Search Publications
Swope Supernova Survey 2017a (SSS17a), the optical counterpart to a gravitational wave source
Rest, A.; Foley, R. J.; Shappee, B. J. +14 more
On 17 August 2017, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) and the Virgo interferometer detected gravitational waves (GWs) emanating from a binary neutron star merger, GW170817. Nearly simultaneously, the Fermi and INTEGRAL (INTErnational Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory) telescopes detected a gamma-ray transient, GRB 17081…
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,…
A kilonova as the electromagnetic counterpart to a gravitational-wave source
Della Valle, M.; Greiner, J.; Sollerman, J. +119 more
Gravitational waves were discovered with the detection of binary black-hole mergers and they should also be detectable from lower-mass neutron-star mergers. These are predicted to eject material rich in heavy radioactive isotopes that can power an electromagnetic signal. This signal is luminous at optical and infrared wavelengths and is called a k…
The X-ray counterpart to the gravitational-wave event GW170817
Troja, E.; Piro, L.; van Eerten, H. +31 more
A long-standing paradigm in astrophysics is that collisions—or mergers—of two neutron stars form highly relativistic and collimated outflows (jets) that power γ-ray bursts of short (less than two seconds) duration. The observational support for this model, however, is only indirect. A hitherto outstanding prediction is that gravitational-wave even…
Illuminating gravitational waves: A concordant picture of photons from a neutron star merger
Fox, O. D.; Cenko, S. B.; Sollerman, J. +78 more
Merging neutron stars offer an excellent laboratory for simultaneously studying strong-field gravity and matter in extreme environments. We establish the physical association of an electromagnetic counterpart (EM170817) with gravitational waves (GW170817) detected from merging neutron stars. By synthesizing a panchromatic data set, we demonstrate …
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…
The Chandra Deep Field-South Survey: 7 Ms Source Catalogs
Smail, I.; Hornschemeier, A. E.; Alexander, D. M. +23 more
We present X-ray source catalogs for the ≈7 Ms exposure of the Chandra Deep Field-South (CDF-S), which covers a total area of 484.2 arcmin2. Utilizing WAVDETECT for initial source detection and ACIS Extract for photometric extraction and significance assessment, we create a main source catalog containing 1008 sources that are detected i…
H0LiCOW - V. New COSMOGRAIL time delays of HE 0435-1223: H0 to 3.8 per cent precision from strong lensing in a flat ΛCDM model
Treu, T.; Auger, M. W.; Koopmans, L. V. E. +15 more
We present a new measurement of the Hubble Constant H0 and other cosmological parameters based on the joint analysis of three multiply imaged quasar systems with measured gravitational time delays. First, we measure the time delay of HE 0435-1223 from 13-yr light curves obtained as part of the COSMOGRAIL project. Companion papers detail…