Kilonova Detectability with Wide-Field Instruments

Understand

Kilonovae are ultraviolet, optical, and infrared transients powered by the radioactive decay of heavy elements following a neutron star merger.

• Joint observations of kilonovae and gravitational waves can offer key constraints on the source of Galactic $r$-process enrichment, among other astrophysical topics.
• However, robust constraints on heavy element production requires rapid kilonova detection (within $\sim 1$ day of merger) as well as multi-wavelength observations across multiple epochs.
• In this study, we quantify the ability of 13 wide field-of-view instruments to detect kilonovae, leveraging a large grid of over 900 radiative transfer simulations with 54 viewing angles per simulation.