Illuminating gravitational waves: A concordant picture of photons from a neutron star merger.
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| Abstract | :
Merging neutron stars offer an excellent laboratory for simultaneously studying strong-field gravity and matter in extreme environments. We establish the physical association of an electromagnetic counterpart (EM170817) with gravitational waves (GW170817) detected from merging neutron stars. By synthesizing a panchromatic data set, we demonstrate that merging neutron stars are a long-sought production site forging heavy elements by r-process nucleosynthesis. The weak gamma rays seen in EM170817 are dissimilar to classical short gamma-ray bursts with ultrarelativistic jets. Instead, we suggest that breakout of a wide-angle, mildly relativistic cocoon engulfing the jet explains the low-luminosity gamma rays, the high-luminosity ultraviolet-optical-infrared, and the delayed radio and x-ray emission. We posit that all neutron star mergers may lead to a wide-angle cocoon breakout, sometimes accompanied by a successful jet and sometimes by a choked jet. |
| Year of Publication | :
2017
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| Journal | :
Science (New York, N.Y.)
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| Volume | :
358
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| Issue | :
6370
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| Number of Pages | :
1559-1565
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| Date Published | :
2017
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| ISSN Number | :
0036-8075
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| URL | :
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=29038373
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| DOI | :
10.1126/science.aap9455
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| Short Title | :
Science
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