Bulletin of the American Physical Society
APS April Meeting 2017
Volume 62, Number 1
Saturday–Tuesday, January 28–31, 2017; Washington, DC
Session B15: Electromagnetic Signatures of Neutron Star MergersInvited
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Sponsoring Units: DAP DGRAV DNP Chair: Daniel Kasen, University of California, Berkeley Room: Washington 2 |
Saturday, January 28, 2017 10:45AM - 11:21AM |
B15.00001: Nucleosynthesis and neutrino physics in compact object mergers Invited Speaker: Rebecca Surman The merger of two compact objects produces a range of environments suitable for interesting element synthesis, from cold or mildly heated prompt ejecta to hot winds influenced by the neutrino emission from the resulting accretion disk. The nuclei newly synthesized in these environments can power an electromagnetic transient via their radioactive decay and likely make key contributions to galactic chemical evolution. Here we will describe how new and anticipated advances in nuclear and neutrino physics are shaping our understanding of nucleosynthesis in this important astrophysical site. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, January 28, 2017 11:21AM - 11:57AM |
B15.00002: Dynamics of compact object mergers Invited Speaker: Andreas Bauswein Advanced LIGO's first detection of gravitational waves (GWs) from merging black holes has opened a new window to the Universe. The observation of neutron-star (NS) mergers is imminent and promises far-reaching implications. We will describe the dynamics of NS mergers focusing on the postmerger dynamics. In particular, we will point out the implications for matter ejection from these events. Neutron-rich outflows from NS mergers are invoked to explain the still mysterious origin of heavy elements which are formed through the rapid neutron-capture process. The nuclear decays in these ejecta power electromagnetic counterparts which are potentially observable. We will describe the properties of these transients within a multi-messenger picture including in particular information that can be revealed from simultaneous GW detections. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, January 28, 2017 11:57AM - 12:33PM |
B15.00003: Radioactive powered transients from compact object mergers Invited Speaker: Luke Roberts The origin of the r-process elements remains the biggest unsolved question in our understanding of chemical evolution in the Milky Way. The most likely astrophysical sites for the formation of these nuclei involve dynamical events in the lives of neutron stars: the merger of a neutron star and another compact object. In these environments, nuclear physics plays a paramount role in determining both the evolution of the dense object itself and what nuclei are synthesized in material that is ejected from the system. When the radioactive nuclei produced in these events decay, they can heat material that is unbound during the merger and power optical or infrared transients. In this talk, I will discuss nucleosynthesis and matter ejection in neutron star mergers, with an eye toward electromagnetic observables associated with these events that may give us a direct window into the formation of the r-process elements. [Preview Abstract] |
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