Simulations of binary coalescence of a neutron star and a black hole

We present the results of Newtonian hydrodynamic simulations of the coalescence of a binary consisting of a black hole with a neutron star. The calculations show that for a wide range of initial conditions the core of the neutron star survives the initial mass transfer episode. We therefore identify black hole-neutron star binaries as the astrophysical production site of low-mass neutron stars unstable to explosion. The relevance of the simulations to the theory of gamma-ray bursts is also discussed.