Magnetized Outflows from Short-lived Neutron Star Merger Remnants Can Produce a Blue Kilonova

Sanjana Curtis, Pablo Bosch, Philipp Mösta, David Radice, Sebastiano Bernuzzi, Albino Perego, Roland Haas, Erik Schnetter

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Abstract

We present a 3D general-relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulation of a short-lived neutron star remnant formed in the aftermath of a binary neutron star merger. The simulation uses an M1 neutrino transport scheme to track neutrino-matter interactions and is well suited to studying the resulting nucleosynthesis and kilonova emission. A magnetized wind is driven from the remnant and ejects neutron-rich material at a quasi-steady-state rate of 0.8 × 10−1 M s−1. We find that the ejecta in our simulations underproduce r-process abundances beyond the second r-process peak. For sufficiently long-lived remnants, these outflows alone can produce blue kilonovae, including the blue kilonova component observed for AT2017gfo.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article numberL26
JournalAstrophysical Journal Letters
Volume961
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 1 2024

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
  • Space and Planetary Science

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