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The Emergence of a Lanthanide-rich Kilonova Following the Merger of Two Neutron Stars
- Source :
- Digital.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC, instname, Astrophysical Journal Letters, 848(2):L27. IOP Publishing Ltd., NASA Astrophysics Data System, Tanvir, N R, Levan, A J, Gonzalez-Fernandez, C, Korobkin, O, Mandel, I, Rosswog, S, Hjorth, J, D'Avanzo, P, Fruchter, A S, Fryer, C L, Kangas, T, Milvang-Jensen, B, Rosetti, S, Steeghs, D, Wollaeger, R T, Cano, Z, Copperwheat, C M, Covino, S, D'Elia, V, de Ugarte Postigo, A, Evans, P A, Even, W P, Fairhurst, S, Jaimes, R F, Fontes, C J, Fujii, Y I, Fynbo, J P U, Gompertz, B P, Greiner, J, Hodosan, G, Irwin, M J, Jakobsson, P, Jorgensen, U G, Kann, D A, Lyman, J D, Malesani, D, McMahon, R G, Melandri, A, O'Brien, P T, Osborne, J P, Palazzi, E, Perley, D A, Pian, E, Piranomonte, S, Rabus, M, Rol, E, Rowlinson, A, Schulze, S, Sutton, P, Thone, C C, Ulaczyk, K, Watson, D, Wiersema, K & Wijers, R A M J 2017, ' The Emergence of a Lanthanide-rich Kilonova Following the Merger of Two Neutron Stars ', Astrophysics Journal Letters, vol. 848, no. 2, L27 . https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/aa90b6, The Astrophysical Journal
- Publication Year :
- 2017
- Publisher :
- Institute of Physics Publishing, 2017.
-
Abstract
- Tanvir, N.R. et. al.<br />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 Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO)/Virgo (GW170817) and as a short gamma-ray burst by Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) and Integral SPI-ACS (GRB 170817A). The evolution of the transient light is consistent with predictions for the behavior of a >kilonova/macronova> powered by the radioactive decay of massive neutron-rich nuclides created via r-process nucleosynthesis in the neutron-star ejecta. In particular, evidence for this scenario is found from broad features seen in Hubble Space Telescope infrared spectroscopy, similar to those predicted for lanthanide-dominated ejecta, and the much slower evolution in the near-infrared k-band compared to the optical. This indicates that the late-time light is dominated by high-opacity lanthanide-rich ejecta, suggesting nucleosynthesis to the third r-process peak (atomic masses A ≈ 195). This discovery confirms that neutron-star mergers produce kilo-/macronovae and that they are at least a major - if not the dominant - site of rapid neutron capture nucleosynthesis in the universe.<br />A.J.L., D.S., and J.D.L. acknowledge support from STFC via grant ST/P000495/1. N.R.T. and A.J.L. have received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (grant agreement No. 725246, TEDE, Levan). Ad.U.P., C.T., Z.C., and D.A.K. acknowledge support from the Spanish project AYA 2014-58381-P. Z.C. also acknowledges support from the Juan de la Cierva Incorporacion fellowship IJCI-2014-21669, and D.A.K. from Juan de la Cierva Incorporacion fellowship IJCI-2015-26153. J.H. is supported by a VILLUM FONDEN Investigator grant (project number 16599). P.D.A., S.C., and A.M. acknowledge support from the ASI grant I/004/11/3. S.R. has been supported by the Swedish Research Council (VR) under grant No. 2016-03657_3, by the Swedish National Space Board under grant No. Dnr. 107/16, and by the research environment grant >Gravitational Radiation and Electromagnetic Astrophysical Transients (GREAT)> funded by the Swedish Research council (VR) under Dnr 2016-06012.
- Subjects :
- Nuclear reactions, nucleosynthesis, abundances
Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
FOS: Physical sciences
Astrophysics
Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics
Kilonova
01 natural sciences
7. Clean energy
Gravitational waves
stars: neutron
Nucleosynthesis, abundances
Nucleosynthesis
0103 physical sciences
QB Astronomy
Astrophysics::Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Abundances
Ejecta
010303 astronomy & astrophysics
QC
nuclear reactions
Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics
QB
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE)
Physics
010308 nuclear & particles physics
Gravitational wave
abundances
nucleosynthesis
Astronomy and Astrophysics
neutron [Stars]
3rd-DAS
Stjarneðlisfræði
LIGO
Hubblessjónaukinn
Neutron star
QC Physics
gravitational waves
Space and Planetary Science
Stjörnufræði
Nuclear reactions
Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Radioactive decay
Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 20418205, 02649381, 01470728, 0004637X, 09534075, 00358711, 00670049, and 20418213
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Digital.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC, instname, Astrophysical Journal Letters, 848(2):L27. IOP Publishing Ltd., NASA Astrophysics Data System, Tanvir, N R, Levan, A J, Gonzalez-Fernandez, C, Korobkin, O, Mandel, I, Rosswog, S, Hjorth, J, D'Avanzo, P, Fruchter, A S, Fryer, C L, Kangas, T, Milvang-Jensen, B, Rosetti, S, Steeghs, D, Wollaeger, R T, Cano, Z, Copperwheat, C M, Covino, S, D'Elia, V, de Ugarte Postigo, A, Evans, P A, Even, W P, Fairhurst, S, Jaimes, R F, Fontes, C J, Fujii, Y I, Fynbo, J P U, Gompertz, B P, Greiner, J, Hodosan, G, Irwin, M J, Jakobsson, P, Jorgensen, U G, Kann, D A, Lyman, J D, Malesani, D, McMahon, R G, Melandri, A, O'Brien, P T, Osborne, J P, Palazzi, E, Perley, D A, Pian, E, Piranomonte, S, Rabus, M, Rol, E, Rowlinson, A, Schulze, S, Sutton, P, Thone, C C, Ulaczyk, K, Watson, D, Wiersema, K & Wijers, R A M J 2017, ' The Emergence of a Lanthanide-rich Kilonova Following the Merger of Two Neutron Stars ', Astrophysics Journal Letters, vol. 848, no. 2, L27 . https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/aa90b6, The Astrophysical Journal
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....c9d3d866cccf4e47cbb6b6dfe3630a48