On 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of ∼ 1.7 s with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg2 at a luminosity distance of 40 − 8 + 8 Mpc and with component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 M ⊙ . An extensive observing campaign was launched across the electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC 4993 (at ∼ 40 Mpc ) less than 11 hours after the merger by the One-Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment. Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward evolution over ∼10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and radio emission were discovered at the transient’s position ∼ 9 and ∼ 16 days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron stars in NGC 4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta.

Gravitational waves were discovered with the detection of binary black-hole mergers and they should also be detectable from lower-mass neutron-star mergers. These are predicted to eject material rich in heavy radioactive isotopes that can power an electromagnetic signal. This signal is luminous at optical and infrared wavelengths and is called a kilonova. The gravitational-wave source GW170817 arose from a binary neutron-star merger in the nearby Universe with a relatively well confined sky position and distance estimate. Here we report observations and physical modelling of a rapidly fading electromagnetic transient in the galaxy NGC 4993, which is spatially coincident with GW170817 and with a weak, short γ-ray burst. The transient has physical parameters that broadly match the theoretical predictions of blue kilonovae from neutron-star mergers. The emitted electromagnetic radiation can be explained with an ejected mass of 0.04 ± 0.01 solar masses, with an opacity of less than 0.5 square centimetres per gram, at a velocity of 0.2 ± 0.1 times light speed. The power source is constrained to have a power-law slope of -1.2 ± 0.3, consistent with radioactive powering from r-process nuclides. (The r-process is a series of neutron capture reactions that synthesise many of the elements heavier than iron.) We identify line features in the spectra that are consistent with light r-process elements (atomic masses of 90-140). As it fades, the transient rapidly becomes red, and a higher-opacity, lanthanide-rich ejecta component may contribute to the emission. This indicates that neutron-star mergers produce gravitational waves and radioactively powered kilonovae, and are a nucleosynthetic source of the r-process elements.

We present a high resolution spectroscopic analysis of 62 red giants in the Milky Way globular cluster NGC 5286. We have determined abundances of representative light proton-capture, α, Fe-peak and neutron-capture element groups, and combined them with photometry of multiple sequences observed along the colour-magnitude diagram. Our principal results are: (i) a broad, bimodal distribution in s-process element abundance ratios, with two main groups, the s-poor and s-rich groups; (ii) substantial star-to-star Fe variations, with the s-rich stars having higher Fe, e.g. <[Fe/H]> s−rich − <[Fe/H]> s−poor ∼0.2 dex; and (iii) the presence of O-Na-Al (anti-)correlations in both stellar groups. We have defined a new photometric index, c BVI =(B−V)−(V−I), to maximise the separation in the colour-magnitude diagram between the two stellar groups with different Fe and s-element content, and this index is not significantly affected by variations in light elements (such as the O-Na anticorrelation). The variations in the overall metallicity present in NGC 5286 add this object to the class of anomalous GCs. Furthermore, the chemical abundance pattern of NGC 5286 resembles that observed in some of the anomalous GCs, e.g. M 22, NGC 1851, M 2, and the more extreme ω Centauri, that also show internal variations in s-elements, and in light elements within stars with different Fe and s-elements content. In view of the common variations in s-elements, we propose the term s-Fe-anomalous GCs to describe this sub-class of objects. The similarities in chemical abundance ratios between these objects strongly suggest similar formation and evolution histories, possibly associated with an origin in tidally disrupted dwarf satellites.

We present CN and CH indices and Ca ii triplet metallicities for 34 giant stars and chemical abundances for 33 elements in 14 giants in the globular cluster M2. Assuming the program stars are cluster members, our analysis reveals (i) an extreme variation in CN and CH line strengths, (ii) a metallicity dispersion with a dominant peak at [Fe/H] ≈ −1.7 and smaller peaks at −1.5 and −1.0, (iii) star-to-star abundance variations and correlations for the light elements O, Na, Al and Si and (iv) a large (and possibly bimodal) distribution in the abundances of all elements produced mainly via the s-process in solar system material. Following Roederer et al. (2011), we define two groups of stars, "r + s" and "r-only", and subtract the average abundances of the latter from the former group to obtain a "s-process residual". This s-process residual is remarkably similar to that found in M22 and in M4 despite the range in metallicity covered by these three systems. With recent studies identifying a double subgiant branch in M2 and a dispersion in Sr and Ba abundances, our spectroscopic analysis confirms that this globular cluster has experienced a complex formation history with similarities to M22, NGC 1851 and ω Centauri.

The late-time spectra of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) are powerful probes of the underlying physics of their explosions. We investigate the late-time optical and near-infrared spectra of seven SNe Ia obtained at the VLT with XShooter at >200 d after explosion. At these epochs, the inner Fe-rich ejecta can be studied. We use a line-fitting analysis to determine the relative line fluxes, velocity shifts, and line widths of prominent features contributing to the spectra ([Fe ii], [Ni ii], and [Co iii]). By focussing on [Fe ii] and [Ni ii] emission lines in the ∼7000-7500 Å region of the spectrum, we find that the ratio of stable [Ni ii] to mainly radioactively-produced [Fe ii] for most SNe Ia in the sample is consistent with Chandrasekharmass delayed-detonation explosion models, as well as sub-Chandrasekhar mass explosions that have metallicity values above solar. The mean measured Ni/Fe abundance of our sample is consistent with the solar value. The more highly ionised [Co iii] emission lines are found to be more centrally located in the ejecta and have broader lines than the [Fe ii] and [Ni ii] features. Our analysis also strengthens previous results that SNe Ia with higher Si ii velocities at maximum light preferentially display blueshifted [Fe ii] 7155 Å lines at late times. Our combined results lead us to speculate that the majority of normal SN Ia explosions produce ejecta distributions that deviate significantly from spherical symmetry.