JWST detection of heavy neutron capture elements in a compact object merger

Andrew Levan; Benjamin Gompertz; Om Sharan Salafia; Mattia Bulla; Eric Burns; Kenta Hotokezaka; Luca Izzo; Gavin Lamb; Daniele Malesani; Samantha Oates; Maria Ravasio; Alicia Rouco Escorial; Benjamin Schneider; Nikhil Sarin; Steve Schulze; Nial Tanvir; Kendall Ackley; Gemma Anderson; Gabriel Brammer; Lise Christensen; Vikram Dhillon; Phil Evans; Michael Fausnaugh; Wen-fai Fong; Andrew Fruchter; Chris Fryer; Johan Fynbo; Nicola Gaspari; Kasper Heintz; Jens Hjorth; Jamie Kennea; Mark Kennedy; Tanmoy Laskar; Giorgos Leloudas; Ilya Mandel; Antonio Martín-Carrillo; Brian Metzger; Matt Nicholl; Anya Nugent; Jesse Palmerio; Giovanna Pugilese; Jillian Rastinejad; Lauren Rhodes; Andrea Rossi; Stephen Smartt; Heloise Stevance; Aaron Tohuvavohu; Alexander van der Horst; Susanna Vergani; Darach Watson; Thomas Barclay; Kornpob Bhirombhakdi; Elme Breedt; Alice Breeveld; Alex Brown; Sergio Campana; Paolo D'Avanzo; Valerio D'Elia; Massimiliano De Pasquale; Martin Dyer; Duncan Galloway; James Garbutt; Matthew Green; Dieter Hartmann; Pall Jakobsson; Paul Kerry; Danial Langeroodi; James Leung; Stuart Littlefair; James Munday; Paul O'Brien; Steven Parsons; Ingrid Pelisoli; Dave Sahman; Ruben Salvaterra; Gianpiero Tagliaferri; Christina Thöne; Antonio de Ugarte Postigo; Boris Sbarufatti; Ashley Chrimes; Danny Steeghs; David Kann

doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-3135743/v1

JWST detection of heavy neutron capture elements in a compact object merger

Andrew Levan, Benjamin Gompertz, Om Sharan Salafia, Mattia Bulla, Eric Burns, Kenta Hotokezaka, Luca Izzo, Gavin Lamb, Daniele Malesani, Samantha Oates, Maria Ravasio, Alicia Rouco Escorial, Benjamin Schneider, Nikhil Sarin, Steve Schulze, Nial Tanvir, Kendall Ackley, Gemma Anderson, Gabriel Brammer, Lise ChristensenVikram Dhillon, Phil Evans, Michael Fausnaugh, Wen-fai Fong, Andrew Fruchter, Chris Fryer, Johan Fynbo, Nicola Gaspari, Kasper Heintz, Jens Hjorth, Jamie Kennea, Mark Kennedy, Tanmoy Laskar, Giorgos Leloudas, Ilya Mandel, Antonio Martín-Carrillo, Brian Metzger, Matt Nicholl, Anya Nugent, Jesse Palmerio, Giovanna Pugilese, Jillian Rastinejad, Lauren Rhodes, Andrea Rossi, Stephen Smartt, Heloise Stevance, Aaron Tohuvavohu, Alexander van der Horst, Susanna Vergani, Darach Watson, Thomas Barclay, Kornpob Bhirombhakdi, Elme Breedt, Alice Breeveld, Alex Brown, Sergio Campana, Paolo D'Avanzo, Valerio D'Elia, Massimiliano De Pasquale, Martin Dyer, Duncan Galloway, James Garbutt, Matthew Green, Dieter Hartmann, Pall Jakobsson, Paul Kerry, Danial Langeroodi, James Leung, Stuart Littlefair, James Munday, Paul O'Brien, Steven Parsons, Ingrid Pelisoli, Dave Sahman, Ruben Salvaterra, Gianpiero Tagliaferri, Christina Thöne, Antonio de Ugarte Postigo, Boris Sbarufatti, Ashley Chrimes, Danny Steeghs, David Kann

Physics and Astronomy

Research output: Working paper/Preprint › Preprint

Abstract

The mergers of binary compact objects such as neutron stars and black holes are of central interest to several areas of astrophysics, including as the progenitors of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), sources of high-frequency gravitational waves and likely production sites for heavy element nucleosynthesis via rapid neutron capture (the r-process). These heavy elements include some of great geophysical, biological and cultural importance, such as thorium, iodine, and gold. Here we present observations of the exceptionally bright gamma-ray burst GRB230307A. We show that GRB 230307A belongs to the class of long-duration gamma-ray bursts associated with compact object mergers, and contains a kilonova similar to AT2017gfo, associated with the gravitational-wave merger GW170817. We obtained James Webb Space Telescope mid-infrared (mid-IR) imaging and spectroscopy 29 & 61 days after the burst. The spectroscopy shows an emission line at 2.1 microns which we interpret as tellurium (atomic mass A=130), and a very red source, emitting most of its light in the mid-IR due to the production of lanthanides. These observations demonstrate that nucleosynthesis in GRBs can create r-process elements across a broad atomic mass range and play a central role in heavy element nucleosynthesis across the Universe.

Original language	English
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3135743/v1
Publication status	Published - 23 Jul 2023

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Levan, A., Gompertz, B., Salafia, O. S., Bulla, M., Burns, E., Hotokezaka, K., Izzo, L., Lamb, G., Malesani, D., Oates, S., Ravasio, M., Escorial, A. R., Schneider, B., Sarin, N., Schulze, S., Tanvir, N., Ackley, K., Anderson, G., Brammer, G., ... Kann, D. (2023). JWST detection of heavy neutron capture elements in a compact object merger. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3135743/v1

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title = "JWST detection of heavy neutron capture elements in a compact object merger",

abstract = "The mergers of binary compact objects such as neutron stars and black holes are of central interest to several areas of astrophysics, including as the progenitors of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), sources of high-frequency gravitational waves and likely production sites for heavy element nucleosynthesis via rapid neutron capture (the r-process). These heavy elements include some of great geophysical, biological and cultural importance, such as thorium, iodine, and gold. Here we present observations of the exceptionally bright gamma-ray burst GRB230307A. We show that GRB 230307A belongs to the class of long-duration gamma-ray bursts associated with compact object mergers, and contains a kilonova similar to AT2017gfo, associated with the gravitational-wave merger GW170817. We obtained James Webb Space Telescope mid-infrared (mid-IR) imaging and spectroscopy 29 & 61 days after the burst. The spectroscopy shows an emission line at 2.1 microns which we interpret as tellurium (atomic mass A=130), and a very red source, emitting most of its light in the mid-IR due to the production of lanthanides. These observations demonstrate that nucleosynthesis in GRBs can create r-process elements across a broad atomic mass range and play a central role in heavy element nucleosynthesis across the Universe.",

author = "Andrew Levan and Benjamin Gompertz and Salafia, {Om Sharan} and Mattia Bulla and Eric Burns and Kenta Hotokezaka and Luca Izzo and Gavin Lamb and Daniele Malesani and Samantha Oates and Maria Ravasio and Escorial, {Alicia Rouco} and Benjamin Schneider and Nikhil Sarin and Steve Schulze and Nial Tanvir and Kendall Ackley and Gemma Anderson and Gabriel Brammer and Lise Christensen and Vikram Dhillon and Phil Evans and Michael Fausnaugh and Wen-fai Fong and Andrew Fruchter and Chris Fryer and Johan Fynbo and Nicola Gaspari and Kasper Heintz and Jens Hjorth and Jamie Kennea and Mark Kennedy and Tanmoy Laskar and Giorgos Leloudas and Ilya Mandel and Antonio Mart{\'i}n-Carrillo and Brian Metzger and Matt Nicholl and Anya Nugent and Jesse Palmerio and Giovanna Pugilese and Jillian Rastinejad and Lauren Rhodes and Andrea Rossi and Stephen Smartt and Heloise Stevance and Aaron Tohuvavohu and Horst, {Alexander van der} and Susanna Vergani and Darach Watson and Thomas Barclay and Kornpob Bhirombhakdi and Elme Breedt and Alice Breeveld and Alex Brown and Sergio Campana and Paolo D'Avanzo and Valerio D'Elia and Pasquale, {Massimiliano De} and Martin Dyer and Duncan Galloway and James Garbutt and Matthew Green and Dieter Hartmann and Pall Jakobsson and Paul Kerry and Danial Langeroodi and James Leung and Stuart Littlefair and James Munday and Paul O'Brien and Steven Parsons and Ingrid Pelisoli and Dave Sahman and Ruben Salvaterra and Gianpiero Tagliaferri and Christina Th{\"o}ne and Postigo, {Antonio de Ugarte} and Boris Sbarufatti and Ashley Chrimes and Danny Steeghs and David Kann",

year = "2023",

month = jul,

day = "23",

doi = "10.21203/rs.3.rs-3135743/v1",

language = "English",

type = "WorkingPaper",

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Levan, A, Gompertz, B, Salafia, OS, Bulla, M, Burns, E, Hotokezaka, K, Izzo, L, Lamb, G, Malesani, D, Oates, S, Ravasio, M, Escorial, AR, Schneider, B, Sarin, N, Schulze, S, Tanvir, N, Ackley, K, Anderson, G, Brammer, G, Christensen, L, Dhillon, V, Evans, P, Fausnaugh, M, Fong, W, Fruchter, A, Fryer, C, Fynbo, J, Gaspari, N, Heintz, K, Hjorth, J, Kennea, J, Kennedy, M, Laskar, T, Leloudas, G, Mandel, I, Martín-Carrillo, A, Metzger, B, Nicholl, M, Nugent, A, Palmerio, J, Pugilese, G, Rastinejad, J, Rhodes, L, Rossi, A, Smartt, S, Stevance, H, Tohuvavohu, A, Horst, AVD, Vergani, S, Watson, D, Barclay, T, Bhirombhakdi, K, Breedt, E, Breeveld, A, Brown, A, Campana, S, D'Avanzo, P, D'Elia, V, Pasquale, MD, Dyer, M, Galloway, D, Garbutt, J, Green, M, Hartmann, D, Jakobsson, P, Kerry, P, Langeroodi, D, Leung, J, Littlefair, S, Munday, J, O'Brien, P, Parsons, S, Pelisoli, I, Sahman, D, Salvaterra, R, Tagliaferri, G, Thöne, C, Postigo, ADU, Sbarufatti, B, Chrimes, A, Steeghs, D & Kann, D 2023 'JWST detection of heavy neutron capture elements in a compact object merger'. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3135743/v1

TY - UNPB

T1 - JWST detection of heavy neutron capture elements in a compact object merger

AU - Levan, Andrew

AU - Gompertz, Benjamin

AU - Salafia, Om Sharan

AU - Bulla, Mattia

AU - Burns, Eric

AU - Hotokezaka, Kenta

AU - Izzo, Luca

AU - Lamb, Gavin

AU - Malesani, Daniele

AU - Oates, Samantha

AU - Ravasio, Maria

AU - Escorial, Alicia Rouco

AU - Schneider, Benjamin

AU - Sarin, Nikhil

AU - Schulze, Steve

AU - Tanvir, Nial

AU - Ackley, Kendall

AU - Anderson, Gemma

AU - Brammer, Gabriel

AU - Christensen, Lise

AU - Dhillon, Vikram

AU - Evans, Phil

AU - Fausnaugh, Michael

AU - Fong, Wen-fai

AU - Fruchter, Andrew

AU - Fryer, Chris

AU - Fynbo, Johan

AU - Gaspari, Nicola

AU - Heintz, Kasper

AU - Hjorth, Jens

AU - Kennea, Jamie

AU - Kennedy, Mark

AU - Laskar, Tanmoy

AU - Leloudas, Giorgos

AU - Mandel, Ilya

AU - Martín-Carrillo, Antonio

AU - Metzger, Brian

AU - Nicholl, Matt

AU - Nugent, Anya

AU - Palmerio, Jesse

AU - Pugilese, Giovanna

AU - Rastinejad, Jillian

AU - Rhodes, Lauren

AU - Rossi, Andrea

AU - Smartt, Stephen

AU - Stevance, Heloise

AU - Tohuvavohu, Aaron

AU - Horst, Alexander van der

AU - Vergani, Susanna

AU - Watson, Darach

AU - Barclay, Thomas

AU - Bhirombhakdi, Kornpob

AU - Breedt, Elme

AU - Breeveld, Alice

AU - Brown, Alex

AU - Campana, Sergio

AU - D'Avanzo, Paolo

AU - D'Elia, Valerio

AU - Pasquale, Massimiliano De

AU - Dyer, Martin

AU - Galloway, Duncan

AU - Garbutt, James

AU - Green, Matthew

AU - Hartmann, Dieter

AU - Jakobsson, Pall

AU - Kerry, Paul

AU - Langeroodi, Danial

AU - Leung, James

AU - Littlefair, Stuart

AU - Munday, James

AU - O'Brien, Paul

AU - Parsons, Steven

AU - Pelisoli, Ingrid

AU - Sahman, Dave

AU - Salvaterra, Ruben

AU - Tagliaferri, Gianpiero

AU - Thöne, Christina

AU - Postigo, Antonio de Ugarte

AU - Sbarufatti, Boris

AU - Chrimes, Ashley

AU - Steeghs, Danny

AU - Kann, David

PY - 2023/7/23

Y1 - 2023/7/23

N2 - The mergers of binary compact objects such as neutron stars and black holes are of central interest to several areas of astrophysics, including as the progenitors of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), sources of high-frequency gravitational waves and likely production sites for heavy element nucleosynthesis via rapid neutron capture (the r-process). These heavy elements include some of great geophysical, biological and cultural importance, such as thorium, iodine, and gold. Here we present observations of the exceptionally bright gamma-ray burst GRB230307A. We show that GRB 230307A belongs to the class of long-duration gamma-ray bursts associated with compact object mergers, and contains a kilonova similar to AT2017gfo, associated with the gravitational-wave merger GW170817. We obtained James Webb Space Telescope mid-infrared (mid-IR) imaging and spectroscopy 29 & 61 days after the burst. The spectroscopy shows an emission line at 2.1 microns which we interpret as tellurium (atomic mass A=130), and a very red source, emitting most of its light in the mid-IR due to the production of lanthanides. These observations demonstrate that nucleosynthesis in GRBs can create r-process elements across a broad atomic mass range and play a central role in heavy element nucleosynthesis across the Universe.

AB - The mergers of binary compact objects such as neutron stars and black holes are of central interest to several areas of astrophysics, including as the progenitors of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), sources of high-frequency gravitational waves and likely production sites for heavy element nucleosynthesis via rapid neutron capture (the r-process). These heavy elements include some of great geophysical, biological and cultural importance, such as thorium, iodine, and gold. Here we present observations of the exceptionally bright gamma-ray burst GRB230307A. We show that GRB 230307A belongs to the class of long-duration gamma-ray bursts associated with compact object mergers, and contains a kilonova similar to AT2017gfo, associated with the gravitational-wave merger GW170817. We obtained James Webb Space Telescope mid-infrared (mid-IR) imaging and spectroscopy 29 & 61 days after the burst. The spectroscopy shows an emission line at 2.1 microns which we interpret as tellurium (atomic mass A=130), and a very red source, emitting most of its light in the mid-IR due to the production of lanthanides. These observations demonstrate that nucleosynthesis in GRBs can create r-process elements across a broad atomic mass range and play a central role in heavy element nucleosynthesis across the Universe.

U2 - 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3135743/v1

DO - 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3135743/v1

M3 - Preprint

BT - JWST detection of heavy neutron capture elements in a compact object merger

ER -

JWST detection of heavy neutron capture elements in a compact object merger

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