Can direct collapse black holes launch gamma-ray bursts and grow to supermassive black holes?
Abstract
The existence of black holes (BHs) of mass ~ 109 Msun at z > 6 is a big puzzle in astrophysics because even optimistic estimates of the accretion time are insufficient for stellar mass BHs of ~ 10 Msun to grow into such supermassive BHs. A resolution of this puzzle might be the direct collapse of supermassive stars with mass M ~ 105 Msun into massive seed BHs. We find that if a jet is launched from the accretion disk around the central BH, the jet can break out the star because of the structure of the radiation pressure-dominated envelope. Such ultra-long gamma-ray bursts with duration of ~ 104 - 106 s and flux of 10-11 - 10-8 erg s-1 cm-2 could be detectable by Swift. We estimate an event rate of < 1yr-1. The total explosion energy is > 1055 - 1056 erg. The resulting negative feedback delays the growth of the remnant BH by about 70 Myr or evacuates the host galaxy completely.
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