The Electromagnetic Counterpart of the Binary Neutron Star Merger LIGO/Virgo GW170817. III. Optical and UV Spectra of a Blue Kilonova from Fast Polar Ejecta

Abstract

Abstract We present optical and ultraviolet spectra of the first electromagnetic counterpart to a gravitational-wave (GW) source, the binary neutron star merger GW170817. Spectra were obtained nightly between 1.5 and 9.5 days post-merger, using the Southern Astrophysical Research and Magellan telescopes; the UV spectrum was obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope at 5.5 days. Our data reveal a rapidly fading blue component ( <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mi>T</mml:mi> <mml:mo>≈</mml:mo> <mml:mn>5500</mml:mn> </mml:math> K at 1.5 days) that quickly reddens; spectra later than <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mo>≳</mml:mo> <mml:mn>4.5</mml:mn> </mml:math> days peak beyond the optical regime. The spectra are mostly featureless, although we identify a possible weak emission line at ∼7900 Å at <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mi>t</mml:mi> <mml:mo>≲</mml:mo> <mml:mn>4.5</mml:mn> </mml:math> days. The colors, rapid evolution, and featureless spectrum are consistent with a “blue” kilonova from polar ejecta comprised mainly of light r -process nuclei with atomic mass number <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mi>A</mml:mi> <mml:mo>≲</mml:mo> <mml:mn>140</mml:mn> </mml:math> . This indicates a sightline within <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:msub> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>θ</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>obs</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> <mml:mo>≲</mml:mo> <mml:mn>45</mml:mn> <mml:mo>°</mml:mo> </mml:math> of the orbital axis. Comparison to models suggests ∼0.03 M ⊙ of blue ejecta, with a velocity of <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mo>∼</mml:mo> <mml:mn>0.3</mml:mn> <mml:mi>c</mml:mi> </mml:math> . The required lanthanide fraction is <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mo>∼</mml:mo> <mml:msup> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>10</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>−</mml:mo> <mml:mn>4</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msup> </mml:math> , but this drops to <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mo>&lt;</mml:mo> <mml:msup> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>10</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>−</mml:mo> <mml:mn>5</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msup> </mml:math> in the outermost ejecta. The large velocities point to a dynamical origin, rather than a disk wind, for this blue component, suggesting that both binary constituents are neutron stars (as opposed to a binary consisting of a neutron star and a black hole). For dynamical ejecta, the high mass favors a small neutron star radius of <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mo>≲</mml:mo> <mml:mn>12</mml:mn> </mml:math> km. This mass also supports the idea that neutron star mergers are a major contributor to r -process nucleosynthesis.