Illuminating gravitational waves: A concordant picture of photons from a neutron star merger.
Saved in:
| Title: | Illuminating gravitational waves: A concordant picture of photons from a neutron star merger. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Kasliwal, M. M., Nakar, E., Singer, L. P., Kaplan, D. L., Cook, D. O., Van Sistine, A., Lau, R. M., Fremling, C., Gottlieb, O., Jencson, J. E., Adams, S. M., Feindt, U., Hotokezaka, K., Ghosh, S., Perley, D. A., Yu, P. -C., Piran, T., Allison, J. R., Anupama, G. C., Balasubramanian, A. |
| Source: | Science (pre-March 2025). 12/22/2017, Vol. 358 Issue 6370, p1559-1565. 7p. 1 Color Photograph, 2 Diagrams, 3 Graphs. |
| Subjects: | Gravitational fields, Neutron stars, Gravitational waves, Spectrum analysis, Electromagnetic waves, Gamma ray spectrometry |
| Abstract: | Merging neutron stars offer an excellent laboratory for simultaneously studying strongfield gravity and matter in extreme environments. We establish the physical association of an electromagnetic counterpart (EM170817) with gravitational waves (GW170817) detected from merging neutron stars. By synthesizing a panchromatic data set, we demonstrate that merging neutron stars are a long-sought production site forging heavy elements by r-process nucleosynthesis. The weak gamma rays seen in EM170817 are dissimilar to classical short gamma-ray bursts with ultrarelativistic jets. Instead, we suggest that breakout of a wide-angle, mildly relativistic cocoon engulfing the jet explains the lowluminosity gamma rays, the high-luminosity ultraviolet-optical-infrared, and the delayed radio and x-ray emission. We posit that all neutron star mergers may lead to a wide-angle cocoon breakout, sometimes accompanied by a successful jet and sometimes by a choked jet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Science (pre-March 2025) is the property of American Association for the Advancement of Science and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
|
Full text is not displayed to guests.
Login for full access.
|
|
| Abstract: | Merging neutron stars offer an excellent laboratory for simultaneously studying strongfield gravity and matter in extreme environments. We establish the physical association of an electromagnetic counterpart (EM170817) with gravitational waves (GW170817) detected from merging neutron stars. By synthesizing a panchromatic data set, we demonstrate that merging neutron stars are a long-sought production site forging heavy elements by r-process nucleosynthesis. The weak gamma rays seen in EM170817 are dissimilar to classical short gamma-ray bursts with ultrarelativistic jets. Instead, we suggest that breakout of a wide-angle, mildly relativistic cocoon engulfing the jet explains the lowluminosity gamma rays, the high-luminosity ultraviolet-optical-infrared, and the delayed radio and x-ray emission. We posit that all neutron star mergers may lead to a wide-angle cocoon breakout, sometimes accompanied by a successful jet and sometimes by a choked jet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 00368075 |
| DOI: | 10.1126/science.aap9455 |
