2023-12-22 10:59:16
An international team of astrophysicists has simultaneously interpreted the different types of astrophysical data from a kilonova, thanks to a new software tool.
Neutron stars are the end product of massive stars and pack a large part of the original stellar mass into a superdense star with a diameter of only regarding ten kilometers.
On August 17, 2017, researchers observed for the first time the multiple signatures of an explosive merger of two orbiting neutron stars: gravitational waves and huge bursts of radiation, including a gamma-ray burst.
In the new research, the team has developed a method to simultaneously model these observable signals from a kilonova. This allows them to precisely describe what exactly happens during a fusion, how nuclear matter behaves under extreme conditions, and why Earth’s gold must have been created in such events.
In addition, data from radio and Until now, different data sources have been analyzed separately and, in some cases, the data have been interpreted using different physical models.
“By analyzing the data coherently and simultaneously, we obtain more precise results,” says Peter TH Pang, a scientist at Utrecht University, in a statement.
“Our new method will help analyze the properties of matter at extreme densities. It will also allow us to better understand the expansion of the universe and to what extent heavy elements are formed during neutron star mergers,” explains Tim Dietrich, professor at the University of Potsdam and head of a group of Max Planck fellows at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics.
The work is published in the journal Nature Communications.
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