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Gravitational Waves and Gamma-Rays from a Binary Neutron Star Merger: GW170817 and GRB 170817A
Lee, H. M.; Williams, D.; Mitra, S. +1153 more
On 2017 August 17, the gravitational-wave event GW170817 was observed by the Advanced LIGO and Virgo detectors, and the gamma-ray burst (GRB) GRB 170817A was observed independently by the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor, and the Anti-Coincidence Shield for the Spectrometer for the International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory. The probability of t…
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
Fryer, C. L.; Berger, E.; Benoit-Lévy, A. +141 more
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,…
INTEGRAL Detection of the First Prompt Gamma-Ray Signal Coincident with the Gravitational-wave Event GW170817
Sunyaev, R.; Hanlon, L.; Mereghetti, S. +20 more
We report the INTernational Gamma-ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL) detection of the short gamma-ray burst GRB 170817A (discovered by Fermi-GBM) with a signal-to-noise ratio of 4.6, and, for the first time, its association with the gravitational waves (GWs) from binary neutron star (BNS) merging event GW170817 detected by the LIGO and Virgo o…
The Host Galaxy and Redshift of the Repeating Fast Radio Burst FRB 121102
Lazio, T. J. W.; Ransom, S. M.; Chatterjee, S. +21 more
The precise localization of the repeating fast radio burst (FRB 121102) has provided the first unambiguous association (chance coincidence probability p ≲ 3 × 10-4) of an FRB with an optical and persistent radio counterpart. We report on optical imaging and spectroscopy of the counterpart and find that it is an extended (0.″6-0.″8) obje…
The Emergence of a Lanthanide-rich Kilonova Following the Merger of Two Neutron Stars
Wollaeger, R. T.; Fryer, C. L.; Korobkin, O. +51 more
We report the discovery and monitoring of the near-infrared counterpart (AT2017gfo) of a binary neutron-star merger event detected as a gravitational wave source by Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO)/Virgo (GW170817) and as a short gamma-ray burst by Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) and Integral SPI-ACS (GRB 170…
The Frontier Fields: Survey Design and Initial Results
Dickinson, M.; Zitrin, A.; Robberto, M. +39 more
What are the faintest distant galaxies we can see with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) now, before the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope? This is the challenge taken up by the Frontier Fields, a Director’s discretionary time campaign with HST and the Spitzer Space Telescope to see deeper into the universe than ever before. The Frontier Fie…
The Combined Ultraviolet, Optical, and Near-infrared Light Curves of the Kilonova Associated with the Binary Neutron Star Merger GW170817: Unified Data Set, Analytic Models, and Physical Implications
Berger, E.; Chornock, R.; Fong, W. +10 more
We present the first effort to aggregate, homogenize, and uniformly model the combined ultraviolet, optical, and near-infrared data set for the electromagnetic counterpart of the binary neutron star merger GW170817. By assembling all of the available data from 18 different papers and 46 different instruments, we are able to identify and mitigate s…
Deriving Physical Properties from Broadband Photometry with Prospector: Description of the Model and a Demonstration of its Accuracy Using 129 Galaxies in the Local Universe
van Dokkum, Pieter G.; Conroy, Charlie; Johnson, Benjamin D. +2 more
Broadband photometry of galaxies measures an unresolved mix of complex stellar populations, gas, and dust. Interpreting these data is a challenge for models: many studies have shown that properties derived from modeling galaxy photometry are uncertain by a factor of two or more, and yet answering key questions in the field now requires higher accu…
The Electromagnetic Counterpart of the Binary Neutron Star Merger LIGO/Virgo GW170817. III. Optical and UV Spectra of a Blue Kilonova from Fast Polar Ejecta
Berger, E.; Rest, A.; Annis, J. +31 more
We present optical and ultraviolet spectra of the first electromagnetic counterpart to a gravitational-wave (GW) source, the binary neutron star merger GW170817. Spectra were obtained nightly between 1.5 and 9.5 days post-merger, using the Southern Astrophysical Research and Magellan telescopes; the UV spectrum was obtained with the Hubble Space T…
Directly Observing the Galaxies Likely Responsible for Reionization
Finkelstein, S. L.; Lotz, J. M.; Livermore, R. C.
We report a new analysis of the Hubble Frontier Fields clusters Abell 2744 and MACS 0416 using wavelet decomposition to remove the cluster light, enabling the detection of highly magnified (>50×) galaxies a factor of 10× fainter in luminosity than previous studies. We find 167 galaxies at z≳ 6, and with this sample we are able to characterize t…