Researchers at the Northwestern University and Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences may have potentially come across a kilonova afterglow.
A kilonova is the merger of two neutron stars that creates a blast 1,000 times brighter than a classical nova. On August 17, 2017, astronomers observed the first-ever neutron star merger, using light as well as gravitational waves. Ever since researchers across the globe have been pointing ground and space telescopes towards this event to study it across the electromagnetic spectrum.
To find out which of these theories can explain the kilonova afterglow, the researchers will continue to observe GW170817 using X-rays and radiowaves. If it is the afterglow, the X-ray and radio emissions will get brighter over the next few months or years. However, if a black hole is causing this, the X-ray output will decline over time until no more emissions can be observed.
Either way, astronomers will either learn that a neutron star does not immediately form a black hole or be able to observe how debris falls into a black hole over a period of time. The research is due to be published in The Journal of Astrophysical Letters.
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