ABSTRACT The combined detection of a binary neutron star merger in both gravitational waves (GWs) and electromagnetic (EM) radiation spanning the entire spectrum – GW170817/AT2017gfo/GRB170817A – ...marks a breakthrough in the field of multimessenger astronomy. Between the plethora of modelling and observations, the rich synergy that exists among the available data sets creates a unique opportunity to constrain the binary parameters, the equation of state of supranuclear density matter, and the physical processes at work during the kilonova and gamma-ray burst. We report, for the first time, Bayesian parameter estimation combining information from GW170817, AT2017gfo, and GRB170817 to obtain truly multimessenger constraints on the tidal deformability $\tilde{\Lambda } \in 302,860$, total binary mass M ∈ 2.722, 2.751 M⊙, the radius of a 1.4 solar mass neutron star $R \in 11.3,13.5 \,\,\rm km$ (with additional $0.2\ \rm km$ systematic uncertainty), and an upper bound on the mass ratio of q ≤ 1.27, all at 90 per cent confidence. Our joint novel analysis uses new phenomenological descriptions of the dynamical ejecta, debris disc mass, and remnant black hole properties, all derived from a large suite of numerical relativity simulations.
The discovery of the compact binary coalescence in both gravitational waves and electromagnetic radiation marks a breakthrough in the field of multimessenger astronomy and has improved our knowledge ...in a number of research areas. However, an open question is the exact origin of the observables and if one can confirm reliably that GW170817 and its electromagnetic counterparts resulted from a binary neutron star merger. To answer the question if the observation of GW170817, GRB170817A, and AT2017gfo could be explained by the merger of a neutron star with a black hole, we perform a joint multimessenger analysis of the gravitational waves, the short gamma-ray burst, and the kilonova. Assuming a black hole–neutron star system, we derive multimessenger constraints for the tidal deformability of the neutron star of Λ>425 and for the mass ratio of q<2.03 at 90% confidence, with peaks in the likelihood near Λ=830 and q=1.0. Overall, we find that a black hole–neutron star merger could explain the observed signatures; however, our analysis shows that a binary neutron star origin of GW170817 seems more plausible.
ABSTRACT
The detection of the binary neutron star merger GW170817 together with the observation of electromagnetic counterparts across the entire spectrum inaugurated a new era of multimessenger ...astronomy. In this study, we incorporate wavelength-dependent opacities and emissivities calculated from atomic-structure data enabling us to model both the measured light curves and spectra of the electromagnetic transient AT2017gfo. Best fits of the observational data are obtained by Gaussian Process Regression, which allows us to present posterior samples for the kilonova and source properties connected to GW170817. Incorporating constraints obtained from the gravitational wave signal measured by the LIGO-Virgo Scientific Collaboration, we present a $90{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ upper bound on the mass ratio q ≲ 1.38 and a lower bound on the tidal deformability of $\tilde{\Lambda } \gtrsim 197$, which rules out sufficiently soft equations of state. Our analysis is a path-finder for more realistic kilonova models and shows how the combination of gravitational wave and electromagnetic measurements allow for stringent constraints on the source parameters and the supranuclear equation of state.
Observations of neutron-star mergers with distinct messengers, including gravitational waves and electromagnetic signals, can be used to study the behavior of matter denser than an atomic nucleus and ...to measure the expansion rate of the Universe as quantified by the Hubble constant. We performed a joint analysis of the gravitational-wave event GW170817 with its electromagnetic counterparts AT2017gfo and GRB170817A, and the gravitational-wave event GW190425, both originating from neutron-star mergers. We combined these with previous measurements of pulsars using x-ray and radio observations, and nuclear-theory computations using chiral effective field theory, to constrain the neutron-star equation of state. We found that the radius of a 1.4-solar mass neutron star is Formula: see text km at 90% confidence and the Hubble constant is Formula: see text at 1σ uncertainty.
Abstract
With the detection of a binary neutron star system and its corresponding electromagnetic counterparts, a new window of transient astronomy has opened. Due to the size of the sky localization ...regions, which can span hundreds to thousands of square degrees, there are significant benefits to optimizing tilings for these large sky areas. The rich science promised by gravitational wave astronomy has led to the proposal for a variety of proposed tiling and time allocation schemes, and for the first time, we make a systematic comparison of some of these methods. We find that differences of a factor of 2 or more in efficiency are possible, depending on the algorithm employed. For this reason, with future surveys searching for electromagnetic counterparts, care should be taken when selecting tiling, time allocation, and scheduling algorithms to optimize counterpart detection.
ABSTRACT
GW170817 showed that neutron star mergers not only emit gravitational waves but also can release electromagnetic signatures in multiple wavelengths. Within the first half of the third ...observing run of the Advanced LIGO and Virgo detectors, there have been a number of gravitational wave candidates of compact binary systems for which at least one component is potentially a neutron star. In this article, we look at the candidates S190425z, S190426c, S190510g, S190901ap, and S190910h, predicted to have potentially a non-zero remnant mass, in more detail. All these triggers have been followed up with extensive campaigns by the astronomical community doing electromagnetic searches for their optical counterparts; however, according to the released classification, there is a high probability that some of these events might not be of extraterrestrial origin. Assuming that the triggers are caused by a compact binary coalescence and that the individual source locations have been covered during the EM follow-up campaigns, we employ three different kilonova models and apply them to derive possible constraints on the matter ejection consistent with the publicly available gravitational-wave trigger information and the lack of a kilonova detection. These upper bounds on the ejecta mass can be related to limits on the maximum mass of the binary neutron star candidate S190425z and to constraints on the mass-ratio, spin, and NS compactness for the potential black hole–neutron star candidate S190426c. Our results show that deeper electromagnetic observations for future gravitational wave events near the horizon limit of the advanced detectors are essential.
Searches for electromagnetic counterparts of gravitational-wave signals have redoubled since the first detection in2017 of a binary neutron star merger with a gamma-ray burst, optical/infrared ...kilonova, and panchromatic after glow. Yet, one LIGO/Virgo observing run later, there has not yet been a second, secure identification of an electromagnetic counterpart. This is not surprising given that the localization uncertainties of events in LIGO and Virgo’s third observing run, O3, were much larger than predicted. We explain this by showing that improvements in data analysis that now allow LIGO/Virgo to detect weaker and hence more poorly localized events have increased the overall number of detections, of which well-localized, gold-plated events make up a smaller proportion overall. We present simulations of the next two LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA observing runs, O4 and O5, that are grounded in the statistics ofO3 public alerts. To illustrate the significant impact that the updated predictions can have, we study the follow-up strategy for the Zwicky Transient Facility. Realistic and timely forecasting of gravitational-wave localization accuracy is paramount given the large commitments of telescope time and the need to prioritize which events are followed up. We include a data release of our simulated localizations as a public proposal planning resource for astronomers
Abstract
In the past few years, new observations of neutron stars (NSs) and NS mergers have provided a wealth of data that allow one to constrain the equation of state (EOS) of nuclear matter at ...densities above nuclear saturation density. However, most observations were based on NSs with masses of about 1.4
M
⊙
, probing densities up to ∼three to four times the nuclear saturation density. Even higher densities are probed inside massive NSs such as PSR J0740+6620. Very recently, new radio observations provided an update to the mass estimate for PSR J0740+6620, and X-ray observations by the NICER and XMM telescopes constrained its radius. Based on these new measurements, we revisit our previous nuclear physics multimessenger astrophysics constraints and derive updated constraints on the EOS describing the NS interior. By combining astrophysical observations of two radio pulsars, two NICER measurements, the two gravitational-wave detections GW170817 and GW190425, detailed modeling of the kilonova AT 2017gfo, and the gamma-ray burst GRB 170817A, we are able to estimate the radius of a typical 1.4
M
⊙
NS to be
11.94
−
0.87
+
0.76
km
at 90% confidence. Our analysis allows us to revisit the upper bound on the maximum mass of NSs and disfavors the presence of a strong first-order phase transition from nuclear matter to exotic forms of matter, such as quark matter, inside NSs.
Abstract
The observation of a compact object with a mass of 2.50–2.67
M
⊙
on 2019 August 14, by the LIGO Scientific and Virgo collaborations (LVC) has the potential to improve our understanding of ...the supranuclear equation of state. While the gravitational-wave analysis of the LVC suggests that GW190814 likely was a binary black hole system, the secondary component could also have been the heaviest neutron star observed to date. We use our previously derived nuclear-physics-multimessenger astrophysics framework to address the nature of this object. Based on our findings, we determine GW190814 to be a binary black hole merger with a probability of >99.9%. Even if we weaken previously employed constraints on the maximum mass of neutron stars, the probability of a binary black hole origin is still ∼81%. Furthermore, we study the impact that this observation has on our understanding of the nuclear equation of state by analyzing the allowed region in the mass–radius diagram of neutron stars for both a binary black hole or neutron star–black hole scenario. We find that the unlikely scenario in which the secondary object was a neutron star requires rather stiff equations of state with a maximum speed of sound
times the speed of light, while the binary black hole scenario does not offer any new insight.
Colors of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) in the first few days after explosion provide a potential discriminant between different models. In this paper, we present g − r colors of 65 SNe Ia discovered ...within 5 days from first light by the Zwicky Transient Facility in 2018, a sample that is about three times larger than that in the literature. We find that g − r colors are intrinsically rather homogeneous at early phases, with about half of the dispersion attributable to photometric uncertainties ( 0.18 mag). Colors are nearly constant starting from 6 days after first light (g − r ∼ −0.15 mag), while the time evolution at earlier epochs is characterized by a continuous range of slopes, from events rapidly transitioning from redder to bluer colors (slope of ∼−0.25 mag day−1) to events with a flatter evolution. The continuum in the slope distribution is in good agreement both with models requiring some amount of 56Ni mixed in the outermost regions of the ejecta and with "double-detonation" models having thin helium layers ( ) and varying carbon-oxygen core masses. At the same time, six events show evidence for a distinctive "red bump" signature predicted by double-detonation models with larger helium masses. We finally identify a significant correlation between the early-time g − r slopes and supernova brightness, with brighter events associated to flatter color evolution (p-value = 0.006). The distribution of slopes, however, is consistent with being drawn from a single population, with no evidence for two components as claimed in the literature based on B − V colors.
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