Kilonovae

Abstract

The coalescence of double neutron star (NS-NS) and black hole (BH)-NS binaries are prime sources of gravitational waves (GW) for Advanced LIGO/Virgo and future ground-based detectors. Neutron-rich matter released from such events undergo rapid neutron capture (r-process) nucleosynthesis as it decompresses into space, enriching our universe with rare heavy elements like gold and platinum. Radioactive decay of these unstable nuclei powers a rapidly evolving, approximately isotropic thermal transient known as a ``kilonova', which probes the physical conditions during the merger and its aftermath. Here I review the history and physics of kilonovae, leading to the current paradigm of day-timescale emission at optical wavelengths from lanthanide-free components of the ejecta, followed by week-long emission with a spectral peak in the near-infrared (NIR). These theoretical predictions, as compiled in the original version of this review, were largely confirmed by the transient optical/NIR counterpart discovered to the first NS-NS merger, GW170817, discovered by LIGO/Virgo. Using a simple light curve model to illustrate the essential physical processes and their application to GW170817, I then introduce important variations about the standard picture which may be observable in future mergers. These include ~hours-long UV precursor emission, powered by the decay of free neutrons in the outermost ejecta layers or shock-heating of the ejecta by a delayed ultra-relativistic outflow; and enhancement of the luminosity from a long-lived central engine, such as an accreting BH or millisecond magnetar. Joint GW and kilonova observations of GW170817 and future events provide a new avenue to constrain the astrophysical origin of the r-process elements and the equation of state of dense nuclear matter.

Update submitted to Living Reviews in Relativity (version 2); 72 pages, 18 figures; original (pre-GW170817) version can be found at arXiv:1610.09381v3

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• The Dynamics of Binary Neutron Star Mergers and of GW170817
• Is GW190425 consistent with being a neutron star$-$black hole merger?
• Optimising gravitational waves follow-up using galaxies stellar mass
• Swift-XRT follow-up of gravitational wave triggers during the third aLIGO/Virgo observing run
• Upper Limit on the Dissipation of Gravitational Waves in Gravitationally Bound Systems