Can a black hole-neutron star merger explain GW170817, AT2017gfo, GRB170817A?. (arXiv:1901.06052v1 [astro-ph.HE])
<a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Coughlin_M/0/1/0/all/0/1">Michael W. Coughlin</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Dietrich_T/0/1/0/all/0/1">Tim Dietrich</a>
The discovery of the compact binary coalescence in both gravitational waves
and electromagnetic radiation marks a breakthrough in the field of
multi-messenger astronomy and has improved our knowledge in a number of
research areas. However, an open question is the exact origin of the
observables and if one can confirm reliably that GW170817 and its
electromagnetic counterparts resulted from a binary neutron star merger. To
answer the question if the observation of GW170817, GRB170817A, and AT2017gfo
could be explained by the merger of a neutron star with a black hole, we
perform a joint multi-messenger analysis of the gravitational waves, the short
gamma-ray burst, and the kilonova. Assuming a black-hole neutron star system,
we derive multi-messenger constraints for the tidal deformability of the NS of
$Lambda in [306,2920]$ and for the mass ratio of $q in [1.10,2.30]$.
Overall, we find that a black hole-neutron star merger can explain all observed
signatures, but is about half as probable than a binary neutron star system
based on the analysis of the gravitational wave and electromagnetic signatures.
The discovery of the compact binary coalescence in both gravitational waves
and electromagnetic radiation marks a breakthrough in the field of
multi-messenger astronomy and has improved our knowledge in a number of
research areas. However, an open question is the exact origin of the
observables and if one can confirm reliably that GW170817 and its
electromagnetic counterparts resulted from a binary neutron star merger. To
answer the question if the observation of GW170817, GRB170817A, and AT2017gfo
could be explained by the merger of a neutron star with a black hole, we
perform a joint multi-messenger analysis of the gravitational waves, the short
gamma-ray burst, and the kilonova. Assuming a black-hole neutron star system,
we derive multi-messenger constraints for the tidal deformability of the NS of
$Lambda in [306,2920]$ and for the mass ratio of $q in [1.10,2.30]$.
Overall, we find that a black hole-neutron star merger can explain all observed
signatures, but is about half as probable than a binary neutron star system
based on the analysis of the gravitational wave and electromagnetic signatures.
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