Gravitational waves from GRB core spin-down

ABSTRACT We investigate long Gamma-Ray Bursts which manifest a sharp linear rise followed by an exponential decay in their γ-ray prompt emission observed with the BAT instrument on board the Swift satellite. We offer a simple electrodynamic model that may account for these particular characteristics. We associate the sharp rise with the winding of the magnetic field by the fast-rotating core that formed in the interior of the stellar precursor. We also associate the subsequent exponential decay with the electromagnetic spin-down of the core following the release of the electromagnetic jet from the stellar interior. Any non-axisymmetric distortion in the rotating core will generate gravitational waves with exponentially decreasing frequency, a so-called ‘down-chirp’. We obtain a detailed estimate of the gravitational-wave profile if the distortion of space–time is due to the winding of a non-axisymmetric component of the magnetic field during that particular phase of the burst. We offer 7 particular time intervals during which one may look into LIGO archival data for the presence of our particular predicted waveforms in order to test our interpretation.