3D radiative transfer kilonova modelling for binary neutron star merger simulations

Understand

The detection of GW170817 and the accompanying electromagnetic counterpart, AT2017gfo, have provided an important set of observational constraints for theoretical models of neutron star mergers, nucleosynthesis, and radiative transfer for kilonovae.

• We apply the 3D Monte Carlo radiative transfer code ARTIS to produce synthetic light curves of the dynamical ejecta from a neutron star merger, which has been modelled with 3D smooth-particle hydrodynamics (SPH) and included neutrino interactions.
• Nucleosynthesis calculations provide the energy released from radioactive decays of r-process nuclei, and radiation transport is performed using grey opacities given as functions of the electron fraction.
• We present line-of-sight dependent bolometric light curves, and find the emission along polar lines of sight to be up to a factor of ~2 brighter than along equatorial lines of sight.