Understanding how merging binary neutron stars (BNSs) can launch powerful relativistic jets and, in turn, produce short gamma-ray bursts (SGRBs) remains a major theoretical challenge.
Advanced relativistic MHD simulations of (i) the merger process forming an incipient jet and (ii) the propagation of the latter across the surrounding post-merger environment, typically investigated separately, need to be combined in a unified description connecting the physical properties of the progenitor system to the observational signatures of the final jet structure.
Aiming at a consistent end-to-end modelling, in 2021 the project presented the first HD simulations of jets propagating through environments that were directly imported from the outcome of BNS merger simulations (Pavan+ 2021). Within a previous (ongoing) Regular Access allocation the project generalised the approach to MHD (Pavan+ 2023), developed a procedure to reliably compute the SGRB afterglow emission (Dreas+, in preparation), and started a first parameter exploration (Pavan+, in preparation).
The allocation renewal will allow the project to complete our parameter study (18 models in total) and directly compare our results with the rich afterglow dataset of GRB170817A. Moreover, they will perform two prototype simulations where the incipient jet is not introduced by hand, but consistently formed in the BNS merger, realizing for the first time a full end-to-end description.