The LIGO detection of gravitational waves(GW) from merging black holes in 2015 marked the beginning of a new era in observational astronomy. The detection of an electromagnetic signal from a GW source is the critical ...The LIGO detection of gravitational waves(GW) from merging black holes in 2015 marked the beginning of a new era in observational astronomy. The detection of an electromagnetic signal from a GW source is the critical next step to explore in detail the physics involved. The Antarctic Survey Telescopes(AST3),located at Dome A, Antarctica, is uniquely situated for rapid response time-domain astronomy with its continuous night-time coverage during the austral winter. We report optical observations of the GW source(GW 170817) in the nearby galaxy NGC 4993 using AST3. The data show a rapidly fading transient at around 1 day after the GW trigger, with the i-band magnitude declining from 17:23 ± 0:13 magnitude to 17:72 ± 0:09 magnitude in ~1:8 h. The brightness and time evolution of the optical transient associated with GW 170817 are broadly consistent with the predictions of models involving merging binary neutron stars. We infer from our data that the merging process ejected about ~10^(-2) solar mass of radioactive material at a speed of up to 30% the speed of light.展开更多
基金supported by the National Basic Research Program(973 Program)of China(2013CB834900)the Chinese Polar Environment Comprehensive Investigation&Assessment Program(CHINARE2016-02-03)+21 种基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China(11573014,11673068,11325313,11633002,11433009,11725314)the Key Research Program of Frontier Sciences(QYZDY-SSW-SLH010,QYZDB-SSW-SYS005)the Strategic Priority Research Program"multi-waveband gravitational wave Universe”(XDB23040000)the Youth Innovation Promotion Association(2011231)of Chinese Academy of Sciencesfunds from Tsinghua UniversityNanjing UniversityBeijing Normal UniversityUniversity of New South WalesTexas A&M Universitythe Australian Antarctic Divisionthe National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy(NCRIS)of Australiafunding from the Chinese Academy of Sciences through the Center for Astronomical Mega-Science and National Astronomical Observatory of China(NAOC)made possible through the use of the AAVSO Photometric All-Sky Survey(APASS)funded by the Robert Martin Ayers Sciences Fundfunded by the Australian Research Council(ARC)Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery(OzGrav),CE170100004the ARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics(CAASTRO),CE110001020the Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics in 3-Dimensions(ASTRO-3D),CE170100013provided by the Australian Astronomical Observatory(AAO)the ARC Future Fellowship grant,FT130101219supported by the National Basic Research Program(Project 973)of China(2014CB845800)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(11633001 and 11373014)the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(XDB23000000)
文摘The LIGO detection of gravitational waves(GW) from merging black holes in 2015 marked the beginning of a new era in observational astronomy. The detection of an electromagnetic signal from a GW source is the critical next step to explore in detail the physics involved. The Antarctic Survey Telescopes(AST3),located at Dome A, Antarctica, is uniquely situated for rapid response time-domain astronomy with its continuous night-time coverage during the austral winter. We report optical observations of the GW source(GW 170817) in the nearby galaxy NGC 4993 using AST3. The data show a rapidly fading transient at around 1 day after the GW trigger, with the i-band magnitude declining from 17:23 ± 0:13 magnitude to 17:72 ± 0:09 magnitude in ~1:8 h. The brightness and time evolution of the optical transient associated with GW 170817 are broadly consistent with the predictions of models involving merging binary neutron stars. We infer from our data that the merging process ejected about ~10^(-2) solar mass of radioactive material at a speed of up to 30% the speed of light.
