|
101
|
Kilpatrick CD, Foley RJ, Kasen D, Murguia-Berthier A, Ramirez-Ruiz E, Coulter DA, Drout MR, Piro AL, Shappee BJ, Boutsia K, Contreras C, Di Mille F, Madore BF, Morrell N, Pan YC, Prochaska JX, Rest A, Rojas-Bravo C, Siebert MR, Simon JD, Ulloa N. Electromagnetic evidence that SSS17a is the result of a binary neutron star merger. Science 2017; 358:1583-1587. [PMID: 29038369 DOI: 10.1126/science.aaq0073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2017] [Accepted: 10/12/2017] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Eleven hours after the detection of gravitational wave source GW170817 by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory and Virgo Interferometers, an associated optical transient, SSS17a, was identified in the galaxy NGC 4993. Although the gravitational wave data indicate that GW170817 is consistent with the merger of two compact objects, the electromagnetic observations provide independent constraints on the nature of that system. We synthesize the optical to near-infrared photometry and spectroscopy of SSS17a collected by the One-Meter Two-Hemisphere collaboration, finding that SSS17a is unlike other known transients. The source is best described by theoretical models of a kilonova consisting of radioactive elements produced by rapid neutron capture (the r-process). We conclude that SSS17a was the result of a binary neutron star merger, reinforcing the gravitational wave result.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- C D Kilpatrick
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA.
| | - R J Foley
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
| | - D Kasen
- Nuclear Science Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.,Departments of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - A Murguia-Berthier
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
| | - E Ramirez-Ruiz
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA.,DARK, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 17, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - D A Coulter
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
| | - M R Drout
- The Observatories of the Carnegie Institution for Science, 813 Santa Barbara Street, Pasadena, CA 91101, USA
| | - A L Piro
- The Observatories of the Carnegie Institution for Science, 813 Santa Barbara Street, Pasadena, CA 91101, USA
| | - B J Shappee
- The Observatories of the Carnegie Institution for Science, 813 Santa Barbara Street, Pasadena, CA 91101, USA.,Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
| | - K Boutsia
- Las Campanas Observatory, Carnegie Observatories, Casilla 601, La Serena, Chile
| | - C Contreras
- Las Campanas Observatory, Carnegie Observatories, Casilla 601, La Serena, Chile
| | - F Di Mille
- Las Campanas Observatory, Carnegie Observatories, Casilla 601, La Serena, Chile
| | - B F Madore
- The Observatories of the Carnegie Institution for Science, 813 Santa Barbara Street, Pasadena, CA 91101, USA
| | - N Morrell
- Las Campanas Observatory, Carnegie Observatories, Casilla 601, La Serena, Chile
| | - Y-C Pan
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
| | - J X Prochaska
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
| | - A Rest
- Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.,Department of Physics and Astronomy, The Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
| | - C Rojas-Bravo
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
| | - M R Siebert
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
| | - J D Simon
- The Observatories of the Carnegie Institution for Science, 813 Santa Barbara Street, Pasadena, CA 91101, USA
| | - N Ulloa
- Departamento de Física y Astronomía, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de La Serena, Cisternas 1200, La Serena, Chile
| |
Collapse
|
|
104
|
Kasliwal MM, Nakar E, Singer LP, Kaplan DL, Cook DO, Van Sistine A, Lau RM, Fremling C, Gottlieb O, Jencson JE, Adams SM, Feindt U, Hotokezaka K, Ghosh S, Perley DA, Yu PC, Piran T, Allison JR, Anupama GC, Balasubramanian A, Bannister KW, Bally J, Barnes J, Barway S, Bellm E, Bhalerao V, Bhattacharya D, Blagorodnova N, Bloom JS, Brady PR, Cannella C, Chatterjee D, Cenko SB, Cobb BE, Copperwheat C, Corsi A, De K, Dobie D, Emery SWK, Evans PA, Fox OD, Frail DA, Frohmaier C, Goobar A, Hallinan G, Harrison F, Helou G, Hinderer T, Ho AYQ, Horesh A, Ip WH, Itoh R, Kasen D, Kim H, Kuin NPM, Kupfer T, Lynch C, Madsen K, Mazzali PA, Miller AA, Mooley K, Murphy T, Ngeow CC, Nichols D, Nissanke S, Nugent P, Ofek EO, Qi H, Quimby RM, Rosswog S, Rusu F, Sadler EM, Schmidt P, Sollerman J, Steele I, Williamson AR, Xu Y, Yan L, Yatsu Y, Zhang C, Zhao W. Illuminating gravitational waves: A concordant picture of photons from a neutron star merger. Science 2017; 358:1559-1565. [PMID: 29038373 DOI: 10.1126/science.aap9455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 441] [Impact Index Per Article: 63.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2017] [Accepted: 10/05/2017] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Merging neutron stars offer an excellent laboratory for simultaneously studying strong-field 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 low-luminosity 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.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- M M Kasliwal
- Division of Physics, Math and Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
| | - E Nakar
- The Raymond and Beverly Sackler School of Physics and Astronomy, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
| | - L P Singer
- Astroparticle Physics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Mail Code 661, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.,Joint Space-Science Institute, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - D L Kaplan
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 53201, USA
| | - D O Cook
- Division of Physics, Math and Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - A Van Sistine
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 53201, USA
| | - R M Lau
- Division of Physics, Math and Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - C Fremling
- Division of Physics, Math and Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - O Gottlieb
- The Raymond and Beverly Sackler School of Physics and Astronomy, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
| | - J E Jencson
- Division of Physics, Math and Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - S M Adams
- Division of Physics, Math and Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - U Feindt
- The Oskar Klein Centre, Department of Physics, Stockholm University, AlbaNova, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - K Hotokezaka
- Center for Computational Astrophysics, Simons Foundation, Flatiron Institute, 162 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA.,Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Peyton Hall, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - S Ghosh
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 53201, USA
| | - D A Perley
- Astrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, IC2, Liverpool Science Park, 146 Browlow Hill, Liverpool L3 5RF, UK
| | - P-C Yu
- Graduate Institute of Astronomy, National Central University, No. 300, Zhongda Road, Zhongli District, Taoyuan City 32001, Taiwan
| | - T Piran
- Racah Institute of Physics, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel
| | - J R Allison
- Sydney Institute for Astronomy, School of Physics A28, The University of Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia.,Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics in 3 Dimensions, Australia
| | - G C Anupama
- Indian Institute of Astrophysics, II Block Koramangala, Bangalore 560034, India
| | - A Balasubramanian
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Dr. Homi Bhabha Road, Pashan, Pune 411008, India
| | - K W Bannister
- Australia Telescope National Facility, Astronomy and Space Science, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Post Office Box 76, Epping, New South Wales 1710, Australia
| | - J Bally
- Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80305, USA
| | - J Barnes
- Columbia Astrophysics Laboratory, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - S Barway
- South African Astronomical Observatory, Post Office Box 9, Observatory, Cape Town 7935, South Africa
| | - E Bellm
- Department of Astronomy, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - V Bhalerao
- Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai 400076, India
| | - D Bhattacharya
- Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Post Office Bag 4, Ganeshkhind, Pune 411007, India
| | - N Blagorodnova
- Division of Physics, Math and Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - J S Bloom
- Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411, USA.,Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, MS 50B-4206, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - P R Brady
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 53201, USA
| | - C Cannella
- Division of Physics, Math and Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - D Chatterjee
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 53201, USA
| | - S B Cenko
- Astroparticle Physics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Mail Code 661, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.,Joint Space-Science Institute, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - B E Cobb
- Department of Physics, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA
| | - C Copperwheat
- Astrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, IC2, Liverpool Science Park, 146 Browlow Hill, Liverpool L3 5RF, UK
| | - A Corsi
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas Tech University, Box 41051, Lubbock, TX 79409-1051, USA
| | - K De
- Division of Physics, Math and Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - D Dobie
- Sydney Institute for Astronomy, School of Physics A28, The University of Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia.,Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics, Australia.,Australia Telescope National Facility, Astronomy and Space Science, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Post Office Box 76, Epping, New South Wales 1710, Australia
| | - S W K Emery
- University College London, Mullard Space Science Laboratory, Holmbury St. Mary, Dorking RH5 6NT, UK
| | - P A Evans
- X-ray and Observational Astronomy Research Group, Leicester Institute for Space and Earth Observation, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester, LE1 7RH, UK
| | - O D Fox
- Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
| | - D A Frail
- National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Socorro, NM 87825, USA
| | - C Frohmaier
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southampton, Southampton, Hampshire SO17 1BJ, UK.,Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, Dennis Sciama Building, University of Portsmouth, Burnaby Road, Portsmouth PO1 3FX, UK
| | - A Goobar
- The Oskar Klein Centre, Department of Physics, Stockholm University, AlbaNova, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - G Hallinan
- Division of Physics, Math and Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - F Harrison
- Division of Physics, Math and Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - G Helou
- Infrared Processing and Analysis Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - T Hinderer
- Institute of Mathematics, Astrophysics and Particle Physics, Radboud University, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - A Y Q Ho
- Division of Physics, Math and Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - A Horesh
- Racah Institute of Physics, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel
| | - W-H Ip
- Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Peyton Hall, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - R Itoh
- Department of Physics, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8551, Japan
| | - D Kasen
- Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411, USA.,Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - H Kim
- Gemini Observatory, Casilla 603, La Serena, Chile
| | - N P M Kuin
- University College London, Mullard Space Science Laboratory, Holmbury St. Mary, Dorking RH5 6NT, UK
| | - T Kupfer
- Division of Physics, Math and Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - C Lynch
- Sydney Institute for Astronomy, School of Physics A28, The University of Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia.,Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics, Australia
| | - K Madsen
- Division of Physics, Math and Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - P A Mazzali
- Astrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, IC2, Liverpool Science Park, 146 Browlow Hill, Liverpool L3 5RF, UK.,Max-Planck Institute for Astrophysics, Garching, Germany
| | - A A Miller
- Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA.,The Adler Planetarium, Chicago, IL 60605, USA
| | - K Mooley
- Astrophysics, Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3RH, UK
| | - T Murphy
- Sydney Institute for Astronomy, School of Physics A28, The University of Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia.,Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics, Australia
| | - C-C Ngeow
- Graduate Institute of Astronomy, National Central University, No. 300, Zhongda Road, Zhongli District, Taoyuan City 32001, Taiwan
| | - D Nichols
- Institute of Mathematics, Astrophysics and Particle Physics, Radboud University, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - S Nissanke
- Institute of Mathematics, Astrophysics and Particle Physics, Radboud University, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - P Nugent
- Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411, USA.,Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, MS 50B-4206, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - E O Ofek
- Department of Particle Physics and Astrophysics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - H Qi
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 53201, USA
| | - R M Quimby
- Department of Astronomy, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92182, USA.,Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (WPI), The University of Tokyo Institutes for Advanced Study, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8583, Japan
| | - S Rosswog
- The Oskar Klein Centre, Department of Astronomy, Stockholm University, AlbaNova, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - F Rusu
- School of Engineering (EECS), University of California, Merced, CA 95343, USA
| | - E M Sadler
- Sydney Institute for Astronomy, School of Physics A28, The University of Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia.,Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics, Australia
| | - P Schmidt
- Institute of Mathematics, Astrophysics and Particle Physics, Radboud University, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - J Sollerman
- The Oskar Klein Centre, Department of Astronomy, Stockholm University, AlbaNova, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - I Steele
- Astrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, IC2, Liverpool Science Park, 146 Browlow Hill, Liverpool L3 5RF, UK
| | - A R Williamson
- Institute of Mathematics, Astrophysics and Particle Physics, Radboud University, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Y Xu
- Division of Physics, Math and Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - L Yan
- Division of Physics, Math and Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.,Infrared Processing and Analysis Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Y Yatsu
- Department of Physics, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8551, Japan
| | - C Zhang
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 53201, USA
| | - W Zhao
- School of Engineering (EECS), University of California, Merced, CA 95343, USA
| |
Collapse
|