1932
0
  1. Home
  2. A-Z Publications
  3. Annual Review of Nuclear and Particle Science
  4. Volume 70, 2020
  5. Article

Annual Review of Nuclear and Particle Science

Volume 70, 2020

The Dynamics of Binary Neutron Star Mergers and GW170817

Abstract

With the first observation of a binary neutron star merger through gravitational waves and light, GW170817, compact binary mergers have now taken the center stage in nuclear astrophysics. They are thought to be one of the main astrophysical sites of production of r-process elements, and merger observations have become a fundamental tool to constrain the properties of matter. Here, we review our current understanding of the dynamics of neutron star mergers in general and of GW170817 in particular. We discuss the physical processes governing the inspiral, merger, and postmerger evolution, and we highlight the connections between these processes, the dynamics, and the multimessenger observables. Finally, we discuss open questions and issues in the field and the need to address them through a combination of better theoretical models and new observations.

Keyword(s): gravitational wave generation, gravitational wave sources, multimessenger astrophysics, neutron stars
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-nucl-013120-114541
2020-10-19
2025-04-22
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/deliver/fulltext/nucl/70/1/annurev-nucl-013120-114541.html?itemId=/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-nucl-013120-114541&mimeType=html&fmt=ahah

Literature Cited

  1. 1. 
    Abbott BP et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 119:161101 2017.
     [Google Scholar]
  2. 2. 
    Abbott BP et al. Phys. Rev. X 9:011001 2019.
     [Google Scholar]
  3. 3. 
    Abbott BP et al. Astrophys. J. Lett. 848:L12 2017.
     [Google Scholar]
  4. 4. 
    Abbott BP et al. Living Rev. Rel. 21:3 2018.
     [Google Scholar]
  5. 5. 
    Hinderer T, Lackey BD, Lang RN, Read JS Phys. Rev. D 81:123016 2010.
     [Google Scholar]
  6. 6. 
    Damour T, Nagar A, Villain L Phys. Rev. D 85:123007 2012.
     [Google Scholar]
  7. 7. 
    Del Pozzo W et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 111:071101 2013.
     [Google Scholar]
  8. 8. 
    Sekiguchi Y, Kiuchi K, Kyutoku K, Shibata M Phys. Rev. Lett. 107:211101 2011.
     [Google Scholar]
  9. 9. 
    Radice D et al. Astrophys. J. Lett. 842:L10 2017.
     [Google Scholar]
  10. 10. 
    Most ER et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 122:061101 2019.
     [Google Scholar]
  11. 11. 
    Bauswein A et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 122:061102 2019.
     [Google Scholar]
  12. 12. 
    Cowan JJ et al. arXiv:1901.01410 [astro-ph.HE] 2019.
  13. 13. 
    Bejger M et al. Astron. Astrophys. 431:297 2005.
     [Google Scholar]
  14. 14. 
    Sekiguchi Y, Kiuchi K, Kyutoku K, Shibata M Phys. Rev. Lett. 107:051102 2011.
     [Google Scholar]
  15. 15. 
    Wanajo S et al. Astrophys. J. Lett. 789:L39 2014.
     [Google Scholar]
  16. 16. 
    Foucart F et al. Phys. Rev. D 93:044019 2016.
     [Google Scholar]
  17. 17. 
    Palenzuela C et al. Phys. Rev. D 92:044045 2015.
     [Google Scholar]
  18. 18. 
    Sekiguchi Y et al. Phys. Rev. D 93:124046 2016.
     [Google Scholar]
  19. 19. 
    Kiuchi K, Kyutoku K, Sekiguchi Y, Shibata M Phys. Rev. D 97:124039 2018.
     [Google Scholar]
  20. 20. 
    Radice D Astrophys. J. Lett. 838:L2 2017.
     [Google Scholar]
  21. 21. 
    Fujibayashi S et al. Astrophys. J. 860:64 2018.
     [Google Scholar]
  22. 22. 
    Shibata M Numerical Relativity Singapore: World Scientific 2016.
     [Google Scholar]
  23. 23. 
    Kumar P, Zhang B Phys. Rep. 561:1 2014.
     [Google Scholar]
  24. 24. 
    Fernández R, Metzger BD Annu. Rev. Nucl. Part. Sci. 66:23 2016.
     [Google Scholar]
  25. 25. 
    Metzger BD Living Rev. Rel. 23:1 2020.
     [Google Scholar]
  26. 26. 
    Shibata M, Hotokezaka K Annu. Rev. Nucl. Part. Sci. 69:41 2019.
     [Google Scholar]
  27. 27. 
    Blanchet L Living Rev. Rel. 17:2 2014.
     [Google Scholar]
  28. 28. 
    Buonanno A, Damour T Phys. Rev. D 59:084006 1999.
     [Google Scholar]
  29. 29. 
    Damour T, Nagar A Phys. Rev. D 81:084016 2010.
     [Google Scholar]
  30. 30. 
    Damour T Fundam. Theor. Phys. 177:111 2014.
     [Google Scholar]
  31. 31. 
    Damour T 1983. Gravitational radiation and the motion of compact bodies. Gravitational Radiation N Deruelle, T Piran59–144 Amsterdam: North-Holland
     [Google Scholar]
  32. 32. 
    Damour T, Soffel M, Xu C Phys. Rev. D 45:1017 1992.
     [Google Scholar]
  33. 33. 
    Damour T, Nagar A Phys. Rev. D 80:084035 2009.
     [Google Scholar]
  34. 34. 
    Hinderer T Astrophys. J. 677:1216 2008.
     [Google Scholar]
  35. 35. 
    Binnington T, Poisson E Phys. Rev. D 80:084018 2009.
     [Google Scholar]
  36. 36. 
    Ho WCG, Lai D Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 308:153 1999.
     [Google Scholar]
  37. 37. 
    Pons JA et al. Phys. Rev. D 65:104021 2002.
     [Google Scholar]
  38. 38. 
    Steinhoff J, Hinderer T, Buonanno A, Taracchini A Phys. Rev. D 94:104028 2016.
     [Google Scholar]
  39. 39. 
    Bernuzzi S, Nagar A, Thierfelder M, Brugmann B Phys. Rev. D 86:044030 2012.
     [Google Scholar]
  40. 40. 
    Damour T, Jaranowski P, Schäfer G Phys. Rev. D 91:084024 2015.
     [Google Scholar]
  41. 41. 
    Bini D, Damour T, Faye G Phys. Rev. D 85:124034 2012.
     [Google Scholar]
  42. 42. 
    Damour T, Iyer BR, Nagar A Phys. Rev. D 79:064004 2009.
     [Google Scholar]
  43. 43. 
    Banihashemi B, Vines J arXiv:1805.07266 [gr-qc] 2018.
  44. 44. 
    Baiotti L et al. Phys. Rev. D 84:024017 2011.
     [Google Scholar]
  45. 45. 
    Bernuzzi S, Nagar A, Dietrich T, Damour T Phys. Rev. Lett. 114:161103 2015.
     [Google Scholar]
  46. 46. 
    Dietrich T, Hinderer T Phys. Rev. D 95:124006 2017.
     [Google Scholar]
  47. 47. 
    Akcay S et al. Phys. Rev. D 99:044051 2019.
     [Google Scholar]
  48. 48. 
    Nagar A et al. Phys. Rev. D 98:104052 2018.
     [Google Scholar]
  49. 49. 
    Nagar A et al. Phys. Rev. D 99:044007 2019.
     [Google Scholar]
  50. 50. 
    Hinderer T et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 116:181101 2016.
     [Google Scholar]
  51. 51. 
    Poisson E Phys. Rev. D 57:5287 1998.
     [Google Scholar]
  52. 52. 
    Pani P, Gualtieri L, Maselli A, Ferrari V Phys. Rev. D 92:024010 2015.
     [Google Scholar]
  53. 53. 
    Dietrich T, Bernuzzi S, Tichy W Phys. Rev. D 96:121501 2017.
     [Google Scholar]
  54. 54. 
    Kawaguchi K et al. Phys. Rev. D 97:044044 2018.
     [Google Scholar]
  55. 55. 
    Bernuzzi S, Dietrich T Phys. Rev. D 94:064062 2016.
     [Google Scholar]
  56. 56. 
    Breschi M et al. Phys. Rev. D 100:104029 2019.
     [Google Scholar]
  57. 57. 
    Bernuzzi S, Dietrich T, Nagar A Phys. Rev. Lett. 115:091101 2015.
     [Google Scholar]
  58. 58. 
    Chatziioannou K et al. Phys. Rev. D 96:124035 2017.
     [Google Scholar]
  59. 59. 
    Easter PJ et al. Phys. Rev. D 100:043005 2019.
     [Google Scholar]
  60. 60. 
    Cutler C, Flanagan EE Phys. Rev. D 49:2658 1994.
     [Google Scholar]
  61. 61. 
    Zappa F et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 120:111101 2018.
     [Google Scholar]
  62. 62. 
    Abbott BP et al. Phys. Rev. X 9:031040 2019.
     [Google Scholar]
  63. 63. 
    Radice D, Perego A, Zappa F, Bernuzzi S Astrophys. J. Lett. 852:L29 2018.
     [Google Scholar]
  64. 64. 
    Radice D, Dai L Eur. Phys. J. A 55:50 2019.
     [Google Scholar]
  65. 65. 
    De S Phys. Rev. Lett. 121:091102 (2018). Erratum. Phys. Rev. Lett. 121:259902 2018.
     [Google Scholar]
  66. 66. 
    Abbott BP et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 121:161101 2018.
     [Google Scholar]
  67. 67. 
    Agathos M et al. Phys. Rev. D 101:044006 2020.
     [Google Scholar]
  68. 68. 
    Abbott BP et al. Astrophys. J. Lett. 851:L16 2017.
     [Google Scholar]
  69. 69. 
    Abbott BP et al. Astrophys. J. 875:160 2019.
     [Google Scholar]
  70. 70. 
    Lai D Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 270:611 1994.
     [Google Scholar]
  71. 71. 
    Perego A, Bernuzzi S, Radice D Eur. Phys. J. A 55:124 2019.
     [Google Scholar]
  72. 72. 
    Kastaun W, Ciolfi R, Giacomazzo B Phys. Rev. D 94:044060 2016.
     [Google Scholar]
  73. 73. 
    Radice D, Perego A, Bernuzzi S, Zhang B Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 481:3670 2018.
     [Google Scholar]
  74. 74. 
    Duez MD, Liu YT, Shapiro SL, Shibata M Phys. Rev. D 73:104015 2006.
     [Google Scholar]
  75. 75. 
    Kiuchi K et al. Phys. Rev. D 92:124034 2015.
     [Google Scholar]
  76. 76. 
    Bucciantini N, Metzger BD, Thompson TA, Quataert E Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 419:1537 2012.
     [Google Scholar]
  77. 77. 
    Ruiz M, Lang RN, Paschalidis V, Shapiro SL Astrophys. J. Lett. 824:L6 2016.
     [Google Scholar]
  78. 78. 
    Metzger BD, Thompson TA, Quataert E Astrophys. J. 856:101 2018.
     [Google Scholar]
  79. 79. 
    Fernández R et al. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 482:3373 2019.
     [Google Scholar]
  80. 80. 
    Shibata M, Kiuchi K Phys. Rev. D 95:123003 2017.
     [Google Scholar]
  81. 81. 
    Hotokezaka K et al. Phys. Rev. D 88:044026 2013.
     [Google Scholar]
  82. 82. 
    Miller JM et al. Phys. Rev. D 100:023008 2019.
     [Google Scholar]
  83. 83. 
    Eichler D, Livio M, Piran T, Schramm DN Nature 340:126 1989.
     [Google Scholar]
  84. 84. 
    Rosswog S, Liebendoerfer M Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 342:673 2003.
     [Google Scholar]
  85. 85. 
    Perego A et al. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 443:3134 2014.
     [Google Scholar]
  86. 86. 
    Beloborodov AM AIP Conf. Proc. 1054:51 2008.
     [Google Scholar]
  87. 87. 
    Endrizzi A et al. Eur. Phys. J. A 56:15 2020.
     [Google Scholar]
  88. 88. 
    Zhu YL, Perego A, McLaughlin GC Phys. Rev. D 94:105006 2016.
     [Google Scholar]
  89. 89. 
    Tian JY, Patwardhan AV, Fuller GM Phys. Rev. D 96:043001 2017.
     [Google Scholar]
  90. 90. 
    Wu MR, Tamborra I, Just O, Janka HT Phys. Rev. D 96:123015 2017.
     [Google Scholar]
  91. 91. 
    Volpe C Int. J. Mod. Phys. E 24:1541009 2015.
     [Google Scholar]
  92. 92. 
    Richers SA, McLaughlin GC, Kneller JP, Vlasenko A Phys. Rev. D 99:123014 2019.
     [Google Scholar]
  93. 93. 
    Hebeler K, Lattimer JM, Pethick CJ, Schwenk A Astrophys. J. 773:11 2013.
     [Google Scholar]
  94. 94. 
    Oertel M, Hempel M, Klähn T, Typel S Rev. Mod. Phys. 89:015007 2017.
     [Google Scholar]
  95. 95. 
    Vidana I et al. EPL 94:11002 2011.
     [Google Scholar]
  96. 96. 
    Fore B, Reddy S arXiv:1911.02632 [astro-ph.HE] 2019.
  97. 97. 
    Busza W, Rajagopal K, van der Schee W Annu. Rev. Nucl. Part. Sci. 68:339 2018.
     [Google Scholar]
  98. 98. 
    Shibata M, Taniguchi K, Uryu K Phys. Rev. D 71:084021 2005.
     [Google Scholar]
  99. 99. 
    Shibata M, Taniguchi K Phys. Rev. D 73:064027 2006.
     [Google Scholar]
  100. 100. 
    Hotokezaka K et al. Phys. Rev. D 83:124008 2011.
     [Google Scholar]
  101. 101. 
    Bauswein A, Baumgarte TW, Janka HT Phys. Rev. Lett. 111:131101 2013.
     [Google Scholar]
  102. 102. 
    Bauswein A, Just O, Janka HT, Stergioulas N Astrophys. J. Lett. 850:L34 2017.
     [Google Scholar]
  103. 103. 
    Köppel S, Bovard L, Rezzolla L Astrophys. J. Lett. 872:L16 2019.
     [Google Scholar]
  104. 104. 
    Margalit B, Metzger BD Astrophys. J. Lett. 850:L19 2017.
     [Google Scholar]
  105. 105. 
    Kiuchi K, Kyutoku K, Shibata M, Taniguchi K Astrophys. J. 876:L31 2019.
     [Google Scholar]
  106. 106. 
    Baumgarte TW, Shapiro SL, Shibata M Astrophys. J. Lett. 528:L29 2000.
     [Google Scholar]
  107. 107. 
    Rosswog S, Davies MB Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 334:481 2002.
     [Google Scholar]
  108. 108. 
    Bernuzzi S et al. Phys. Rev. D 94:024023 2016.
     [Google Scholar]
  109. 109. 
    Kaplan JD et al. Astrophys. J. 790:19 2014.
     [Google Scholar]
  110. 110. 
    Zhang B, Meszaros P Astrophys. J. Lett. 552:L35 2001.
     [Google Scholar]
  111. 111. 
    Lasky PD et al. Phys. Rev. D 89:047302 2014.
     [Google Scholar]
  112. 112. 
    Fan YZ, Wu XF, Wei DM Phys. Rev. D 88:067304 2013.
     [Google Scholar]
  113. 113. 
    Ravi V, Lasky PD Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 441:2433 2014.
     [Google Scholar]
  114. 114. 
    Oganesyan G et al. arXiv:1904.08786 [astro-ph.HE] 2019.
  115. 115. 
    Breu C, Rezzolla L Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 459:646 2016.
     [Google Scholar]
  116. 116. 
    Ai S et al. Astrophys. J. 860:57 2018.
     [Google Scholar]
  117. 117. 
    Li SZ, Liu LD, Yu YW, Zhang B Astrophys. J. Lett. 861:L12 2018.
     [Google Scholar]
  118. 118. 
    Piro L et al. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 483:1912 2019.
     [Google Scholar]
  119. 119. 
    Hajela A et al. Astrophys. J. Lett. 886:L17 2019.
     [Google Scholar]
  120. 120. 
    Rosswog S et al. Astron. Astrophys. 341:499 1999.
     [Google Scholar]
  121. 121. 
    Hotokezaka K et al. Phys. Rev. D 87:024001 2013.
     [Google Scholar]
  122. 122. 
    Bauswein A, Goriely S, Janka HT Astrophys. J. 773:78 2013.
     [Google Scholar]
  123. 123. 
    Radice D et al. Astrophys. J. 869:130 2018.
     [Google Scholar]
  124. 124. 
    Lee WH, Ramirez-Ruiz E López-Cámara D. Astrophys. J. Lett. 699:L93 2009.
     [Google Scholar]
  125. 125. 
    Siegel DM, Metzger BD Phys. Rev. Lett. 119:231102 2017.
     [Google Scholar]
  126. 126. 
    Berger E Annu. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 52:43 2014.
     [Google Scholar]
  127. 127. 
    Blandford RD, Znajek RL Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 179:433 1977.
     [Google Scholar]
  128. 128. 
    Abbott BP et al. Astrophys. J. Lett. 848:L13 2017.
     [Google Scholar]
  129. 129. 
    Lazzati D et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 120:241103 2018.
     [Google Scholar]
  130. 130. 
    Xie X, Zrake J, MacFadyen A Astrophys. J. 863:58 2018.
     [Google Scholar]
  131. 131. 
    Murase K, Nagataki S Phys. Rev. Lett. 97:051101 2006.
     [Google Scholar]
  132. 132. 
    Fang K, Metzger BD Astrophys. J. 849:153 2017.
     [Google Scholar]
  133. 133. 
    Bauswein A, Janka HT Phys. Rev. Lett. 108:011101 2012.
     [Google Scholar]
  134. 134. 
    Rezzolla L, Takami K Phys. Rev. D 93:124051 2016.
     [Google Scholar]
  135. 135. 
    Dietrich T et al. Phys. Rev. D 95:024029 2017.
     [Google Scholar]
  136. 136. 
    Dietrich T, Bernuzzi S, Ujevic M, Tichy W Phys. Rev. D 95:044045 2017.
     [Google Scholar]
  137. 137. 
    Tsang KW, Dietrich T, Van Den Broeck C Phys. Rev. D 100:044047 2019.
     [Google Scholar]
  138. 138. 
    Lippuner J, Roberts LF Astrophys. J. 815:82 2015.
     [Google Scholar]
  139. 139. 
    Tanaka M, Hotokezaka K Astrophys. J. 775:113 2013.
     [Google Scholar]
  140. 140. 
    Kasen D, Badnell NR, Barnes J Astrophys. J. 774:25 2013.
     [Google Scholar]
  141. 141. 
    Radice D et al. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 460:3255 2016.
     [Google Scholar]
  142. 142. 
    Nedora V et al. Astrophys. J. Lett. 886:L30 2019.
     [Google Scholar]
  143. 143. 
    Fahlman S, Fernández R Astrophys. J. Lett. 869:L3 2018.
     [Google Scholar]
  144. 144. 
    Villar VA et al. Astrophys. J. Lett. 851:L21 2017.
     [Google Scholar]
  145. 145. 
    Waxman E, Ofek EO, Kushnir D, Gal-Yam A Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 481:3423 2018.
     [Google Scholar]
  146. 146. 
    Nicholl M et al. Astrophys. J. Lett. 848:L18 2017.
     [Google Scholar]
  147. 147. 
    Perego A, Radice D, Bernuzzi S Astrophys. J. Lett. 850:L37 2017.
     [Google Scholar]
  148. 148. 
    Kawaguchi K, Shibata M, Tanaka M Astrophys. J. Lett. 865:L21 2018.
     [Google Scholar]
  149. 149. 
    Radice D et al. Astrophys. J. Lett. 869:L35 2018.
     [Google Scholar]
  150. 150. 
    Metzger BD, Bauswein A, Goriely S, Kasen D Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 446:1115 2015.
     [Google Scholar]
  151. 151. 
    Hotokezaka K et al. Astrophys. J. 867:95 2018.
     [Google Scholar]
  152. 152. 
    Nakar E, Piran T Nature 478:82 2011.
     [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-nucl-013120-114541
Loading
The Dynamics of Binary Neutron Star Mergers and GW170817
Annual Review of Nuclear and Particle Science 70, 95 (2020); https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-nucl-013120-114541
/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-nucl-013120-114541
/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-nucl-013120-114541
Loading

Data & Media loading...

Supplementary Data

  • Supplemental Figure 1: The top panels show rest mass density (top left) and temperature (top right) on the orbital plane for a binary neutron star system with MA = MB = 1.35M⊙ simulated with the SFHo equation of state (Steiner et al. 2012). The bottom panels show temperature–density (bottom left) and entropy–density (bottom right) histograms computed from the full-3D data. From this figure it is possible to appreciate the thermodynamic conditions achieved in the merger remnant as it evolves toward gravitational collapse and black hole formation. Reference: Steiner AW, et al. Astrophys J. 774:17 (2013)

    Supplemental Figure 2: The top panels show rest mass density (top left) and temperature (top right) on the orbital plane for a binary neutron star system with MA = MB = 1.35M⊙ simulated with the SFHo equation of state (Steiner et al. 2012). The bottom panels show histograms of log temperature versus log density and entropy versus log density. From this figure it is possible to better appreciate the thermodynamic conditions in the low-density disk and in the ejecta. Reference: Steiner AW, et al. Astrophys J. 774:17 (2013)

  • Article Type: Review Article

Most Cited Most Cited RSS feed

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error