X-Ray-Powered Macronovae

A macronova (or kilonova) was observed as an infrared excess several days after the short gamma-ray burst GRB 130603B. Although the r-process radioactivity is widely discussed as an energy source, it requires a huge mass of ejecta from a neutron star (NS) binary merger. We propose a new model in which the X-ray excess gives rise to the simultaneously observed infrared excess via thermal re-emission, and explore what constraints this would place on the mass and velocity of the ejecta. This X-ray-powered model explains both the X-ray and infrared excesses with a single energy source such as the central engine like a black hole, and allows for a broader parameter region than the previous models, in particular a smaller ejecta mass and higher iron abundance mixed as suggested by general relativistic simulations for typical NS–NS mergers. We also discuss the other macronova candidates in GRB 060614 and GRB 080503, and the implications for the search of electromagnetic counterparts to gravitational waves.