Related papers: Light Travel Time Effects in Kilonova Models
Binary neutron star mergers are the first confirmed site of element nucleosynthesis by the rapid neutron-capture process (r-process). The kilonova AT2017gfo is the only electromagnetic counterpart of a neutron star merger spectroscopically…
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 neutron star binaries is believed to eject a wide range of heavy elements into the universe. By observing the emission from this ejecta, scientists can probe the ejecta properties (mass, velocity and composition…
The temporal behavior of the very dim optical afterglow of GRB 080503 is at odds with the regular forward shock afterglow model and a sole kilonova component responsible for optical emission has been speculated in some literature. Here we…
We present 3D kilonova radiative transfer simulations for a series of binary neutron star merger models. The masses of the neutron stars are varied as well as the total mass of the system and two different equations of state were used (SFHO…
The detailed observations of GW170817 proved for the first time directly that neutron star mergers are a major production site of heavy elements. The observations could be fit by a number of simulations that qualitatively agree, but can…
Merging neutron stars produce "kilonovae"---electromagnetic transients powered by the decay of unstable nuclei synthesized via rapid neutron capture (the r-process) in material that is gravitationally unbound during inspiral and…
The kilonova associated with GW170817 displayed early blue emission which has been interpreted as a signature of either radioactive decay in low-opacity ejecta, relativistic boosting of radioactive decay in high-velocity ejecta, the cooling…
Compact object mergers can produce a thermal electromagnetic counterpart (a "kilonova") powered by the decay of freshly synthesized radioactive isotopes. The luminosity of kilonova light curves depends on the efficiency with which…
We investigate the kilonova emission resulting from outflows produced in a three-dimensional (3D) general-relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) simulation of a hypermassive neutron star (HMNS) remnant. We map the outflows into the FLASH…
In classical P-Cygni profiles, theory predicts emission to peak at zero rest velocity. However, supernova spectra exhibit emission that is generally blue shifted. While this characteristic has been reported in many supernovae, it is rarely…
The majority of existing results for the kilonova (or macronova) emission from material ejected during a neutron-star (NS) merger is based on (quasi-)one-zone models or manually constructed toy-model ejecta configurations. In this study we…
The mergers of neutron stars expel a heavy-element enriched fireball which can be observed as a kilonova. The kilonova's geometry is a key diagnostic of the merger and is dictated by the properties of ultra-dense matter and the energetics…
The kilonova (KN) associated with the binary neutron star (BNS) merger GW170817 is the only known electromagnetic counterpart to a gravitational wave source. Here we produce a sequence of radiative transfer models (using $\textsc{tardis}$)…
Wide-field optical surveys have begun to uncover large samples of fast (t_rise < 5d), luminous (M_peak < -18), blue transients. While commonly attributed to the breakout of a supernova shock into a dense wind, the great distances to the…
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…
For on-axis typical short gamma-ray bursts (sGRBs), the forward shock emission is usually so bright that renders the identification of kilonovae (also known as macronovae) in the early afterglow ($t<0.5$ d) phase rather challenging. This is…
We explore the impact of pulsar electromagnetic dipole and fallback accretion emission on the luminosity of a suite of kilonova models. The pulsar models are varied over pulsar magnetic field strength, pulsar lifetime, ejecta mass, and…
The precise atomic structure and therefore the wavelength-dependent opacities of lanthanides are highly uncertain. This uncertainty introduces systematic errors in modeling transients like kilonovae and estimating key properties such as…
Kilonovae are approximately thermal transients, produced by mergers of binary neutron stars (BNSs) and NS-black hole binaries. As the optical counterpart of the gravitational wave event GW170817, AT2017gfo is the first kilonova detected…