Related papers: Heavy elements form short and long gamma-ray burst…
The discovery by Advanced LIGO/Virgo of gravitational waves from the binary neutron star (NS) merger GW170817, and subsequently by astronomers of transient counterparts across the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum, has initiated the era of…
Short gamma-ray bursts are believed to originate from the merger of two compact objects. If this scenario is correct, these bursts will be accompanied by the emission of strong gravitational waves, detectable by current or planned GW…
Neutron star mergers have been proposed as the main source of heavy $r$-process nucleosynthesis in the Universe. However, the mergers' significant expected delay after binary formation is in tension with observed very early $r$-process…
In this review we show that the space experiment with gamma-ray detector with sensitivity 2 orders of magnitude higher than existing ones will make it possible to discover up to a thousand neutron star mergers, even at those moments when…
Short Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) are explosions of cosmic origin believed to be associated with the merger of two compact objects, either two neutron stars, or a neutron star and a black hole. The presence of at least one neutron star has long…
The recent coincident detection of gravitational waves (GW) from a binary neutron star merger with aLIGO/Virgo and short-lived gamma-ray emission with Fermi/GBM (called GW 170817) is a milestone for the establishment of multi-messenger…
Gravitational waves are ripples in spacetime generated by the acceleration of astrophysical objects. A direct consequence of general relativity, they were first directly observed in 2015 by the twin Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave…
Neutron star binary mergers are often associated with short gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), but the recent detection of kilonovae coincident with long GRBs suggest that some mergers may produce long GRBs. Motivated by these developments, we…
Black-hole neutron-star coalescing binaries have been invoked as one of the most suitable scenario to explain the emission of short gamma-ray bursts. Indeed, if the black-hole which forms after the merger, is surrounded by a massive disk,…
Merging neutron stars offer an exquisite laboratory for simultaneously studying strong-field gravity and matter in extreme environments. We establish the physical association of an electromagnetic counterpart EM170817 to gravitational waves…
The detection of the events GW150914 and GW151226, both consistent with the merger of a binary black hole system (BBH), opened the era of gravitational wave (GW) astronomy. Besides BBHs, the most promising GW sources are the coalescences of…
Some of the heavy elements, such as gold and europium (Eu), are almost exclusively formed by the rapid neutron capture process (r-process). However, it is still unclear which astrophysical site between core-collapse supernovae and neutron…
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 LIGO and Virgo detectors have directly observed gravitational waves from mergers of pairs of stellar-mass black holes, along with a smaller number of mergers involving neutron stars. These observations raise the hope that compact object…
The discovery of the radioactively powered kilonova AT2017gfo, associated with the short-duration gamma-ray burst GRB 170817A and the gravitational wave source GW170817, has provided the first direct evidence supporting binary neutron star…
Short duration Gamma-Ray Bursts are thought to originate from the coalescence of neutron stars in binary systems. They are detected as a brief ($<$ 2s), intense flash of gamma-ray radiation followed by a weaker, rapidly decreasing…
On August 17, 2017 at 12:41:06 UTC the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) detected and triggered on the short gamma-ray burst GRB 170817A. Approximately 1.7 s prior to this GRB, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory…
The first combined detection of gravitational waves and electromagnetic signals from a binary neutron star (BNS) merger in August 2017 (event named GW170817) represents a major landmark for the ongoing investigation on these extraordinary…
The merger of two neutron stars is predicted to give rise to three major detectable phenomena: a short burst of gamma-rays, a gravitational wave signal, and a transient optical/near-infrared source powered by the synthesis of large amounts…
Understanding where elements were formed has been a key goal in astrophysics for nearly a century, with answers involving cosmology, stellar burning, and cosmic explosions. Since 1957, the origin of the heaviest elements (formed via the…