Neutrino-Dominated Accretion Models for Gamma-Ray Bursts: Effects of General Relativity and Neutrino Opacity

Abstract

We first refine the fixed concept in the literature that the usage of the Newtonian potential in studies of black hole accretion is invalid and the general relativistic effect must be considered. As our main results, we then show that the energy released by neutrino annihilation in neutrino-dominated accretion flows is sufficient for gamma-ray bursts when the contribution from the optically thick region of the flow is included, and that in the optically thick region advection does not necessarily dominate over neutrino cooling because the advection factor is relevant to the geometrical depth rather than the optical depth of the flow.