The Electromagnetic Counterpart of the Binary Neutron Star Merger LIGO/Virgo GW170817. II. UV, Optical, and Near-infrared Light Curves and Comparison to Kilonova Models

P. S. Cowperthwaite; E. Berger; V. A. Villar; B. D. Metzger; M. Nicholl; R. Chornock; P. K. Blanchard; W. Fong; R. Margutti; M. Soares-Santos; K. D. Alexander; S. Allam; J. Annis; D. Brout; D. A. Brown; R. E. Butler; H. Y. Chen; H. T. Diehl; Z. Doctor; M. R. Drout; T. Eftekhari; B. Farr; D. A. Finley; R. J. Foley; J. A. Frieman; C. L. Fryer; J. García-Bellido; M. S.S. Gill; J. Guillochon; K. Herner; D. E. Holz; D. Kasen; R. Kessler; J. Marriner; T. Matheson; E. H. Neilsen; E. Quataert; A. Palmese; A. Rest; M. Sako; D. M. Scolnic; N. Smith; D. L. Tucker; P. K.G. Williams; E. Balbinot; J. L. Carlin; E. R. Cook; F. Durret; T. S. Li; P. A.A. Lopes; A. C.C. Lourenço; J. L. Marshall; G. E. Medina; J. Muir; R. R. Muñoz; M. Sauseda; D. J. Schlegel; L. F. Secco; A. K. Vivas; W. Wester; A. Zenteno; Y. Zhang; T. M.C. Abbott; M. Banerji; K. Bechtol; A. Benoit-Lévy; E. Bertin; E. Buckley-Geer; D. L. Burke; D. Capozzi; A. Carnero Rosell; M. Carrasco Kind; F. J. Castander; M. Crocce; C. E. Cunha; C. B. D'Andrea; L. N.Da Costa; C. Davis; D. L. Depoy; S. Desai; J. P. Dietrich; A. Drlica-Wagner; T. F. Eifler; A. E. Evrard; E. Fernandez; B. Flaugher; P. Fosalba; E. Gaztanaga; D. W. Gerdes; T. Giannantonio; D. A. Goldstein; D. Gruen; R. A. Gruendl; G. Gutierrez; K. Honscheid; B. Jain; D. J. James; T. Jeltema; M. W.G. Johnson; M. D. Johnson; S. Kent; E. Krause; R. Kron; K. Kuehn; N. Nuropatkin; O. Lahav; M. Lima; H. Lin; M. A.G. Maia; M. March; P. Martini; R. G. McMahon; F. Menanteau; C. J. Miller; R. Miquel; J. J. Mohr; E. Neilsen; R. C. Nichol; R. L.C. Ogando; A. A. Plazas; N. Roe; A. K. Romer; A. Roodman; E. S. Rykoff; E. Sanchez; V. Scarpine; R. Schindler; M. Schubnell; I. Sevilla-Noarbe; M. Smith; R. C. Smith; F. Sobreira; E. Suchyta; M. E.C. Swanson; G. Tarle; D. Thomas; R. C. Thomas; M. A. Troxel; V. Vikram; A. R. Walker; R. H. Wechsler; J. Weller; B. Yanny; J. Zuntz

doi:10.3847/2041-8213/aa8fc7

The Electromagnetic Counterpart of the Binary Neutron Star Merger LIGO/Virgo GW170817. II. UV, Optical, and Near-infrared Light Curves and Comparison to Kilonova Models

P. S. Cowperthwaite, E. Berger, V. A. Villar, B. D. Metzger, M. Nicholl, R. Chornock, P. K. Blanchard, W. Fong, R. Margutti, M. Soares-Santos, K. D. Alexander, S. Allam, J. Annis, D. Brout, D. A. Brown, R. E. Butler, H. Y. Chen, H. T. Diehl, Z. Doctor, M. R. DroutT. Eftekhari, B. Farr, D. A. Finley, R. J. Foley, J. A. Frieman, C. L. Fryer, J. García-Bellido, M. S.S. Gill, J. Guillochon, K. Herner, D. E. Holz, D. Kasen, R. Kessler, J. Marriner, T. Matheson, E. H. Neilsen, E. Quataert, A. Palmese, A. Rest, M. Sako, D. M. Scolnic, N. Smith, D. L. Tucker, P. K.G. Williams, E. Balbinot, J. L. Carlin, E. R. Cook, F. Durret, T. S. Li, P. A.A. Lopes, A. C.C. Lourenço, J. L. Marshall, G. E. Medina, J. Muir, R. R. Muñoz, M. Sauseda, D. J. Schlegel, L. F. Secco, A. K. Vivas, W. Wester, A. Zenteno, Y. Zhang, T. M.C. Abbott, M. Banerji, K. Bechtol, A. Benoit-Lévy, E. Bertin, E. Buckley-Geer, D. L. Burke, D. Capozzi, A. Carnero Rosell, M. Carrasco Kind, F. J. Castander, M. Crocce, C. E. Cunha, C. B. D'Andrea, L. N.Da Costa, C. Davis, D. L. Depoy, S. Desai, J. P. Dietrich, A. Drlica-Wagner, T. F. Eifler, A. E. Evrard, E. Fernandez, B. Flaugher, P. Fosalba, E. Gaztanaga, D. W. Gerdes, T. Giannantonio, D. A. Goldstein, D. Gruen, R. A. Gruendl, G. Gutierrez, K. Honscheid, B. Jain, D. J. James, T. Jeltema, M. W.G. Johnson, M. D. Johnson, S. Kent, E. Krause, R. Kron, K. Kuehn, N. Nuropatkin, O. Lahav, M. Lima, H. Lin, M. A.G. Maia, M. March, P. Martini, R. G. McMahon, F. Menanteau, C. J. Miller, R. Miquel, J. J. Mohr, E. Neilsen, R. C. Nichol, R. L.C. Ogando, A. A. Plazas, N. Roe, A. K. Romer, A. Roodman, E. S. Rykoff, E. Sanchez, V. Scarpine, R. Schindler, M. Schubnell, I. Sevilla-Noarbe, M. Smith, R. C. Smith, F. Sobreira, E. Suchyta, M. E.C. Swanson, G. Tarle, D. Thomas, R. C. Thomas, M. A. Troxel, V. Vikram, A. R. Walker, R. H. Wechsler, J. Weller, B. Yanny, J. Zuntz

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Abstract

We present UV, optical, and near-infrared (NIR) photometry of the first electromagnetic counterpart to a gravitational wave source from Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO)/Virgo, the binary neutron star merger GW170817. Our data set extends from the discovery of the optical counterpart at 0.47-18.5 days post-merger, and includes observations with the Dark Energy Camera (DECam), Gemini-South/FLAMINGOS-2 (GS/F2), and the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The spectral energy distribution (SED) inferred from this photometry at 0.6 days is well described by a blackbody model with T ≈ 8300 K, a radius of R ≈ 4.5 × 10¹⁴cm (corresponding to an expansion velocity of v ≈ 0.3c), and a bolometric luminosity of L_bol ≈ 5 × 10⁴¹ erg s^-1. At 1.5 days we find a multi-component SED across the optical and NIR, and subsequently we observe rapid fading in the UV and blue optical bands and significant reddening of the optical/NIR colors. Modeling the entire data set, we find that models with heating from radioactive decay of ⁵⁶Ni, or those with only a single component of opacity from r-process elements, fail to capture the rapid optical decline and red optical/NIR colors. Instead, models with two components consistent with lanthanide-poor and lanthanide-rich ejecta provide a good fit to the data; the resulting "blue" component has M^blue_ej 0.1 M_⊙ and v^blue_ej ≈ 0.3c, and the "red" component has and M^red_ej ≈ 0.04 M⊙ and v^red_ej ≈ 0.1 c. These ejecta masses are broadly consistent with the estimated r-process production rate required to explain the Milky Way r-process abundances, providing the first evidence that binary neutron star (BNS) mergers can be a dominant site of r-process enrichment.

Original language	English
Article number	L17
Journal	Astrophysical Journal Letters
Volume	848
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/aa8fc7
State	Published - Oct 20 2017

Funding

The Berger Time-Domain Group at Harvard is supported in part by the NSF through grants AST-1411763 and AST-1714498, and by NASA through grants NNX15AE50G and NNX16AC22G. P.S.C. is grateful for support provided by the NSF through the Graduate Research Fellowship Program, grant DGE 1144152. V.A.V. acknowledges support by the National Science Foundation through a Graduate Research Fellowship. D.A.B. is supposed by NSF award PHY-1707954. We thank the University of Copenhagen, DARK Cosmology Centre, and the Niels Bohr International Academy for hosting R.J.F. during the discovery of GW170817/SSS17a, where he was participating in the Kavli Summer Program in Astrophysics, “Astrophysics with gravitational wave detections.” This program was supported by the Kavli Foundation, Danish National Research Foundation, the Niels Bohr International Academy, and the DARK Cosmology Centre. The UCSC group is supported in part by NSF grant AST–1518052, the Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation, the Heising-Simons Foundation, generous donations from many individuals through a UCSC Giving Day grant, and from fellowships from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation to R.J.F. E.B. acknowledges financial support from the European Research Council (ERC-StG-335936, CLUSTERS). D.K. and E.Q. were funded in part by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation through Grant GBMF5076. Based in part on observations obtained at the Gemini Observatory (Program IDs GS-2017B-Q-8 and GS-2017B-DD-4; PI: Chornock), which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under a cooperative agreement with the NSF on behalf of the Gemini partnership: the National Science Foundation (United States), the National Research Council (Canada), CONICYT (Chile), Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación Productiva (Argentina), and Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação (Brazil). This project used data obtained with the Dark Energy Camera (DECam), which was constructed by the Dark Energy Survey (DES) collaboration. Funding for the DES Projects has been provided by the DOE and NSF (USA), MISE (Spain), STFC (UK), HEFCE (UK), NCSA (UIUC), KICP (U. Chicago), CCAPP (Ohio State), MIFPA (Texas A&M), CNPQ, FAPERJ, FINEP (Brazil), MINECO (Spain), DFG (Germany), and the collaborating institutions in the Dark Energy Survey, which are Argonne Lab, UC Santa Cruz, University of Cambridge, CIEMAT-Madrid, University of Chicago, University College London, DES-Brazil Consortium, University of Edinburgh, ETH Zürich, Fermilab, University of Illinois, ICE (IEEC-CSIC), IFAE Barcelona, Lawrence Berkeley Lab, LMU München, and the associated Excellence Cluster Universe, University of Michigan, NOAO, University of Nottingham, Ohio State University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Portsmouth, SLAC National Lab, Stanford University, University of Sussex, and Texas A&M University.

Funders	Funder number
IFAE Barcelona
KICP
LMU München
MIFPA
NOAO
Niels Bohr International Academy	AST–1518052
National Science Foundation	1707954, PHY-1707954, 1411763, AST-1411763, 335936, 1518052, 1714498, 1144152, AST-1714498
David and Lucile Packard Foundation
U.S. Department of Energy
National Aeronautics and Space Administration	NNX16AC22G, NNX15AE50G, DGE 1144152
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation	GBMF5076
Kavli Foundation
Merck Institute for Science Education
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Stanford University
Argonne National Laboratory
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
University of Pennsylvania
Ohio State University
University of Chicago
University of Michigan
Texas A and M University
University of Portsmouth
National Centre for Supercomputing Applications
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
National Research Council
Center for Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, Ohio State University
Heising-Simons Foundation
Science and Technology Facilities Council
University College London
European Research Council
University of Nottingham
University of Sussex
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
Danmarks Grundforskningsfond
Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo
Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación Productiva
Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad
Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação
Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico
Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro
Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos

Keywords

binaries: close
catalogs
gravitational waves
stars: neutron
surveys

Access to Document

10.3847/2041-8213/aa8fc7

Cite this

Cowperthwaite, P. S., Berger, E., Villar, V. A., Metzger, B. D., Nicholl, M., Chornock, R., Blanchard, P. K., Fong, W., Margutti, R., Soares-Santos, M., Alexander, K. D., Allam, S., Annis, J., Brout, D., Brown, D. A., Butler, R. E., Chen, H. Y., Diehl, H. T., Doctor, Z., ... Zuntz, J. (2017). The Electromagnetic Counterpart of the Binary Neutron Star Merger LIGO/Virgo GW170817. II. UV, Optical, and Near-infrared Light Curves and Comparison to Kilonova Models. Astrophysical Journal Letters, 848(2), Article L17. https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/aa8fc7

@article{e80e761db3f04b9e83bfa9be37d56cc9,

title = "The Electromagnetic Counterpart of the Binary Neutron Star Merger LIGO/Virgo GW170817. II. UV, Optical, and Near-infrared Light Curves and Comparison to Kilonova Models",

abstract = "We present UV, optical, and near-infrared (NIR) photometry of the first electromagnetic counterpart to a gravitational wave source from Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO)/Virgo, the binary neutron star merger GW170817. Our data set extends from the discovery of the optical counterpart at 0.47-18.5 days post-merger, and includes observations with the Dark Energy Camera (DECam), Gemini-South/FLAMINGOS-2 (GS/F2), and the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The spectral energy distribution (SED) inferred from this photometry at 0.6 days is well described by a blackbody model with T ≈ 8300 K, a radius of R ≈ 4.5 × 1014cm (corresponding to an expansion velocity of v ≈ 0.3c), and a bolometric luminosity of Lbol ≈ 5 × 1041 erg s-1. At 1.5 days we find a multi-component SED across the optical and NIR, and subsequently we observe rapid fading in the UV and blue optical bands and significant reddening of the optical/NIR colors. Modeling the entire data set, we find that models with heating from radioactive decay of 56Ni, or those with only a single component of opacity from r-process elements, fail to capture the rapid optical decline and red optical/NIR colors. Instead, models with two components consistent with lanthanide-poor and lanthanide-rich ejecta provide a good fit to the data; the resulting {"}blue{"} component has Mblueej 0.1 M⊙ and vblueej ≈ 0.3c, and the {"}red{"} component has and Mredej ≈ 0.04 M⊙ and vredej ≈ 0.1 c. These ejecta masses are broadly consistent with the estimated r-process production rate required to explain the Milky Way r-process abundances, providing the first evidence that binary neutron star (BNS) mergers can be a dominant site of r-process enrichment.",

keywords = "binaries: close, catalogs, gravitational waves, stars: neutron, surveys",

author = "Cowperthwaite, {P. S.} and E. Berger and Villar, {V. A.} and Metzger, {B. D.} and M. Nicholl and R. Chornock and Blanchard, {P. K.} and W. Fong and R. Margutti and M. Soares-Santos and Alexander, {K. D.} and S. Allam and J. Annis and D. Brout and Brown, {D. A.} and Butler, {R. E.} and Chen, {H. Y.} and Diehl, {H. T.} and Z. Doctor and Drout, {M. R.} and T. Eftekhari and B. Farr and Finley, {D. A.} and Foley, {R. J.} and Frieman, {J. A.} and Fryer, {C. L.} and J. Garc{\'i}a-Bellido and Gill, {M. S.S.} and J. Guillochon and K. Herner and Holz, {D. E.} and D. Kasen and R. Kessler and J. Marriner and T. Matheson and Neilsen, {E. H.} and E. Quataert and A. Palmese and A. Rest and M. Sako and Scolnic, {D. M.} and N. Smith and Tucker, {D. L.} and Williams, {P. K.G.} and E. Balbinot and Carlin, {J. L.} and Cook, {E. R.} and F. Durret and Li, {T. S.} and Lopes, {P. A.A.} and Louren{\c c}o, {A. C.C.} and Marshall, {J. L.} and Medina, {G. E.} and J. Muir and Mu{\~n}oz, {R. R.} and M. Sauseda and Schlegel, {D. J.} and Secco, {L. F.} and Vivas, {A. K.} and W. Wester and A. Zenteno and Y. Zhang and Abbott, {T. M.C.} and M. Banerji and K. Bechtol and A. Benoit-L{\'e}vy and E. Bertin and E. Buckley-Geer and Burke, {D. L.} and D. Capozzi and {Carnero Rosell}, A. and {Carrasco Kind}, M. and Castander, {F. J.} and M. Crocce and Cunha, {C. E.} and D'Andrea, {C. B.} and Costa, {L. N.Da} and C. Davis and Depoy, {D. L.} and S. Desai and Dietrich, {J. P.} and A. Drlica-Wagner and Eifler, {T. F.} and Evrard, {A. E.} and E. Fernandez and B. Flaugher and P. Fosalba and E. Gaztanaga and Gerdes, {D. W.} and T. Giannantonio and Goldstein, {D. A.} and D. Gruen and Gruendl, {R. A.} and G. Gutierrez and K. Honscheid and B. Jain and James, {D. J.} and T. Jeltema and Johnson, {M. W.G.} and Johnson, {M. D.} and S. Kent and E. Krause and R. Kron and K. Kuehn and N. Nuropatkin and O. Lahav and M. Lima and H. Lin and Maia, {M. A.G.} and M. March and P. Martini and McMahon, {R. G.} and F. Menanteau and Miller, {C. J.} and R. Miquel and Mohr, {J. J.} and E. Neilsen and Nichol, {R. C.} and Ogando, {R. L.C.} and Plazas, {A. A.} and N. Roe and Romer, {A. K.} and A. Roodman and Rykoff, {E. S.} and E. Sanchez and V. Scarpine and R. Schindler and M. Schubnell and I. Sevilla-Noarbe and M. Smith and Smith, {R. C.} and F. Sobreira and E. Suchyta and Swanson, {M. E.C.} and G. Tarle and D. Thomas and Thomas, {R. C.} and Troxel, {M. A.} and V. Vikram and Walker, {A. R.} and Wechsler, {R. H.} and J. Weller and B. Yanny and J. Zuntz",

year = "2017",

month = oct,

day = "20",

doi = "10.3847/2041-8213/aa8fc7",

language = "English",

volume = "848",

journal = "Astrophysical Journal Letters",

issn = "2041-8205",

publisher = "American Astronomical Society",

number = "2",

}

Cowperthwaite, PS, Berger, E, Villar, VA, Metzger, BD, Nicholl, M, Chornock, R, Blanchard, PK, Fong, W, Margutti, R, Soares-Santos, M, Alexander, KD, Allam, S, Annis, J, Brout, D, Brown, DA, Butler, RE, Chen, HY, Diehl, HT, Doctor, Z, Drout, MR, Eftekhari, T, Farr, B, Finley, DA, Foley, RJ, Frieman, JA, Fryer, CL, García-Bellido, J, Gill, MSS, Guillochon, J, Herner, K, Holz, DE, Kasen, D, Kessler, R, Marriner, J, Matheson, T, Neilsen, EH, Quataert, E, Palmese, A, Rest, A, Sako, M, Scolnic, DM, Smith, N, Tucker, DL, Williams, PKG, Balbinot, E, Carlin, JL, Cook, ER, Durret, F, Li, TS, Lopes, PAA, Lourenço, ACC, Marshall, JL, Medina, GE, Muir, J, Muñoz, RR, Sauseda, M, Schlegel, DJ, Secco, LF, Vivas, AK, Wester, W, Zenteno, A, Zhang, Y, Abbott, TMC, Banerji, M, Bechtol, K, Benoit-Lévy, A, Bertin, E, Buckley-Geer, E, Burke, DL, Capozzi, D, Carnero Rosell, A, Carrasco Kind, M, Castander, FJ, Crocce, M, Cunha, CE, D'Andrea, CB, Costa, LND, Davis, C, Depoy, DL, Desai, S, Dietrich, JP, Drlica-Wagner, A, Eifler, TF, Evrard, AE, Fernandez, E, Flaugher, B, Fosalba, P, Gaztanaga, E, Gerdes, DW, Giannantonio, T, Goldstein, DA, Gruen, D, Gruendl, RA, Gutierrez, G, Honscheid, K, Jain, B, James, DJ, Jeltema, T, Johnson, MWG, Johnson, MD, Kent, S, Krause, E, Kron, R, Kuehn, K, Nuropatkin, N, Lahav, O, Lima, M, Lin, H, Maia, MAG, March, M, Martini, P, McMahon, RG, Menanteau, F, Miller, CJ, Miquel, R, Mohr, JJ, Neilsen, E, Nichol, RC, Ogando, RLC, Plazas, AA, Roe, N, Romer, AK, Roodman, A, Rykoff, ES, Sanchez, E, Scarpine, V, Schindler, R, Schubnell, M, Sevilla-Noarbe, I, Smith, M, Smith, RC, Sobreira, F, Suchyta, E, Swanson, MEC, Tarle, G, Thomas, D, Thomas, RC, Troxel, MA, Vikram, V, Walker, AR, Wechsler, RH, Weller, J, Yanny, B & Zuntz, J 2017, 'The Electromagnetic Counterpart of the Binary Neutron Star Merger LIGO/Virgo GW170817. II. UV, Optical, and Near-infrared Light Curves and Comparison to Kilonova Models', Astrophysical Journal Letters, vol. 848, no. 2, L17. https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/aa8fc7

TY - JOUR

T1 - The Electromagnetic Counterpart of the Binary Neutron Star Merger LIGO/Virgo GW170817. II. UV, Optical, and Near-infrared Light Curves and Comparison to Kilonova Models

AU - Cowperthwaite, P. S.

AU - Berger, E.

AU - Villar, V. A.

AU - Metzger, B. D.

AU - Nicholl, M.

AU - Chornock, R.

AU - Blanchard, P. K.

AU - Fong, W.

AU - Margutti, R.

AU - Soares-Santos, M.

AU - Alexander, K. D.

AU - Allam, S.

AU - Annis, J.

AU - Brout, D.

AU - Brown, D. A.

AU - Butler, R. E.

AU - Chen, H. Y.

AU - Diehl, H. T.

AU - Doctor, Z.

AU - Drout, M. R.

AU - Eftekhari, T.

AU - Farr, B.

AU - Finley, D. A.

AU - Foley, R. J.

AU - Frieman, J. A.

AU - Fryer, C. L.

AU - García-Bellido, J.

AU - Gill, M. S.S.

AU - Guillochon, J.

AU - Herner, K.

AU - Holz, D. E.

AU - Kasen, D.

AU - Kessler, R.

AU - Marriner, J.

AU - Matheson, T.

AU - Neilsen, E. H.

AU - Quataert, E.

AU - Palmese, A.

AU - Rest, A.

AU - Sako, M.

AU - Scolnic, D. M.

AU - Smith, N.

AU - Tucker, D. L.

AU - Williams, P. K.G.

AU - Balbinot, E.

AU - Carlin, J. L.

AU - Cook, E. R.

AU - Durret, F.

AU - Li, T. S.

AU - Lopes, P. A.A.

AU - Lourenço, A. C.C.

AU - Marshall, J. L.

AU - Medina, G. E.

AU - Muir, J.

AU - Muñoz, R. R.

AU - Sauseda, M.

AU - Schlegel, D. J.

AU - Secco, L. F.

AU - Vivas, A. K.

AU - Wester, W.

AU - Zenteno, A.

AU - Zhang, Y.

AU - Abbott, T. M.C.

AU - Banerji, M.

AU - Bechtol, K.

AU - Benoit-Lévy, A.

AU - Bertin, E.

AU - Buckley-Geer, E.

AU - Burke, D. L.

AU - Capozzi, D.

AU - Carnero Rosell, A.

AU - Carrasco Kind, M.

AU - Castander, F. J.

AU - Crocce, M.

AU - Cunha, C. E.

AU - D'Andrea, C. B.

AU - Costa, L. N.Da

AU - Davis, C.

AU - Depoy, D. L.

AU - Desai, S.

AU - Dietrich, J. P.

AU - Drlica-Wagner, A.

AU - Eifler, T. F.

AU - Evrard, A. E.

AU - Fernandez, E.

AU - Flaugher, B.

AU - Fosalba, P.

AU - Gaztanaga, E.

AU - Gerdes, D. W.

AU - Giannantonio, T.

AU - Goldstein, D. A.

AU - Gruen, D.

AU - Gruendl, R. A.

AU - Gutierrez, G.

AU - Honscheid, K.

AU - Jain, B.

AU - James, D. J.

AU - Jeltema, T.

AU - Johnson, M. W.G.

AU - Johnson, M. D.

AU - Kent, S.

AU - Krause, E.

AU - Kron, R.

AU - Kuehn, K.

AU - Nuropatkin, N.

AU - Lahav, O.

AU - Lima, M.

AU - Lin, H.

AU - Maia, M. A.G.

AU - March, M.

AU - Martini, P.

AU - McMahon, R. G.

AU - Menanteau, F.

AU - Miller, C. J.

AU - Miquel, R.

AU - Mohr, J. J.

AU - Neilsen, E.

AU - Nichol, R. C.

AU - Ogando, R. L.C.

AU - Plazas, A. A.

AU - Roe, N.

AU - Romer, A. K.

AU - Roodman, A.

AU - Rykoff, E. S.

AU - Sanchez, E.

AU - Scarpine, V.

AU - Schindler, R.

AU - Schubnell, M.

AU - Sevilla-Noarbe, I.

AU - Smith, M.

AU - Smith, R. C.

AU - Sobreira, F.

AU - Suchyta, E.

AU - Swanson, M. E.C.

AU - Tarle, G.

AU - Thomas, D.

AU - Thomas, R. C.

AU - Troxel, M. A.

AU - Vikram, V.

AU - Walker, A. R.

AU - Wechsler, R. H.

AU - Weller, J.

AU - Yanny, B.

AU - Zuntz, J.

PY - 2017/10/20

Y1 - 2017/10/20

N2 - We present UV, optical, and near-infrared (NIR) photometry of the first electromagnetic counterpart to a gravitational wave source from Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO)/Virgo, the binary neutron star merger GW170817. Our data set extends from the discovery of the optical counterpart at 0.47-18.5 days post-merger, and includes observations with the Dark Energy Camera (DECam), Gemini-South/FLAMINGOS-2 (GS/F2), and the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The spectral energy distribution (SED) inferred from this photometry at 0.6 days is well described by a blackbody model with T ≈ 8300 K, a radius of R ≈ 4.5 × 1014cm (corresponding to an expansion velocity of v ≈ 0.3c), and a bolometric luminosity of Lbol ≈ 5 × 1041 erg s-1. At 1.5 days we find a multi-component SED across the optical and NIR, and subsequently we observe rapid fading in the UV and blue optical bands and significant reddening of the optical/NIR colors. Modeling the entire data set, we find that models with heating from radioactive decay of 56Ni, or those with only a single component of opacity from r-process elements, fail to capture the rapid optical decline and red optical/NIR colors. Instead, models with two components consistent with lanthanide-poor and lanthanide-rich ejecta provide a good fit to the data; the resulting "blue" component has Mblueej 0.1 M⊙ and vblueej ≈ 0.3c, and the "red" component has and Mredej ≈ 0.04 M⊙ and vredej ≈ 0.1 c. These ejecta masses are broadly consistent with the estimated r-process production rate required to explain the Milky Way r-process abundances, providing the first evidence that binary neutron star (BNS) mergers can be a dominant site of r-process enrichment.

AB - We present UV, optical, and near-infrared (NIR) photometry of the first electromagnetic counterpart to a gravitational wave source from Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO)/Virgo, the binary neutron star merger GW170817. Our data set extends from the discovery of the optical counterpart at 0.47-18.5 days post-merger, and includes observations with the Dark Energy Camera (DECam), Gemini-South/FLAMINGOS-2 (GS/F2), and the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The spectral energy distribution (SED) inferred from this photometry at 0.6 days is well described by a blackbody model with T ≈ 8300 K, a radius of R ≈ 4.5 × 1014cm (corresponding to an expansion velocity of v ≈ 0.3c), and a bolometric luminosity of Lbol ≈ 5 × 1041 erg s-1. At 1.5 days we find a multi-component SED across the optical and NIR, and subsequently we observe rapid fading in the UV and blue optical bands and significant reddening of the optical/NIR colors. Modeling the entire data set, we find that models with heating from radioactive decay of 56Ni, or those with only a single component of opacity from r-process elements, fail to capture the rapid optical decline and red optical/NIR colors. Instead, models with two components consistent with lanthanide-poor and lanthanide-rich ejecta provide a good fit to the data; the resulting "blue" component has Mblueej 0.1 M⊙ and vblueej ≈ 0.3c, and the "red" component has and Mredej ≈ 0.04 M⊙ and vredej ≈ 0.1 c. These ejecta masses are broadly consistent with the estimated r-process production rate required to explain the Milky Way r-process abundances, providing the first evidence that binary neutron star (BNS) mergers can be a dominant site of r-process enrichment.

KW - binaries: close

KW - catalogs

KW - gravitational waves

KW - stars: neutron

KW - surveys

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85031911574&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.3847/2041-8213/aa8fc7

DO - 10.3847/2041-8213/aa8fc7

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85031911574

SN - 2041-8205

VL - 848

JO - Astrophysical Journal Letters

JF - Astrophysical Journal Letters

IS - 2

M1 - L17

ER -

The Electromagnetic Counterpart of the Binary Neutron Star Merger LIGO/Virgo GW170817. II. UV, Optical, and Near-infrared Light Curves and Comparison to Kilonova Models

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