NOIRLab: First Kilonova Progenitor System Identified
Posted: Fri Feb 03, 2023 3:42 pm
First Kilonova Progenitor System Identified
NOIRLab Science Release | 2023 Feb 01
When Your Supernova’s a Dud
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University | 2023 Feb 01
A high-mass X-ray binary descended from an ultra-stripped supernova ~ Noel D. Richardson et al
NOIRLab Science Release | 2023 Feb 01
Astronomers using the SMARTS 1.5-meter Telescope uncover a one-in-ten-billion binary star system ...
Astronomers using the SMARTS 1.5-meter Telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) in Chile, a Program of NSF's NOIRLab, have uncovered the first example of a phenomenally rare type of binary star system, one that has all the right conditions to eventually trigger a kilonova — the ultra-powerful, gold-producing explosion created by colliding neutron stars. Such an arrangement is so vanishingly rare that only about 10 such systems are thought to exist in the entire Milky Way Galaxy. ...Credit: CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/P. Marenfeld
This unusual system, known as CPD-29 2176, is located about 11,400 light-years from Earth. It was first identified by NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory. Later observations with the SMARTS 1.5-meter Telescope allowed astronomers to deduce the orbital characteristics and types of stars that make up this system — a neutron star created by an ultra-stripped supernova and a closely orbiting massive star that is in the process of becoming an ultra-stripped supernova itself.
An ultra-stripped supernova is the end-of-life explosion of a massive star that has had much of its outer atmosphere stripped away by a companion star. This class of supernova lacks the explosive force of a traditional supernova, which would otherwise “kick” a nearby companion star out of the system. ...
As well as representing the discovery of an incredibly rare cosmic oddity, finding and studying kilonova progenitor systems such as this can help astronomers unravel the mystery of how kilonovae form, shedding light on the origin of the heaviest elements in the Universe. ...
When Your Supernova’s a Dud
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University | 2023 Feb 01
A high-mass X-ray binary descended from an ultra-stripped supernova ~ Noel D. Richardson et al
- Nature 614(7946):45 (02 Feb 2023) DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05618-9
- arXiv > astro-ph > arXiv:2302.00027 > 31 Jan 2023