Related papers: On GW170817 and the Galactic Binary Neutron Star P…
The first gravitational-wave event from the merger of a binary neutron star system (GW170817) was detected recently. The associated short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) has a low isotropic luminosity ($\sim 10^{47}$ erg s$ ^{-1}$) and a peak…
The cosmic origin of the elements heavier than iron has long been uncertain. Theoretical modelling shows that the matter that is expelled in the violent merger of two neutron stars can assemble into heavy elements such as gold and platinum…
Mergers of binaries consisting of two neutron stars, or a black hole and a neutron star, offer a unique opportunity to study a range of physical and astrophysical processes using two different and almost orthogonal probes - gravitational…
Gravitational waves detected from the binary neutron star (NS) merger GW170817 constrained the NS equation of state by placing an upper bound on certain parameters describing the binary's tidal interactions. We show that the interpretation…
To date GW170817, produced by a binary neutron star (BNS) merger, is the only gravitational wave event with an electromagnetic (EM) counterpart. It was associated with a prompt short gamma-ray burst (GRB), an optical kilonova, and the…
GW170817/GRB170817A probably marks a double neutron star coalescence. Extended Emission $t_s\simeq (0.67\pm0.03)$\,s post-merger shows an estimated energy output ${\cal E}\simeq (3.5\pm1)\%M_\odot c^2$ determined by response curves to…
On 2017 August 17, the gravitational-wave event GW170817 was observed by the Advanced LIGO and Virgo detectors, and the gamma-ray burst (GRB) GRB 170817A was observed independently by the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor, and the…
This event, so far unique, beautifully confirmed the standard views on the gravitational waves produced by a merger of two neutron stars, but its electromagnetic multi-wavelenth observations disagreed with the numerous initial versions of…
When binary systems of neutron stars merge, a very small fraction of their rest mass is ejected, either dynamically or secularly. This material is neutron-rich and its nucleosynthesis could provide the astrophysical site for the production…
Compact binary mergers involving neutron stars can eject a fraction of their mass to space. Being extremely neutron rich, this material undergoes rapid neutron capture nucleosynthesis, and the resulting radioactivity powers fast,…
Context. The coincident detection of GW170817 and GRB170817A marked a milestone for the connection between binary neutron star (BNS) mergers and short gamma-ray bursts (sGRBs). These mergers can lead to the formation of a black hole…
We present a simple analytic model, that captures the key features of the emission of radiation from material ejected by the merger of neutron stars (NS), and construct the multi-band and bolometric luminosity light curves of the transient…
The light curve of GW170817 is surprisingly blue and bright. Assuming that the event is a binary neutron star merger, we argue that blueness and brightness of the light curve is the result of ejecta that contains an substantial amount of…
We present the first relativistic MHD numerical simulation of a magnetic jet that propagates through and emerges from the dynamical ejecta of a binary neutron star merger. Generated by the magnetized rotation of the merger remnant, the jet…
The first detection of gravitational waves from a binary neutron star merger (GW170817) and the accompanying electromagnetic emission has impressively advanced our understanding of the merger process and has set some first constraints on…
In the dawn of the multi-messenger era including gravitational waves, which was marked by the first ever coincident detection of gravitational waves and electromagnetic radiation it is important to lay back and think about established…
The joint detection of GW~170817/GRB 170817 confirmed the long-standing theory that binary neutron star mergers produce short gamma-ray burst (sGRB) jets that can successfully break out of the surrounding ejecta. At the same time, the…
The gravitational-wave signal from the merger of two neutron stars cannot be easily differentiated from the signal produced by a comparable-mass mixed binary of a neutron star and a black hole. Indeed, both binary types can account for the…
A long-standing paradigm in astrophysics is that collisions- or mergers- of two neutron stars (NSs) form highly relativistic and collimated outflows (jets) powering gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) of short (< 2 s) duration. However, the…
We show that the delay between GRB170817A and GW170817 is incompatible with de-beamed emission from an off-axis relativistic jet. The prompt emission and the subsequent radio and X-ray observations can instead be interpreted within a…