Abstract
A long-standing paradigm in astrophysics is that collisions-or mergers-of two neutron stars form highly relativistic and collimated outflows (jets) that power γ-ray bursts of short (less than two seconds) duration. The observational support for this model, however, is only indirect. A hitherto outstanding prediction is that gravitational-wave events from such mergers should be associated with γ-ray bursts, and that a majority of these bursts should be seen off-axis, that is, they should point away from Earth. Here we report the discovery observations of the X-ray counterpart associated with the gravitational-wave event GW170817. Although the electromagnetic counterpart at optical and infrared frequencies is dominated by the radioactive glow (known as a kilonova') from freshly synthesized rapid neutron capture (r-process) material in the merger ejecta, observations at X-ray and, later, radio frequencies are consistent with a short γ-ray burst viewed off-axis. Our detection of X-ray emission at a location coincident with the kilonova transient provides the missing observational link between short γ-ray bursts and gravitational waves from neutron-star mergers, and gives independent confirmation of the collimated nature of the γ-ray-burst emission.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 71-74 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| Journal | Nature |
| Volume | 551 |
| Issue number | 7678 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Nov 2 2017 |
Fingerprint
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General
Cite this
The X-ray counterpart to the gravitational-wave event GW170817. / Troja, E.; Piro, L.; Van Eerten, H.; Wollaeger, R. T.; Im, M.; Fox, O. D.; Butler, Nathaniel; Cenko, S. B.; Sakamoto, T.; Fryer, C. L.; Ricci, R.; Lien, A.; Ryan, R. E.; Korobkin, O.; Lee, S. K.; Burgess, J. M.; Lee, W. H.; Watson, A. M.; Choi, C.; Covino, S.; D'Avanzo, P.; Fontes, C. J.; Becerra González, J.; Khandrika, H. G.; Kim, J.; Kim, S. L.; Lee, C. U.; Lee, H. M.; Kutyrev, A.; Lim, G.; Sánchez-Ramírez, R.; Veilleux, S.; Wieringa, M. H.; Yoon, Y.
In: Nature, Vol. 551, No. 7678, 02.11.2017, p. 71-74.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - The X-ray counterpart to the gravitational-wave event GW170817
AU - Troja, E.
AU - Piro, L.
AU - Van Eerten, H.
AU - Wollaeger, R. T.
AU - Im, M.
AU - Fox, O. D.
AU - Butler, Nathaniel
AU - Cenko, S. B.
AU - Sakamoto, T.
AU - Fryer, C. L.
AU - Ricci, R.
AU - Lien, A.
AU - Ryan, R. E.
AU - Korobkin, O.
AU - Lee, S. K.
AU - Burgess, J. M.
AU - Lee, W. H.
AU - Watson, A. M.
AU - Choi, C.
AU - Covino, S.
AU - D'Avanzo, P.
AU - Fontes, C. J.
AU - Becerra González, J.
AU - Khandrika, H. G.
AU - Kim, J.
AU - Kim, S. L.
AU - Lee, C. U.
AU - Lee, H. M.
AU - Kutyrev, A.
AU - Lim, G.
AU - Sánchez-Ramírez, R.
AU - Veilleux, S.
AU - Wieringa, M. H.
AU - Yoon, Y.
PY - 2017/11/2
Y1 - 2017/11/2
N2 - A long-standing paradigm in astrophysics is that collisions-or mergers-of two neutron stars form highly relativistic and collimated outflows (jets) that power γ-ray bursts of short (less than two seconds) duration. The observational support for this model, however, is only indirect. A hitherto outstanding prediction is that gravitational-wave events from such mergers should be associated with γ-ray bursts, and that a majority of these bursts should be seen off-axis, that is, they should point away from Earth. Here we report the discovery observations of the X-ray counterpart associated with the gravitational-wave event GW170817. Although the electromagnetic counterpart at optical and infrared frequencies is dominated by the radioactive glow (known as a kilonova') from freshly synthesized rapid neutron capture (r-process) material in the merger ejecta, observations at X-ray and, later, radio frequencies are consistent with a short γ-ray burst viewed off-axis. Our detection of X-ray emission at a location coincident with the kilonova transient provides the missing observational link between short γ-ray bursts and gravitational waves from neutron-star mergers, and gives independent confirmation of the collimated nature of the γ-ray-burst emission.
AB - A long-standing paradigm in astrophysics is that collisions-or mergers-of two neutron stars form highly relativistic and collimated outflows (jets) that power γ-ray bursts of short (less than two seconds) duration. The observational support for this model, however, is only indirect. A hitherto outstanding prediction is that gravitational-wave events from such mergers should be associated with γ-ray bursts, and that a majority of these bursts should be seen off-axis, that is, they should point away from Earth. Here we report the discovery observations of the X-ray counterpart associated with the gravitational-wave event GW170817. Although the electromagnetic counterpart at optical and infrared frequencies is dominated by the radioactive glow (known as a kilonova') from freshly synthesized rapid neutron capture (r-process) material in the merger ejecta, observations at X-ray and, later, radio frequencies are consistent with a short γ-ray burst viewed off-axis. Our detection of X-ray emission at a location coincident with the kilonova transient provides the missing observational link between short γ-ray bursts and gravitational waves from neutron-star mergers, and gives independent confirmation of the collimated nature of the γ-ray-burst emission.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85032832066&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85032832066&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/nature24290
DO - 10.1038/nature24290
M3 - Article
VL - 551
SP - 71
EP - 74
JO - Nature
JF - Nature
SN - 0028-0836
IS - 7678
ER -