Related papers: FRIB and the GW170817 Kilonova
On August 17, 2017 the LIGO-Virgo collaboration detected for the first time gravitational waves from the binary merger of two neutron stars (GW170817). Unlike the merger of two black holes, the associated electromagnetic radiation was also…
The production of about half of the heavy elements found in nature is assigned to a specific astrophysical nucleosynthesis process: the rapid neutron capture process (r-process). Although this idea has been postulated more than six decades…
We present a comprehensive analysis of 653 optical candidate counterparts reported during the third gravitational wave (GW) observing run. Our sample concentrates on candidates from the 15 events (published in GWTC-2, GWTC-3 or not…
Nuclear physics facilities, like the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB), can potentially perform many nuclear mass measurements of exotic isotopes. Each measurement comes with a particular cost, both in time and money, and thus it is…
The rapid neutron capture process (r-process) is one of the main mechanisms whereby elements heavier than iron are synthesized, and is entirely responsible for the natural production of the actinides. Kilonova emissions are modeled as being…
On 2017 August 17, gravitational waves were detected from a binary neutron star merger, GW170817, along with a coincident short gamma-ray burst, GRB170817A. An optical transient source, Swope Supernova Survey 17a (SSS17a), was subsequently…
The identification of the astrophysical site and the specific conditions in which r-process nucleosynthesis takes place remain unsolved mysteries of astrophysics. The present paper emphasizes some important future challenges faced by…
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…
The mergers of compact binaries with at least one neutron star component are the potential leading sites of the production and ejection of $r$-process elements. Discoveries of galactic binary pulsars, short gamma-ray bursts, and…
The mergers of binary compact objects such as neutron stars and black holes are of central interest to several areas of astrophysics, including as the progenitors of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), sources of high-frequency gravitational waves and…
The discovery of gravitational waves from a neutron star merger in 2017 (GW170817) and the associated kilonova (AT2017gfo) confirmed these events as key sites for heavy element production through the r-process. Subsequent observations,…
The coalescence of binary neutron stars in the GW170817 event led to the generation of gravitational waves, accompanied by the electromagnetic counterpart known as a kilonova (KN). Since then, it has been a prime topic of interest, as it…
The discovery of a transient kilonova following the gravitational-wave event GW170817 highlighted the critical need for coordinated rapid and wide-field observations, inference, and follow-up across the electromagnetic spectrum. In the…
The discovery of the optical/infra-red counterpart (AT2017gfo) to the binary neutron star gravitational-wave detection (GW170817), which was followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB170817), marked a groundbreaking moment in multi-messenger…
Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) prompt and afterglow emission, as well as a kilonova (KN), are the expected electromagnetic (EM) counterparts of Binary Neutron Star (BNS) and Neutron Star -- Black Hole (NSBH) mergers. We aim to infer the KN ejecta…
$\textit{Swift}$'s rapid slewing, flexible planning, and multi-wavelength instruments make it the most capable space-based follow-up engine for finding poorly localized sources. During O1 and O2 $\textit{Swift}$ successfully tiled hundreds…
Along with binary neutron star mergers, the in-spiral and merger of a black hole and a neutron star is a predicted site of $r$-process nucleosynthesis and associated kilonovae. For the right mass ratio, very large amounts of neutron rich…
The central engine of GRB170817A post-merger to GW170817 is probed by GW-calorimetry and event timing, applied to a post-merger descending chirp which can potentially break the degeneracy in spin-down of a neutron star or black hole remnant…
GRB 191019A was a long Gamma-ray burst (GRB) lasting about 65 s and, as such, originally thought to be linked to a core-collapse supernova. However, even though follow-up observations identified the optical counterpart close to the bright…
The discovery of the optical counterpart, along with the gravitational waves from GW170817, of the first binary neutron star merger, opened up a new era for multi-messenger astrophysics. Combining the GW data with the optical counterpart,…