Accretion disks around stellar-mass black holes are now thought to be the engines which power classical gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). These disks are formed almost exclusively in binaries, and to study the characteristics of the progenitors of these black-hole accretion disk (BHAD) GRBs, we must understand the uncertainties in binary population synthesis calculations. Kicks imparted onto nascent neutron stars and black holes are among the most misunderstood concepts of binary population synthesis. In this paper, we outline the current understanding (or lack of understanding) of these kicks and discuss their effect on BHAD GRBs and binary population synthesis as a whole.
Formation Rates of Black Hole Accretion Disk Gamma‐Ray Bursts