The Hidden Evolution of Gamma-Ray Burst Jets Revealed by Gravitational Waves
Abstract
Gamma-ray burst (GRB) jets can propagate through massive stars, where the high opacity of the stellar envelope traps electromagnetic radiation and limits observations of the jet at early times. Gravitational waves (GWs), in contrast, can escape these dense environments and provide direct information of the jet dynamics. Previous studies have shown that GRB jets can emit GWs at low frequencies, while high-frequency emission may arise from jet-driven cocoons. However, the cocoon contribution typically requires energies much larger than those inferred from observations and produces stochastic fluctuations that can resemble noise. In this work, we show that high-frequency GW signals, can instead be generated by variability in the central engine. We consider jet models with different luminosity histories. We find that the GW emission depends on both the central engine history and the interaction of the jet with the stellar envelope. Rapid luminosity fluctuations are progressively suppressed as the jet propagates through the star, while the GW signal preserves information about the early jet evolution. Jets powered by strongly variable engines produce a GW signal peaking at tens of Hz, whereas smoothly varying engines are dominated by low-frequency emission. For a source at 36 Mpc, comparable to the distance of the closest GRB observed to date, the high-frequency signal from our most energetic variable models can reach amplitudes detectable by current ground-based interferometers. Our results suggest that the detection or non-detection of GWs from nearby GRBs and Type Ic broad-lined SNe could help constrain the mechanisms operating in the central engine.
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BibTeX
@misc{urrutia2026hidden,
title = {{The Hidden Evolution of Gamma-Ray Burst Jets Revealed by Gravitational Waves}},
author = {Gerardo Urrutia and Fabio De Colle and Agnieszka Janiuk and Claudia Moreno and Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.17776},
eprint = {2609.17776},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.17776},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - The Hidden Evolution of Gamma-Ray Burst Jets Revealed by Gravitational Waves
AU - Gerardo Urrutia
AU - Fabio De Colle
AU - Agnieszka Janiuk
AU - Claudia Moreno
AU - Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/15
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.17776
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.17776
AB - Gamma-ray burst (GRB) jets can propagate through massive stars, where the high opacity of the stellar envelope traps electromagnetic radiation and limits observations of the jet at early times. Gravitational waves (GWs), in contrast, can escape these dense environments and provide direct information of the jet dynamics. Previous studies have shown that GRB jets can emit GWs at low frequencies, while high-frequency emission may arise from jet-driven cocoons. However, the cocoon contribution typically requires energies much larger than those inferred from observations and produces stochastic fluctuations that can resemble noise. In this work, we show that high-frequency GW signals, can instead be generated by variability in the central engine. We consider jet models with different luminosity histories. We find that the GW emission depends on both the central engine history and the interaction of the jet with the stellar envelope. Rapid luminosity fluctuations are progressively suppressed as the jet propagates through the star, while the GW signal preserves information about the early jet evolution. Jets powered by strongly variable engines produce a GW signal peaking at tens of Hz, whereas smoothly varying engines are dominated by low-frequency emission. For a source at 36 Mpc, comparable to the distance of the closest GRB observed to date, the high-frequency signal from our most energetic variable models can reach amplitudes detectable by current ground-based interferometers. Our results suggest that the detection or non-detection of GWs from nearby GRBs and Type Ic broad-lined SNe could help constrain the mechanisms operating in the central engine.
ER -