Gamma Ray Bursts from Baryon Decay in Neutron Stars

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The standard unbroken electroweak theory is known to erase baryon number. The baryon number symmetry can be restored in the core of a neutron star as its density diverges via gravitational instability due to a binary merger event. We argue that for certain double Higgs models with discrete symmetries, this process may result in an expanding self-sustained burning front which would convert the entire neutron matter into radiation. This process would release 10⁵⁴ ergs in electromagnetic radiation over 10⁻⁴ sec, with negligible baryonic contamination. The resulting fireball would have all the properties necessary to produce a gamma-ray burst as a result of its interaction with ambient interstellar gas. The subsequent Higgs decay would produce a millisecond burst of 10⁵² ergs in 100 GeV neutrinos which might be observable. The above mechanism may have also caused electroweak baryogenesis in the early universe, giving rise to the observed matter-antimatter asymmetry today.