The cosmic origin of elements heavier than iron has long been uncertain. Theoretical modelling shows that the matter that is expelled in the violent merger of two neutron stars can assemble into ...heavy elements such as gold and platinum in a process known as rapid neutron capture (r-process) nucleosynthesis. The radioactive decay of isotopes of the heavy elements is predicted to power a distinctive thermal glow (a 'kilonova'). The discovery of an electromagnetic counterpart to the gravitational-wave source GW170817 represents the first opportunity to detect and scrutinize a sample of freshly synthesized r-process elements. Here we report models that predict the electromagnetic emission of kilonovae in detail and enable the mass, velocity and composition of ejecta to be derived from observations. We compare the models to the optical and infrared radiation associated with the GW170817 event to argue that the observed source is a kilonova. We infer the presence of two distinct components of ejecta, one composed primarily of light (atomic mass number less than 140) and one of heavy (atomic mass number greater than 140) r-process elements. The ejected mass and a merger rate inferred from GW170817 imply that such mergers are a dominant mode of r-process production in the Universe.
Abstract
Numerical models of collisionless shocks robustly predict an electron distribution composed of both thermal and nonthermal electrons. Here, we explore in detail the effect of thermal ...electrons on the emergent synchrotron emission from subrelativistic shocks. We present a complete “thermal + nonthermal” synchrotron model and derive properties of the resulting spectrum and light curves. Using these results, we delineate the relative importance of thermal and nonthermal electrons for subrelativistic shock-powered synchrotron transients. We find that thermal electrons are naturally expected to contribute significantly to the peak emission if the shock velocity is ≳0.2
c
, but would be mostly undetectable in nonrelativistic shocks. This helps explain the dichotomy between typical radio supernovae and the emerging class of “AT2018cow-like” events. The signpost of thermal electron synchrotron emission is a steep optically-thin spectral index and a
ν
2
optically-thick spectrum. These spectral features are also predicted to correlate with a steep postpeak light-curve decline rate, broadly consistent with observed AT2018cow-like events. We expect that thermal electrons may be observable in other contexts where mildly relativistic shocks are present and briefly estimate this effect for gamma-ray burst afterglows and binary–neutron-star mergers. Our model can be used to fit spectra and light curves of events and accounts for both thermal and nonthermal electron populations with no additional physical degrees of freedom.
We present stellar evolution calculations of the remnant of the merger of two carbon-oxygen white dwarfs (CO WDs). We focus on cases that have a total mass in excess of the Chandrasekhar mass. After ...the merger, the remnant manifests as an ... source for ... yr. A dusty wind may develop, leading these sources to be self-obscured and to appear similar to extreme asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars. Roughly ~10 such objects should exist in the Milky Way and M31 at any time. As found in previous work, off-centre carbon fusion is ignited within the merger remnant and propagates inwards via a carbon flame, converting the WD to an oxygen-neon (ONe) composition. By following the evolution for longer than previous calculations, we demonstrate that after carbon-burning reaches the centre, neutrino-cooled Kelvin-Helmholtz contraction leads to off-centre neon ignition in remnants with masses ... The resulting neon-oxygen flame converts the core to a silicon WD. Thus, super-Chandrasekhar WD merger remnants do not undergo electron-capture induced collapse as traditionally assumed. Instead, if the remnant mass remains above the Chandrasekhar mass, we expect that it will form a low-mass iron core and collapse to form a neutron star. Remnants that lose sufficient mass will end up as massive, isolated ONe or Si WDs. (ProQuest: ... denotes formulae/symbols omitted.)
The neutron star (NS) merger GW170817 was followed over several days by optical-wavelength ("blue") kilonova (KN) emission likely powered by the radioactive decay of light r-process nuclei ...synthesized by ejecta with a low neutron abundance (electron fraction Ye 0.25-0.35). While the composition and high velocities of the blue KN ejecta are consistent with shock-heated dynamical material, the large quantity is in tension with the results of numerical simulations. We propose an alternative ejecta source: the neutrino-heated, magnetically accelerated wind from the strongly magnetized hypermassive NS (HMNS) remnant. A rapidly spinning HMNS with an ordered surface magnetic field of strength B (1-3) × 1014 G and lifetime trem ∼ 0.1-1 s can simultaneously explain the velocity, total mass, and electron fraction of the blue KN ejecta. The inferred HMNS lifetime is close to its Alfvén crossing time, suggesting that global magnetic torques could be responsible for bringing the HMNS into solid-body rotation and instigating its gravitational collapse. Different origins for the KN ejecta may be distinguished by their predictions for the emission in the first hours after the merger, when the luminosity is enhanced by heating from internal shocks; the latter are likely generic to any temporally extended ejecta source (e.g., magnetar or accretion disk wind) and are not unique to the emergence of a relativistic jet. The same shocks could mix and homogenize the composition to a low but nonzero lanthanide mass fraction, , as advocated by some authors, but only if the mixing occurs after neutrons are consumed in the r-process on a timescale 1 s.
Abstract Massive elliptical galaxies harbor large amounts of hot gas ( T ≳ 10 6 K) in their interstellar medium (ISM) but are typically quiescent in star formation. The jets of active galactic nuclei ...(AGNs) and Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) inject energy into the ISM, which offsets its radiative losses and keeps it hot. SNe Ia deposit their energy locally within the galaxy compared to the larger few ×10 kiloparsec-scale AGN jets. In this study, we perform high-resolution (512 3 ) hydrodynamic simulations of a local (1 kpc 3 ) density-stratified patch of the ISM of massive galaxies. We include radiative cooling and shell-averaged volume heating, as well as randomly exploding SN Ia. We study the effect of different fractions of supernova (SN) heating (with respect to the net cooling rate), different initial ISM density/entropy (which controls the growth time t ti of the thermal instability), and different degrees of stratification (which affect the freefall time t ff ). We find that SNe Ia drive predominantly compressive turbulence in the ISM with a velocity dispersion of σ v up to 40 km s −1 and logarithmic density dispersion of σ s ∼ 0.2–0.4. These fluctuations trigger multiphase condensation in regions of the ISM, where min ( t ti ) / t ff ≲ 0.6 exp ( 6 σ s ) , in agreement with theoretical expectations that large density fluctuations efficiently trigger multiphase gas formation. Since the SN Ia rate is not self-adjusting, when the net cooling drops below the net heating rate, SNe Ia drive a hot wind which sweeps out most of the mass in our local model. Global simulations are required to assess the ultimate fate of this gas.
We study the evolution of degenerate electron cores primarily composed of the carbon burning products 16O, 20Ne, and 24Mg (hereafter ONeMg cores) that are undergoing compression. Electron capture ...reactions on A = 20 and 24 isotopes reduce the electron fraction and heat the core. We develop and use a new capability of the Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics (mesa) stellar evolution code that provides a highly accurate implementation of these key reactions. These new accurate rates and the ability of mesa to perform extremely small spatial zoning demonstrates a thermal runaway in the core triggered by the temperature and density sensitivity of the 20Ne electron capture reactions. Both analytics and numerics show that this thermal runaway does not trigger core convection, but rather leads to a centrally concentrated (r < km) thermal runaway that will subsequently launch an oxygen deflagration wave from the centre of the star. We use mesa to perform a parameter study that quantifies the influence of the 24Mg mass fraction, the central temperature, the compression rate, and uncertainties in the electron capture reaction rates on the ONeMg core evolution. This allows us to establish a lower limit on the central density at which the oxygen deflagration wave initiates of ρc ≳ 8.5 × 109 g cm− 3. Based on previous work and order-of-magnitude calculations, we expect objects which ignite oxygen at or above these densities to collapse and form a neutron star. Calculations such as these are an important step in producing more realistic progenitor models for studies of the signature of accretion-induced collapse.
A star that wanders too close to a massive black hole (BH) is shredded by the BH's tidal gravity. Stellar gas falls back to the BH at a rate initially exceeding the Eddington rate, releasing a flare ...of energy. In anticipation of upcoming transient surveys, we predict the light curves and spectra of tidal flares as a function of time, highlighting the unique signatures of tidal flares at optical and near-infrared wavelengths. A reasonable fraction of the gas initially bound to the BH is likely blown away when the fallback rate is super-Eddington at early times. This outflow produces an optical luminosity comparable to that of a supernova; such events have durations of ∼10 d and may have been missed in supernova searches that exclude the nuclear regions of galaxies. When the fallback rate subsides below Eddington, the gas accretes onto the BH via a thin disc whose emission peaks in the ultraviolet to soft X-rays. Some of this emission is reprocessed by the unbound stellar debris, producing a spectrum of very broad emission lines (with no corresponding narrow forbidden lines). These lines are the strongest for BHs with MBH∼ 105–106 M⊙ and thus optical surveys are particularly sensitive to the lowest mass BHs in galactic nuclei. Calibrating our models to ROSAT and Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) observations, we predict detection rates for Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS), the Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) and highlight some of the observational challenges associated with studying tidal disruption events in the optical. Upcoming surveys such as Pan-STARRS should detect at least several events per year, and may detect many more if current models of outflows during super-Eddington accretion are reasonably accurate. These surveys will significantly improve our knowledge of stellar dynamics in galactic nuclei, the physics of super-Eddington accretion, the demography of intermediate mass BHs and the role of tidal disruption in the growth of massive BHs.
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