Abstract
The science returns of gravitational wave astronomy will be maximized if electromagnetic counterparts to gravitational-wave sources can be identified. Kilonovae are promising counterparts to compact binary mergers, both because their long timescales and approximately isotropic emission make them relatively easy to observe, and because they offer astronomers a unique opportunity to probe astrophysical heavy-element nucleosynthesis and merger-driven mass ejection. In the following, I review progress in theoretical modeling that underpinned advances in our understanding of kilonovae leading up the first detection of a neutron star merger, GW170817. I then review the important lessons from this event and discuss the challenges and opportunities that await us in the future.
Highlights
Multi-messenger astronomy refers to the revolutionary possibility of combining electromagnetic (EM) and gravitational-wave (GW) observations to gain new insight into astrophysical phenomena
The community has undertaken increasingly detailed studies of all the major parameters governing the nature of rprocess transients, from the energy supplied by the r-process, to the ejected mass, to the optical properties of r-process atoms and ions
Consideration of the above reveals that the energy released in the radioactive decays of rprocess nuclei is a crucial determinant of kilonova emission, as are the mass, velocity, and opacity of merger-driven outflows
Summary
Multi-messenger astronomy refers to the revolutionary possibility of combining electromagnetic (EM) and gravitational-wave (GW) observations to gain new insight into astrophysical phenomena. In the current era of ground-based gravitational-wave detectors, the mergers of compact objects— black holes (BHs) and neutron stars (NSs)—are the systems most accessible to multi-messenger astronomy, and their routine observation promises to teach us more about stellar binary evolution, dynamics in the strong gravity regime, the production and evolution of astrophysical jets, the NS equation of state (EOS), and the origin of the heavy elements. Among mergers’ EM counterparts, “kilonovae,” radioactively-powered, quasi-isotropic transients that shine at optical and infrared wavelengths and evolve on timescales of days to weeks, are unique in their ability to shed light on merger-driven mass ejection and nucleosynthesis
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