Related papers: Bound Debris Expulsion from Neutron Star Merger Re…
Neutron-star mergers are interesting for several reasons: they are proposed as the progenitors of short gamma-ray bursts, they have been speculated to be a site for the synthesis of heavy elements, and they emit gravitational waves possibly…
The recent detections of binary stellar mass black hole mergers by the LIGO and Virgo Collaborations suggest that such mergers are common occurrences. Galaxy mergers further indicate that supermassive black holes in centers of galaxies also…
There is a high level of interest in black hole-neutron star binaries, not only because their mergers may be detected by gravitational wave observatories in the coming years, but also because of the possibility that they could explain a…
The hypothesis that neutrons might decay into dark matter is explored using neutron stars as a testing ground. It is found that in order to obtain stars with masses at the upper end of those observed, the dark matter must experience a…
I describe the current state of our knowledge of the mapping between the initial masses of stars and the compact objects -- particularly neutron stars and black holes -- that they produce. Most of that knowledge is theoretical in nature,…
We study the multimessenger signals from the merger of a black hole with a magnetized neutron star using resistive magnetohydrodynamics simulations coupled to full general relativity. We focus on a case with a 5:1 mass ratio, where only a…
We investigate the merger of a neutron star (of compaction ratio $0.1$) in orbit about a spinning black hole in full general relativity with a mass ratio of $5:1$, allowing for the star to have an initial magnetization of $10^{12} {\rm…
We investigate mass ejection from accretion disks formed in mergers of black holes (BHs) and neutron stars (NSs). The third observing run of the LIGO/Virgo interferometers provided BH-NS candidate events that yielded no electromagnetic (EM)…
Close encounters and physical collisions between stars in young dense clusters can result in new channels for stellar evolution, and may lead to the formation of very massive stars and black holes via runaway merging. We present some…
The fact that the majority of the youngest radio pulsars are surrounded by expanding supernova remnants is strong evidence that neutron stars are produced in the supernovae of massive stars. In many cases, the pulsar appears significantly…
A binary neutron star (BNS) merger can lead to various outcomes, from indefinitely stable neutron stars, through supramassive (SMNS) or hypermassive (HMNS) neutron stars supported only temporarily against gravity, to black holes formed…
The occurrence of a desert between neutron star (NS) and black hole (BH) remnants is reviewed. The dependence of stellar remnants on the zero age main sequence (ZAMS) progenitor mass for solar metallicity is taken from a recent…
Following merger, a neutron star (NS) binary can produce roughly one of three different outcomes: (1) a stable NS, (2) a black hole (BH), or (3) a supra-massive, rotationally-supported NS, which then collapses to a BH following angular…
The origin of the heavy elements in the Universe is not fully determined. Neutron star-black hole (NSBH) and {binary neutron star} (BNS) mergers may both produce heavy elements via rapid neutron-capture (r-process). We use the recent…
Observations have indicated that we do not see neutron stars (NS) of mass near the theoretical upper limit as predicted. Here we invoke the role of dark matter (DM) particles in star formation, and their role in lowering the mass of…
Multi-messenger observations of binary neutron star mergers provide a unique opportunity to constrain the dense-matter equation of state. Although it is known from quantum chromodynamics that hadronic matter will undergo a phase transition…
Material expelled from binary neutron star (BNS) mergers can harbor r-process nucleosynthesis and power a Kilonova (KN), both intimately related to the astrophysical conditions of the ejection. In turn such conditions indirectly depend on…
We present fully general-relativistic simulations of binary neutron star mergers with a temperature and composition dependent nuclear equation of state. We study the dynamical mass ejection from both quasi-circular and dynamical-capture…
A black-hole neutron-star binary merger can lead to an electromagnetic counterpart called a kilonova if the neutron star is disrupted prior to merger. The observability of a kilonova depends on the amount of neutron star ejecta, which is…
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,…