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Evans PA, Cenko SB, Kennea JA, Emery SWK, Kuin NPM, Korobkin O, Wollaeger RT, Fryer CL, Madsen KK, Harrison FA, Xu Y, Nakar E, Hotokezaka K, Lien A, Campana S, Oates SR, Troja E, Breeveld AA, Marshall FE, Barthelmy SD, Beardmore AP, Burrows DN, Cusumano G, D'Aì A, D'Avanzo P, D'Elia V, de Pasquale M, Even WP, Fontes CJ, Forster K, Garcia J, Giommi P, Grefenstette B, Gronwall C, Hartmann DH, Heida M, Hungerford AL, Kasliwal MM, Krimm HA, Levan AJ, Malesani D, Melandri A, Miyasaka H, Nousek JA, O'Brien PT, Osborne JP, Pagani C, Page KL, Palmer DM, Perri M, Pike S, Racusin JL, Rosswog S, Siegel MH, Sakamoto T, Sbarufatti B, Tagliaferri G, Tanvir NR, Tohuvavohu A. Swift and NuSTAR observations of GW170817: Detection of a blue kilonova. Science 2017; 358:1565-1570. [PMID: 29038371 DOI: 10.1126/science.aap9580] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2017] [Accepted: 10/04/2017] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
With the first direct detection of merging black holes in 2015, the era of gravitational wave (GW) astrophysics began. A complete picture of compact object mergers, however, requires the detection of an electromagnetic (EM) counterpart. We report ultraviolet (UV) and x-ray observations by Swift and the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array of the EM counterpart of the binary neutron star merger GW170817. The bright, rapidly fading UV emission indicates a high mass (≈0.03 solar masses) wind-driven outflow with moderate electron fraction (Ye ≈ 0.27). Combined with the x-ray limits, we favor an observer viewing angle of ≈30° away from the orbital rotation axis, which avoids both obscuration from the heaviest elements in the orbital plane and a direct view of any ultrarelativistic, highly collimated ejecta (a γ-ray burst afterglow).
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Affiliation(s)
- P A Evans
- University of Leicester, X-ray and Observational Astronomy Research Group, Leicester Institute for Space and Earth Observation, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK.
| | - S B Cenko
- Astrophysics Science Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.,Joint Space-Science Institute, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - J A Kennea
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - S W K Emery
- University College London, Mullard Space Science Laboratory, Holmbury St. Mary, Dorking RH5 6NT, UK
| | - N P M Kuin
- University College London, Mullard Space Science Laboratory, Holmbury St. Mary, Dorking RH5 6NT, UK
| | - O Korobkin
- Center for Theoretical Astrophysics, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545 USA
| | - R T Wollaeger
- Center for Theoretical Astrophysics, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545 USA
| | - C L Fryer
- Center for Theoretical Astrophysics, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545 USA
| | - K K Madsen
- Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - F A Harrison
- Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Y Xu
- Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, 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
| | - K Hotokezaka
- Center for Computational Astrophysics, Simons Foundation, 162 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA
| | - A Lien
- Center for Research and Exploration in Space Science and Technology (CRESST) and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.,Department of Physics, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250, USA
| | - S Campana
- Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF)-Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera, Via Bianchi 46, I-23807 Merate, Italy
| | - S R Oates
- Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK
| | - E Troja
- Astrophysics Science Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.,Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742-4111, USA
| | - A A Breeveld
- University College London, Mullard Space Science Laboratory, Holmbury St. Mary, Dorking RH5 6NT, UK
| | - F E Marshall
- Astrophysics Science Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
| | - S D Barthelmy
- Astrophysics Science Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
| | - A P Beardmore
- University of Leicester, X-ray and Observational Astronomy Research Group, Leicester Institute for Space and Earth Observation, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK
| | - D N Burrows
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - G Cusumano
- INAF-Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica Palermo, via Ugo La Malfa 153, I-90146, Palermo, Italy
| | - A D'Aì
- INAF-Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica Palermo, via Ugo La Malfa 153, I-90146, Palermo, Italy
| | - P D'Avanzo
- Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF)-Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera, Via Bianchi 46, I-23807 Merate, Italy
| | - V D'Elia
- INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, via Frascati 33, I-00040 Monteporzio Catone, Italy.,Space Science Data Center-Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI), I-00133 Roma, Italy
| | - M de Pasquale
- Department of Astronomy and Space Sciences, University of Istanbul, Beyzt 34119, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - W P Even
- Center for Theoretical Astrophysics, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545 USA.,Department of Physical Sciences, Southern Utah University, Cedar City, UT 84720, USA
| | - C J Fontes
- Center for Theoretical Astrophysics, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545 USA
| | - K Forster
- Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - J Garcia
- Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - P Giommi
- Space Science Data Center-Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI), I-00133 Roma, Italy
| | - B Grefenstette
- Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - C Gronwall
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.,Institute for Gravitation and the Cosmos, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - D H Hartmann
- Kinard Lab of Physics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634-0978, USA
| | - M Heida
- Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - A L Hungerford
- Center for Theoretical Astrophysics, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545 USA
| | - M M Kasliwal
- Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - H A Krimm
- Universities Space Research Association, 7178 Columbia Gateway Drive, Columbia, MD 21046, USA.,National Science Foundation, 2415 Eisenhower Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22314, USA
| | - A J Levan
- Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK
| | - D Malesani
- Dark Cosmology Centre, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Juliane Maries Vej 30, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark
| | - A Melandri
- Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF)-Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera, Via Bianchi 46, I-23807 Merate, Italy
| | - H Miyasaka
- Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - J A Nousek
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - P T O'Brien
- University of Leicester, X-ray and Observational Astronomy Research Group, Leicester Institute for Space and Earth Observation, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK
| | - J P Osborne
- University of Leicester, X-ray and Observational Astronomy Research Group, Leicester Institute for Space and Earth Observation, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK
| | - C Pagani
- University of Leicester, X-ray and Observational Astronomy Research Group, Leicester Institute for Space and Earth Observation, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK
| | - K L Page
- University of Leicester, X-ray and Observational Astronomy Research Group, Leicester Institute for Space and Earth Observation, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK
| | - D M Palmer
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, B244, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA
| | - M Perri
- INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, via Frascati 33, I-00040 Monteporzio Catone, Italy.,Space Science Data Center-Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI), I-00133 Roma, Italy
| | - S Pike
- Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - J L Racusin
- Astrophysics Science Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
| | - S Rosswog
- The Oskar Klein Centre, Department of Astronomy, AlbaNova, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - M H Siegel
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - T Sakamoto
- Department of Physics and Mathematics, Aoyama Gakuin University, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, 252-5258, Japan
| | - B Sbarufatti
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - G Tagliaferri
- Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF)-Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera, Via Bianchi 46, I-23807 Merate, Italy
| | - N R Tanvir
- University of Leicester, X-ray and Observational Astronomy Research Group, Leicester Institute for Space and Earth Observation, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK
| | - A Tohuvavohu
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
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