When two neutron stars merge, they can launch an energetic polar outflow known as a jet. If there is material surrounding the merger remnant when the jet is launched, it will first propagate through the ejecta. This jet-ejecta interaction can influence the optical and infrared signals we see from such events. Using Sedona, a Monte Carlo radiation transport code, we examine the viewing angle-dependence of the signatures of this interaction, as well as the relative influence of jet shock and radioactive heating on the observations.

Abstract Author(s)
Hannah Klion, Paul Duffell, Eliot Quataert, Daniel Kasen
University
University of California, Berkeley