Related papers: Enabling Kilonova Science with Nancy Grace Roman S…
The mergers of double neutron star (NS-NS) and black hole (BH)-NS binaries are promising gravitational wave (GW) sources for Advanced LIGO and future GW detectors. The neutron-rich ejecta from such merger events undergoes rapid neutron…
Kilonovae are ultraviolet, optical, and infrared transients powered by the radioactive decay of heavy elements following a neutron star merger. Joint observations of kilonovae and gravitational waves can offer key constraints on the source…
The coalescence of double neutron star (NS-NS) and black hole (BH)-NS binaries are prime sources of gravitational waves (GW) for Advanced LIGO/Virgo and future ground-based detectors. Neutron-rich matter released from such events undergo…
We report the discovery and monitoring of the near-infrared counterpart (AT2017gfo) of a binary neutron-star merger event detected as a gravitational wave source by Advanced LIGO/Virgo (GW170817) and as a short gamma-ray burst by Fermi/GBM…
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…
With the epochal first detection of gravitational waves from a binary neutron star (NS) merger with the GW170817 event, and its direct confirmation that NS-NS mergers are significant sources of the of the r-process nucleosynthesis of heavy…
The 2017 detection of a kilonova coincident with gravitational-wave emission has identified neutron star mergers as the major source of the heaviest elements, and dramatically constrained alternative theories of gravity. Observing a…
Gravitational wave (GW) neutron star mergers with an associated electromagnetic counterpart constitute powerful probes of binary evolution, the production sites of heavy elements, general relativity, and the expansion of the universe. Only…
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…
We review current understanding of kilonova/macronova emission from compact binary mergers (mergers of two neutron stars or a neutron star and a black hole). Kilonova/macronova is optical and near-infrared emission powered by radioactive…
Multi-messenger astronomy was galvanized by the detection of gravitational waves (GWs) from the binary neutron star (BNS) merger GW170817 and electromagnetic (EM) emission from the subsequent kilonova and short gamma ray burst. Maximizing…
Kilonovae represent an important electromagnetic counterpart for compact binary mergers, which could become the most commonly detected gravitational wave (GW) source. Follow-up observations, triggered by GW events, of kilonovae are…
The binary neutron star merger gravitational-wave signal GW170817 was followed by three electromagnetic counterparts, including a kilonova arising from the radioactivity of freshly synthesized $r$-process elements in ejecta from the merger.…
Gravitational waves were discovered with the detection of binary black hole mergers and they should also be detectable from lower mass neutron star mergers. These are predicted to eject material rich in heavy radioactive isotopes that can…
As LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA enters its fourth observing run, a new opportunity to search for electromagnetic counterparts of compact object mergers will also begin. The light curves and spectra from the first "kilonova" associated with a binary…
The merger of two neutron stars has been predicted to produce an optical-infrared transient (lasting a few days) known as a 'kilonova', powered by the radioactive decay of neutron-rich species synthesized in the merger. Evidence that short…
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…
The Wide-Field Infrared Transient Explorer (WINTER) is a new 1 $\text{deg}^2$ seeing-limited time-domain survey instrument designed for dedicated near-infrared follow-up of kilonovae from binary neutron star (BNS) and neutron star-black…
Observations by the current generation of gravitational-wave detectors have been pivotal in expanding our understanding of the universe. Although tens of exciting compact binary mergers have been observed, neutron star-black hole (NSBH)…
We present a rapid analytic framework for predicting kilonova light curves following neutron star (NS) mergers, where the main input parameters are binary-based properties measurable by gravitational wave detectors (chirp mass and mass…