Distribution of black hole binaries around galaxies

Abstract

Compact object mergers are one of the favorite models of GRBs. It has been noted that in opposition to the collapsars, compact object mergers do not necessarily take place in the host galaxies, and may travel outside of them. With the discovery of afterglows and identification of host galaxies one can measure the distribution of GRBs with respect to their host galaxies. This distribution has been calculated using different population synthesis codes, and for different galactic potentials In this paper we compare the distributions of different types of compact object binaries: double neutron star systems (NS-NS), black hole -neutron star systems (BH-NS) and double black holes (BH-BH). We calculate the orbits and distributions of the projected distances on the sky for two extreme cases: a massive galaxy like the Milky Way, and empty space (corresponding to e.g. a globular cluster), and consider a wide range of possible kick velocity distributions. We find that BH-NS are more likely gamma-ray burst counterparts, since they lie close to the host galaxies, contrary to the NS-NS binaries.