SIMBAD references

Neutron star-black hole (NSBH) mergers that undergo tidal disruption may launch jets that could power a gamma-ray burst (GRB). We use a population of simulated NSBH systems to measure jet parameters from the gravitational waves emitted by these systems. The conditions during the tidal disruption and merger phase required to power a GRB are uncertain. It is likely that the system must achieve some minimum remnant baryonic mass after the merger before a jet can be launched to power a GRB. Assuming a fiducial neutron star equation of state, we show how Bayesian hierarchical inference can be used to infer the minimum remnant mass required to launch a GRB jet as well as features of the opening angle distribution of the GRB jets. We find that with 200 NSBH observations, we can measure the minimum disk mass to within 0.01 M_⊙ at 90% credibility. We simultaneously infer the GRB opening angle to within 13° at 90% credibility. We conclude that upcoming upgrades to the LIGO observatories may provide important new insights into the physics of NSBH jets.