Magnetospheric Interactions of Binary Pulsars as a Model for Gamma-Ray Bursts

I consider a model of γ-ray bursts in which they arise right before the merging of binary pulsars. A binary pulsar moving through its companion's magnetic field experiences a large, motional electric field E = v × B /c, which leads to the release in the pulsar's magnetosphere of a pair cascade and the acceleration of a wind of pure pairs. The energy and energy deposition rate of the wind are those of γ-ray bursts, provided the pulsars have a field of ≈ 10 15 G. Baryon contamination is small and dominated by tidal heating, leading to M baryon ≈ 10 -6 M ☉ , as required by the dirty-fireball model of Mészáros, Laguna, & Rees.