Speaker
Nanae Domoto
(Tohoku University)
Description
Binary neutron star (NS) merger is a promising site for the rapid neutron capture nucleosynthesis (r-process). The radioactive decay of newly synthesized elements powers electromagnetic radiation, as called kilonova. The detection of gravitational wave from a NS merger GW170817 and the observation of the associated kilonova AT2017gfo have provided with us the evidence that r-process happens in the NS merger. However, the abundance pattern synthesized in this event is not yet clear. In this talk, I will focus on the spectra of kilonova to extract information of elements synthesized in neutron star mergers. Based on our recent findings, I will discuss elemental features in kilonova spectra, and identification of elements in AT2017gfo.
Primary author
Nanae Domoto
(Tohoku University)