Related papers: Exploring Composition Mixing in Kilonova Ejecta wi…
The interaction between the fast-moving ejecta and the interstellar medium can produce long-lasting radio signals after binary neutron star mergers. Searching for such radio signals is a way to test the central engine of kilonovae and short…
Neutrinos emitted in the coalescence of two neutron stars affect the dynamics of the outflow ejecta and the nucleosynthesis of heavy elements. In this work, we analyze the neutrino emission properties and the conditions leading to the…
We investigate the dynamics and electromagnetic (EM) signatures of neutron star-neutron star (NS-NS) or neutron star-black hole (NS-BH) merger ejecta that occurs in the accretion disk of an active galactic nucleus (AGN). We find that the…
The merger of binary neutron stars (NSs) ejects a small quantity of neutron rich matter, the radioactive decay of which powers a day to week long thermal transient known as a kilonova. Most of the ejecta remains sufficiently dense during…
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…
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,…
Binary neutron star mergers are thought to be one of the dominant sites of production for rapid neutron capture elements, including platinum and gold. Since the discovery of the binary neutron star merger GW170817, and its associated…
The nearby long-duration GRB 191019A recently detected by Swift lacks an associated supernova and belongs to a host galaxy with little star formation activity, suggesting that the origin of this burst is the result of a merger of two…
The material ejected from a binary neutron star merger produces "kilonova," a radioactively powered emission at ultraviolet, optical, and infrared wavelengths. The early-phase spectra of the kilonova AT2017gfo, following the gravitational…
The detection of GW170817 and the accompanying electromagnetic counterpart, AT2017gfo, have provided an important set of observational constraints for theoretical models of neutron star mergers, nucleosynthesis, and radiative transfer for…
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…
The accretion disk formed after a neutron star merger is an important contributor to the total ejecta from the merger, and hence to the kilonova and the $r$-process yields of each event. Axisymmetric viscous hydrodynamic simulations of…
We develop a method to compute synthetic kilonova light curves that combines numerical relativity simulations of neutron star mergers and the $\texttt{SNEC}$ radiation-hydrodynamics code. We describe our implementation of initial and…
The r-process nuclei are robustly synthesized in the material ejected during a neutron star binary merger (NSBM), as tidal torques transport angular momentum and energy through the outer Lagrange point in the form of a vast tidal tail. If…
Recent studies suggest that binary neutron star (NS-NS) mergers robustly produce the heavy r-process nuclei above the atomic mass number A ~ 130 because of their ejecta consisting of almost pure neutrons (electron fraction of Y_e < 0.1).…
We perform three-dimensional (3D) general-relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations to model the jet break-out from the ejecta expected to be produced in a binary neutron-star merger. The structure of the relativistic outflow from the 3D…
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…
The discovery of the kilonova (KN) AT 2017gfo, accompanying the gravitational wave event GW170817, provides crucial insight into the synthesis of heavy elements during binary neutron star (BNS) mergers. Following this landmark event,…
Black hole - neutron star (BH-NS) mergers are a major target for ground-based gravitational wave (GW) observatories. A merger can also produce an electromagnetic counterpart (a kilonova) if it ejects neutron-rich matter that assembles into…
The main astronomical source of r-process elements has not yet been identified. One plausible site is neutron star mergers (NSMs), but from perspective of the Galactic chemical evolution, it has been pointed out that NSMs cannot reproduce…