaries*

Binaries involving collapsed objects (e.g. black holes) are considered to be surrounded by characteristic stationary plasma structures imbedded in a magnetic field (assumed vertical for simplicity) in which oscillatory magneto-gravitational modes can be excited [1].  The sustained modes of interest are of the vertical ballooning mode type, correspond to compressional Alfven waves, and can resonate with the orbiting frequency of the two binary components shortly before their final merger.  The analyzed ballooning modes are envisioned to be composed of oppositely propagating waves with relativistic phase velocities which can produce high energy electrons by appropriate mode-particle resonances.  The predicted [2] observation of radiation precursors [3] shortly before the binary collapse needs to be verified by the detection of new relevant events. An absence radiation emission following the merger can be interpreted as the absence of a coherent plasma structure around the resulting object.

[1] B. Coppi, Phys. Lett. A, 382, 400 (2018). Correction and addition under publication.

[2] B. Coppi and M. Medvedev, MIT-LNS HEP 17/02 June 2016.

[3] F. Verrecchia, M. Tavani, A. Ursi, et al., Ap.J. Letters 84, 2 (2017).