A Long-lived Remnant Neutron Star after GW170817 Inferred from Its Associated Kilonova

• Published in: The Astrophysical journal Vol. 861; no. 2; pp. 114 - 122
• Main Authors: Yu, Yun-Wei, Liu, Liang-Duan, Dai, Zi-Gao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Philadelphia The American Astronomical Society 10.07.2018; IOP Publishing
• Subjects: Astrophysics; Ejecta; Emission; Energy sources; Equations of state; Gamma ray bursts; Gamma rays; gamma-ray burst: general; Gravitational waves; Gravity waves; Heavy elements; Kilonovae; Magnetic fields; Neutron stars; Opacity; Stars & galaxies; stars: neutron; Stellar winds; Strong interactions (field theory)
• ISSN: 0004-637X; 1538-4357
• DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/aac6e5

The successful joint observation of the gravitational wave (GW) event GW170817 and its multiwavelength electromagnetic counterparts enabled us to witness a definite merger event of two neutron stars (NSs) for the first time. This historical event confirms the origin of short-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and, in particular, identifies the theoretically predicted kilonova phenomenon that is powered by radioactive decays of r-process heavy elements. However, whether or not a long-lived remnant NS could be formed during this merger event remains unknown; though, such a central engine has been suggested by afterglow observations of some short-duration GRBs. By invoking this long-lived remnant NS, we propose a model of hybrid energy sources for the kilonova AT 2017gfo associated with GW170817. While the early emission of AT 2017gfo is still powered radioactively, as is usually suggested, its late emission is primarily caused by delayed energy injection from the remnant NS. In our model, only one single opacity is required and an intermediate value of κ 0.97 cm2 g−1 is revealed, which could be naturally provided by lanthanide-rich ejecta that are deeply ionized by the emission from a wind of the NS. These self-consistent results indicate that a long-lived remnant NS, which must have a very stiff equation of state, was formed during the merger event of GW170817. This provides a very stringent constraint on the strong interaction in nuclear-quark matter. It is further implied that such GW events could provide a probe of the early spin and magnetic evolutions of NSs, e.g., the burying of surface magnetic fields.