Black Hole Formation in Fallback Supernova and the Spins of LIGO Sources

Here we investigate within the context of field binary progenitors how the the spin of LIGO sources vary when the helium star-descendent black hole (BH) is formed in a failed supernova (SN) explosion rather than by direct collapse. To this end, we make use of 3d hydrodynamical simulations of fallback supernova in close binary systems with properties designed to emulate LIGO sources. By systematically varying the explosion energy and the binary properties, we are able to explore the effects that the companion has on redistributing the angular momentum of the system. We find that, unlike the mass, the spin of the newly formed BH varies only slightly with the currently theoretically unconstrained energy of the SN and is primarily determined by the initial binary separation. In contrast, variations in the initial binary separation yield sizable changes on the resultant effective spin of the system. This implies that the formation pathways of LIGO sources leading to a particular effective spin might be far less restrictive than the standard direct collapse scenario suggests.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, submitted to ApJ Letter

Did GW170817 harbor a pulsar?

If the progenitor of GW170817 harbored a pulsar, then a Poynting flux dominated bow-shock cavity would have been expected to form around the traveling binary. The characteristic size of this evacuated region depends strongly on the spin-down evolution of the pulsar companion, which in turn depends on the merging timescale of the system. If this evacuated region is able to grow to a sufficiently large scale, then the deceleration of the jet, and thus the onset of the afterglow, would be noticeably delayed. The first detection of afterglow emission, which was uncovered 9.2 days after the $\gamma$-ray burst trigger, can thus be used to constrain the size of a pre-existing pulsar-wind cavity. We use this information, together with a model of the jet to place limits on the presence of a pulsar in GW170817 and discuss the derived constraints in the context of the observed double neutron star binary population. We find that the majority of Galactic systems that are close enough to merge within a Hubble time would have carved a discernibly large pulsar-wind cavity, inconsistent with the onset timescale of the X-ray afterglow of GW170817. Conversely, the recently detected system J1913+1102, which host a low-luminosity pulsar, provides a congruous Milky Way analog of GW170817's progenitor model. This study highlights the potential of the proposed observational test for gaining insight into the origin of double neutron star binaries, in particular if the properties of Galactic systems are representative of the overall merging population.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJL, 6 pages, 5 figure

The Distance to NGC 4993: The Host Galaxy of the Gravitational-wave Event GW170817

The historic detection of gravitational waves from a binary neutron star merger (GW170817) and its electromagnetic counterpart led to the first accurate (sub-arcsecond) localization of a gravitational-wave event. The transient was found to be $\sim$10" from the nucleus of the S0 galaxy NGC 4993. We report here the luminosity distance to this galaxy using two independent methods. (1) Based on our MUSE/VLT measurement of the heliocentric redshift ($z_{\rm helio}=0.009783\pm0.000023$) we infer the systemic recession velocity of the NGC 4993 group of galaxies in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) frame to be $v_{\rm CMB}=3231 \pm 53$ km s$^{-1}$. Using constrained cosmological simulations we estimate the line-of-sight peculiar velocity to be $v_{\rm pec}=307 \pm 230$ km s$^{-1}$, resulting in a cosmic velocity of $v_{\rm cosmic}=2924 \pm 236$ km s$^{-1}$ ($z_{\rm cosmic}=0.00980\pm 0.00079$) and a distance of $D_z=40.4\pm 3.4$ Mpc assuming a local Hubble constant of $H_0=73.24\pm 1.74$ km s$^{-1}$ Mpc$^{-1}$. (2) Using Hubble Space Telescope measurements of the effective radius (15.5" $\pm$ 1.5") and contained intensity and MUSE/VLT measurements of the velocity dispersion, we place NGC 4993 on the Fundamental Plane (FP) of E and S0 galaxies. Comparing to a frame of 10 clusters containing 226 galaxies, this yields a distance estimate of $D_{\rm FP}=44.0\pm 7.5$ Mpc. The combined redshift and FP distance is $D_{\rm NGC 4993}= 41.0\pm 3.1$ Mpc. This 'electromagnetic' distance estimate is consistent with the independent measurement of the distance to GW170817 as obtained from the gravitational-wave signal ($D_{\rm GW}= 43.8^{+2.9}_{-6.9}$ Mpc) and confirms that GW170817 occurred in NGC 4993.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure

The Distance to NGC 4993: The Host Galaxy of the Gravitational-wave Event GW170817

The historic detection of gravitational waves from a binary neutron star merger (GW170817) and its electromagnetic counterpart led to the first accurate (sub-arcsecond) localization of a gravitational-wave event. The transient was found to be ∼10″ from the nucleus of the S0 galaxy NGC 4993. We report here the luminosity distance to this galaxy using two independent methods. (1) Based on our MUSE/VLT measurement of the heliocentric redshift (z helio =0.009783 ±0.000023), we infer the systemic recession velocity of the NGC 4993 group of galaxies in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) frame to be v CMB =3231 ±53 km s -1 . Using constrained cosmological simulations we estimate the line-of-sight peculiar velocity to be v pec =307 ±230 km s -1 , resulting in a cosmic velocity of v cosmic =2924 ±236 km s -1 (z cosmic =0.00980 ±0.00079) and a distance of D z =40.4 ±3.4 Mpc assuming a local Hubble constant of H 0 =73.24 ±1.74 km s -1 Mpc -1 . (2) Using Hubble Space Telescope measurements of the effective radius (15.″5 ±1.″5) and contained intensity and MUSE/VLT measurements of the velocity dispersion, we place NGC 4993 on the Fundamental Plane (FP) of E and S0 galaxies. Comparing to a frame of 10 clusters containing 226 galaxies, this yields a distance estimate of D FP =44.0 ±7.5 Mpc. The combined redshift and FP distance is D NGC 4993 =41.0 ±3.1 Mpc. This "electromagnetic" distance estimate is consistent with the independent measurement of the distance to GW170817 as obtained from the gravitational-wave signal ( Mpc) and confirms that GW170817 occurred in NGC 4993

Successful Common Envelope Ejection and Binary Neutron Star Formation in 3D Hydrodynamics

A binary neutron star merger has been observed in a multi-messenger detection of gravitational wave (GW) and electromagnetic (EM) radiation. Binary neutron stars that merge within a Hubble time, as well as many other compact binaries, are expected to form via common envelope evolution. Yet five decades of research on common envelope evolution have not yet resulted in a satisfactory understanding of the multi-spatial multi-timescale evolution for the systems that lead to compact binaries. In this paper, we report on the first successful simulations of common envelope ejection leading to binary neutron star formation in 3D hydrodynamics. We simulate the dynamical inspiral phase of the interaction between a 12$M_\odot$ red supergiant and a 1.4$M_\odot$ neutron star for different initial separations and initial conditions. For all of our simulations, we find complete envelope ejection and final orbital separations of $a_{\rm f} \approx 1.3$-$5.1 R_\odot$ depending on the simulation and criterion, leading to binary neutron stars that can merge within a Hubble time. We find $\alpha_{\rm CE}$-equivalent efficiencies of $\approx 0.1$-$2.7$ depending on the simulation and criterion, but this may be specific for these extended progenitors. We fully resolve the core of the star to $\lesssim 0.005 R_\odot$ and our 3D hydrodynamics simulations are informed by an adjusted 1D analytic energy formalism and a 2D kinematics study in order to overcome the prohibitive computational cost of simulating these systems. The framework we develop in this paper can be used to simulate a wide variety of interactions between stars, from stellar mergers to common envelope episodes leading to GW sources.Comment: 28 pages, 16 figures. v2: ran some additional simulations to address comments from the community. Included new criterion for calculating a_f and alpha_CE, resulting in new range of values. Added Table 1, updated Fig 3, added Fig 4, updated Fig 12, updated Fig 13, added Fig 14, added Fig 15, added Fig 16. Now submitted to Ap

Successful common envelope ejection and binary neutron star formation in 3D hydrodynamics

A binary neutron star merger has been observed in a multi-messenger detection of gravitational wave (GW) and electromagnetic (EM) radiation. Binary neutron stars that merge within a Hubble time, as well as many other compact binaries, are expected to form via common envelope evolution. Yet five decades of research on common envelope evolution have not yet resulted in a satisfactory understanding of the multi-spatial multi-timescale evolution for the systems that lead to compact binaries. In this paper, we report on the first successful simulations of common envelope ejection leading to binary neutron star formation in 3D hydrodynamics. We simulate the dynamical inspiral phase of the interaction between a 12M⊙ red supergiant and a 1.4M⊙ neutron star for different initial separations and initial conditions. For all of our simulations, we find complete envelope ejection and final orbital separations of af≈1.3-5.1R⊙ depending on the simulation and criterion, leading to binary neutron stars that can merge within a Hubble time. We find αCE-equivalent efficiencies of ≈0.1-2.7 depending on the simulation and criterion, but this may be specific for these extended progenitors. We fully resolve the core of the star to ≲0.005R⊙ and our 3D hydrodynamics simulations are informed by an adjusted 1D analytic energy formalism and a 2D kinematics study in order to overcome the prohibitive computational cost of simulating these systems. The framework we develop in this paper can be used to simulate a wide variety of interactions between stars, from stellar mergers to common envelope episodes leading to GW sources

The Young Supernova Experiment Data Release 1 (YSE DR1) Light Curves

This is the official Zenodo data release of the Young Supernova Experiment Public Data Release 1 (YSE DR1) light curves associated with the paper, &quot;The Young Supernova Experiment Data Release 1 (YSE DR1): Light Curves and Photometric Classification of 1975 Supernovae&quot;. YSE DR1 is comprised of processed multi-color Pan-STARRS1 (PS1)-griz and Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF)-gr photometry lightcurve files in the SNANA data format of 1975 transients with host galaxy associations, redshifts, spectroscopic/photometric classifications, and additional data products from November 24th, 2019 to December 20, 2021. See Aleo et al. (2022) for details. &quot;yse_dr1_zenodo.tar.gz&quot; -- All lightcurve data with no cut on signal to noise (S/N). &quot;yse_dr1_zenodo_snr_geq_4.tar.gz&quot; -- All lightcurve data with S/N &amp;gt;= 4. This can be used to recreate the analysis in Aleo et al. (2022). &quot;parsnip_results_for_ysedr1_table_A1_full_for_online&quot; -- The full version of Table~C2 in Aleo et al. (2022). The full ParSNIP (tertiary classification) results for YSE DR1. NOTE: An example tutorial on how to download the YSE DR1 data (full sample, spec sample, phot sample), grab metadata, and recreate a plot from the paper can be found on Github.</span