Abstracts Astronomy & Space Science

Binary neutron star mergers and electromagnetic counterparts

by Vsevolod Nedora

In August 2017, a merger of two neutron stars (NSs) was detected for the first time via several carriers. Observed in gravitational waves, as well as in the electromagnetic spectrum, the GW170817 marked the dawn of multi-messenger astronomy for compact object mergers, and shed light on numerous astrophysical aspects of binary neutron star (BNS) mergers and on the properties of matter at supranuclear densities. And yet many questions remain, starting with the outcome of the merger. Was it a massive NS temporarily supported against collapse, or a black hole? How important are BNS mergers in cosmic chemical evolution, i.e., the evolution of spatial and temporal distributions of heavy elements in galaxies? It is known that they enrich their surroundings with very heavy elements, but are they the dominant source of these elements? Modeling these events on the computer, do we understand them correctly, i.e., do our predictions regarding the properties of the ejected matter and its EM signatures agree with the newly gained data? This thesis is dedicated to addressing these questions by means of analyzing a large set of numerical simulations of BNS mergers, performed with state-of-the-art numerical tools, and targeted specifically to GW170817. Employing a suite of postprocessing tools we study the matter dynamics. Special attention is given to matter, ejected from the system during and after merger, so-called ejecta. With the help of a parameterized nucleosynthesis model, we study the final abundances of heavy elements in ejecta, comparing them to solar abundances. Furthermore, we investigate EM emission, powered by the decay of newly synthesized heavy elements, comparing it to the observations of GW170817. Finally, we study the long-term emission of the ejected material as it propagates through the interstellar medium (ISM), via our new numerical tools, comparing the results with a recently detected change in the emission from GW170817.