The DOI matches its Crossref record; 152 of the 152 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Kilonovae
Open accessAbstract
The mergers of double neutron star (NS–NS) and black hole (BH)–NS binaries are promising gravitational wave (GW) sources for Advanced LIGO and future GW detectors. The neutron-rich ejecta from such merger events undergoes rapid neutron capture (r-process) nucleosynthesis, enriching our Galaxy with rare heavy elements like gold and platinum. The radioactive decay of these unstable nuclei also powers a rapidly evolving, supernova-like transient known as a “kilonova” (also known as “macronova”). Kilonovae are an approximately isotropic electromagnetic counterpart to the GW signal, which also provides a unique and direct probe of an important, if not dominant, r-process site. I review the history and physics of kilonovae, leading to the current paradigm of week-long emission with a spectral peak at near-infrared wavelengths. Using a simple light curve model to illustrate the basic physics, I introduce potentially important variations on this canonical picture, including: $$\sim $$ ∼ day-long optical (“blue”) emission from lanthanide-free components of the ejecta; $$\sim $$ ∼ hour-long precursor UV/blue emission, powered by the decay of free neutrons in the outermost ejecta layers; and enhanced emission due to energy input from a long-lived central engine, such as an accreting BH or millisecond magnetar. I assess the prospects of kilonova detection following future GW detections of NS–NS/BH–NS mergers in light of the recent follow-up campaign of the LIGO binary BH–BH mergers.
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Cites
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Formation of Double Neutron Star Systems
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Self-citationHow Many Kilonovae Can Be Found in Past, Present, and Future Survey Data Sets?
Scolnic, D., Kessler, R., Brout, D., Cowperthwaite, P. S., Soares-Santos, M., Annis, J., Herner, K., Chen, H.-Y., Sako, M., Doctor, Z., et al. (2018) · The Astrophysical Journal Letters · doi:10.3847/2041-8213/aa9d82 · Cited by 78
Metadata
- Authors
- Metzger, B. D.
- Venue
- Living Reviews in Relativity
- Published
- 2017-05-16
- Volume
- 20
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 3-3
- ISSN
- 1433-8351 (ISSN-L)
- 2367-3613
- OpenAlex
- W4211256362
- Cited by
- 438
- References
- 152
- FWCI
- 40.44
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- diamond
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