A radio counterpart to a neutron star merger

Abstract

The gravitational wave event GW170817 was caused by the merger of two neutron stars (see the Introduction by Smith). In three papers, teams associated with the GROWTH (Global Relay of Observatories Watching Transients Happen) project present their observations of the event at wavelengths from x-rays to radio waves. Evans et al. used space telescopes to detect GW170817 in the ultraviolet and place limits on its x-ray flux, showing that the merger generated a hot explosion known as a blue kilonova. Hallinan et al. describe radio emissions generated as the explosion slammed into the surrounding gas within the host galaxy. Kasliwal et al. present additional observations in the optical and infrared and formulate a model for the event involving a cocoon of material expanding at close to the speed of light, matching the data at all observed wavelengths.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Dec 22, 2017
Source ID
10.1126/science.aap9855

Entities

People

  • Alessandra Corsi
  • Anna Ho
  • Assaf Horesh
  • Christene Lynch
  • D. A. Frail
  • David A. Nichols
  • David L. Kaplan
  • Dougal Dobie
  • E. Nakar
  • Elaine Sadler
  • Emil Lenc
  • Felix Lockman
  • Gregg W. Hallinan
  • J. Allison
  • Javed Rana
  • K. Hotokezaka
  • Kaushik De
  • Keith Bannister
  • Kunal P. Mooley
  • Leo Singer
  • Mansi M. Kasliwal
  • N. Palliyaguru
  • Namir Kassim
  • P. Chandra
  • S. Nissanke
  • S. T. Myers
  • Shrinivas Kulkarni
  • Simona Giacintucci
  • Tara Murphy
  • Tracy E Clarke
  • Tsvi Piran
  • Varun Bhalerao
  • W. M. Peters

Organizations

  • Australian Research Council
  • California Institute of Technology
  • Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
  • Flatiron Institute
  • Goddard Space Flight Center
  • Green Bank Observatory
  • Hebrew University of Jerusalem
  • Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
  • National Radio Astronomy Observatory
  • Princeton University
  • Radboud University Nijmegen
  • Savitribai Phule Pune University
  • Tel Aviv University
  • Texas Tech University
  • United States Naval Research Laboratory
  • University of Oxford
  • University of Sydney
  • University of Wisconsin–Madison

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Educational Psychology
  • Military Logistics and Supply Chain Management
  • Solar Physics

Technology Areas

  • Space