Heavy-element production in a compact object merger observed by JWST

Andrew J. Levan; Benjamin P. Gompertz; Om Sharan Salafia; Mattia Bulla; Eric Burns; Kenta Hotokezaka; Luca Izzo; Gavin P. Lamb; Daniele B. Malesani; Samantha R. Oates; Maria Edvige Ravasio; Alicia Rouco Escorial; Benjamin Schneider; Nikhil Sarin; Steve Schulze; Nial R. Tanvir; Kendall Ackley; Gemma Anderson; Gabriel B. Brammer; Lise Christensen; Vikram S. Dhillon; Phil A. Evans; Michael Fausnaugh; Wen Fai Fong; Andrew S. Fruchter; Chris Fryer; Johan P.U. Fynbo; Nicola Gaspari; Kasper E. Heintz; Jens Hjorth; Jamie A. Kennea; Mark R. Kennedy; Tanmoy Laskar; Giorgos Leloudas; Ilya Mandel; Antonio Martin-Carrillo; Brian D. Metzger; Matt Nicholl; Anya Nugent; Jesse T. Palmerio; Giovanna Pugliese; Jillian Rastinejad; Lauren Rhodes; Andrea Rossi; Andrea Saccardi; Stephen J. Smartt; Heloise F. Stevance; Aaron Tohuvavohu; Alexander van der Horst; Susanna D. Vergani; Darach Watson; Thomas Barclay; Kornpob Bhirombhakdi; Elmé Breedt; Alice A. Breeveld; Alexander J. Brown; Sergio Campana; Ashley A. Chrimes; Paolo D’Avanzo; Valerio D’Elia; Massimiliano De Pasquale; Martin J. Dyer; Duncan K. Galloway; James A. Garbutt; Matthew J. Green; Dieter H. Hartmann; Páll Jakobsson; Paul Kerry; Chryssa Kouveliotou; Danial Langeroodi; Emeric Le Floc’h; James K. Leung; Stuart P. Littlefair; James Munday; Paul O’Brien; Steven G. Parsons; Ingrid Pelisoli; David I. Sahman; Ruben Salvaterra; Boris Sbarufatti; Danny Steeghs; Gianpiero Tagliaferri; Christina C. Thöne; Antonio de Ugarte Postigo; David Alexander Kann

doi:10.1038/s41586-023-06759-1

Heavy-element production in a compact object merger observed by JWST

Andrew J. Levan
, Benjamin P. Gompertz
, Om Sharan Salafia
, Mattia Bulla
, Eric Burns
, Kenta Hotokezaka
, Luca Izzo
, Gavin P. Lamb
, Daniele B. Malesani
, Samantha R. Oates
, Maria Edvige Ravasio
, Alicia Rouco Escorial
, Benjamin Schneider
, Nikhil Sarin
, Steve Schulze
, Nial R. Tanvir
, Kendall Ackley
, Gemma Anderson
, Gabriel B. Brammer
, Lise Christensen

Vikram S. Dhillon, Phil A. Evans, Michael Fausnaugh, Wen Fai Fong, Andrew S. Fruchter, Chris Fryer, Johan P.U. Fynbo, Nicola Gaspari, Kasper E. Heintz, Jens Hjorth, Jamie A. Kennea, Mark R. Kennedy, Tanmoy Laskar, Giorgos Leloudas, Ilya Mandel, Antonio Martin-Carrillo, Brian D. Metzger, Matt Nicholl, Anya Nugent, Jesse T. Palmerio, Giovanna Pugliese, Jillian Rastinejad, Lauren Rhodes, Andrea Rossi, Andrea Saccardi, Stephen J. Smartt, Heloise F. Stevance, Aaron Tohuvavohu, Alexander van der Horst, Susanna D. Vergani, Darach Watson, Thomas Barclay, Kornpob Bhirombhakdi, Elmé Breedt, Alice A. Breeveld, Alexander J. Brown, Sergio Campana, Ashley A. Chrimes, Paolo D’Avanzo, Valerio D’Elia, Massimiliano De Pasquale, Martin J. Dyer, Duncan K. Galloway, James A. Garbutt, Matthew J. Green, Dieter H. Hartmann, Páll Jakobsson, Paul Kerry, Chryssa Kouveliotou, Danial Langeroodi, Emeric Le Floc’h, James K. Leung, Stuart P. Littlefair, James Munday, Paul O’Brien, Steven G. Parsons, Ingrid Pelisoli, David I. Sahman, Ruben Salvaterra, Boris Sbarufatti, Danny Steeghs, Gianpiero Tagliaferri, Christina C. Thöne, Antonio de Ugarte Postigo, David Alexander Kann

School of Physics

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Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

The mergers of binary compact objects such as neutron stars and black holes are of central interest to several areas of astrophysics, including as the progenitors of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs)¹, sources of high-frequency gravitational waves (GWs)² and likely production sites for heavy-element nucleosynthesis by means of rapid neutron capture (the r-process)³. Here we present observations of the exceptionally bright GRB 230307A. We show that GRB 230307A belongs to the class of long-duration GRBs associated with compact object mergers^4–6 and contains a kilonova similar to AT2017gfo, associated with the GW merger GW170817 (refs. ^7–12). We obtained James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) mid-infrared imaging and spectroscopy 29 and 61 days after the burst. The spectroscopy shows an emission line at 2.15 microns, which we interpret as tellurium (atomic mass A = 130) and a very red source, emitting most of its light in the mid-infrared owing to the production of lanthanides. These observations demonstrate that nucleosynthesis in GRBs can create r-process elements across a broad atomic mass range and play a central role in heavy-element nucleosynthesis across the Universe.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	737-741
Number of pages	5
Journal	Nature
Volume	626
Issue number	8000
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06759-1
Publication status	Published - 22 Feb 2024

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10.1038/s41586-023-06759-1

https://hdl.handle.net/10468/15174Licence: CC BY-NC-ND

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Levan, A. J., Gompertz, B. P., Salafia, O. S., Bulla, M., Burns, E., Hotokezaka, K., Izzo, L., Lamb, G. P., Malesani, D. B., Oates, S. R., Ravasio, M. E., Rouco Escorial, A., Schneider, B., Sarin, N., Schulze, S., Tanvir, N. R., Ackley, K., Anderson, G., Brammer, G. B., ... Kann, D. A. (2024). Heavy-element production in a compact object merger observed by JWST. Nature, 626(8000), 737-741. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06759-1

@article{8400d555a99d4e63b520e43ddc1a7043,

title = "Heavy-element production in a compact object merger observed by JWST",

abstract = "The mergers of binary compact objects such as neutron stars and black holes are of central interest to several areas of astrophysics, including as the progenitors of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs)1, sources of high-frequency gravitational waves (GWs)2 and likely production sites for heavy-element nucleosynthesis by means of rapid neutron capture (the r-process)3. Here we present observations of the exceptionally bright GRB 230307A. We show that GRB 230307A belongs to the class of long-duration GRBs associated with compact object mergers4–6 and contains a kilonova similar to AT2017gfo, associated with the GW merger GW170817 (refs. 7–12). We obtained James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) mid-infrared imaging and spectroscopy 29 and 61 days after the burst. The spectroscopy shows an emission line at 2.15 microns, which we interpret as tellurium (atomic mass A = 130) and a very red source, emitting most of its light in the mid-infrared owing to the production of lanthanides. These observations demonstrate that nucleosynthesis in GRBs can create r-process elements across a broad atomic mass range and play a central role in heavy-element nucleosynthesis across the Universe.",

author = "Levan, \{Andrew J.\} and Gompertz, \{Benjamin P.\} and Salafia, \{Om Sharan\} and Mattia Bulla and Eric Burns and Kenta Hotokezaka and Luca Izzo and Lamb, \{Gavin P.\} and Malesani, \{Daniele B.\} and Oates, \{Samantha R.\} and Ravasio, \{Maria Edvige\} and \{Rouco Escorial\}, Alicia and Benjamin Schneider and Nikhil Sarin and Steve Schulze and Tanvir, \{Nial R.\} and Kendall Ackley and Gemma Anderson and Brammer, \{Gabriel B.\} and Lise Christensen and Dhillon, \{Vikram S.\} and Evans, \{Phil A.\} and Michael Fausnaugh and Fong, \{Wen Fai\} and Fruchter, \{Andrew S.\} and Chris Fryer and Fynbo, \{Johan P.U.\} and Nicola Gaspari and Heintz, \{Kasper E.\} and Jens Hjorth and Kennea, \{Jamie A.\} and Kennedy, \{Mark R.\} and Tanmoy Laskar and Giorgos Leloudas and Ilya Mandel and Antonio Martin-Carrillo and Metzger, \{Brian D.\} and Matt Nicholl and Anya Nugent and Palmerio, \{Jesse T.\} and Giovanna Pugliese and Jillian Rastinejad and Lauren Rhodes and Andrea Rossi and Andrea Saccardi and Smartt, \{Stephen J.\} and Stevance, \{Heloise F.\} and Aaron Tohuvavohu and \{van der Horst\}, Alexander and Vergani, \{Susanna D.\} and Darach Watson and Thomas Barclay and Kornpob Bhirombhakdi and Elm{\'e} Breedt and Breeveld, \{Alice A.\} and Brown, \{Alexander J.\} and Sergio Campana and Chrimes, \{Ashley A.\} and Paolo D{\textquoteright}Avanzo and Valerio D{\textquoteright}Elia and \{De Pasquale\}, Massimiliano and Dyer, \{Martin J.\} and Galloway, \{Duncan K.\} and Garbutt, \{James A.\} and Green, \{Matthew J.\} and Hartmann, \{Dieter H.\} and P{\'a}ll Jakobsson and Paul Kerry and Chryssa Kouveliotou and Danial Langeroodi and \{Le Floc{\textquoteright}h\}, Emeric and Leung, \{James K.\} and Littlefair, \{Stuart P.\} and James Munday and Paul O{\textquoteright}Brien and Parsons, \{Steven G.\} and Ingrid Pelisoli and Sahman, \{David I.\} and Ruben Salvaterra and Boris Sbarufatti and Danny Steeghs and Gianpiero Tagliaferri and Th{\"o}ne, \{Christina C.\} and \{de Ugarte Postigo\}, Antonio and Kann, \{David Alexander\}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2023.",

year = "2024",

month = feb,

day = "22",

doi = "10.1038/s41586-023-06759-1",

language = "English",

volume = "626",

pages = "737--741",

journal = "Nature",

issn = "0028-0836",

publisher = "Nature Research",

number = "8000",

}

Levan, AJ, Gompertz, BP, Salafia, OS, Bulla, M, Burns, E, Hotokezaka, K, Izzo, L, Lamb, GP, Malesani, DB, Oates, SR, Ravasio, ME, Rouco Escorial, A, Schneider, B, Sarin, N, Schulze, S, Tanvir, NR, Ackley, K, Anderson, G, Brammer, GB, Christensen, L, Dhillon, VS, Evans, PA, Fausnaugh, M, Fong, WF, Fruchter, AS, Fryer, C, Fynbo, JPU, Gaspari, N, Heintz, KE, Hjorth, J, Kennea, JA, Kennedy, MR, Laskar, T, Leloudas, G, Mandel, I, Martin-Carrillo, A, Metzger, BD, Nicholl, M, Nugent, A, Palmerio, JT, Pugliese, G, Rastinejad, J, Rhodes, L, Rossi, A, Saccardi, A, Smartt, SJ, Stevance, HF, Tohuvavohu, A, van der Horst, A, Vergani, SD, Watson, D, Barclay, T, Bhirombhakdi, K, Breedt, E, Breeveld, AA, Brown, AJ, Campana, S, Chrimes, AA, D’Avanzo, P, D’Elia, V, De Pasquale, M, Dyer, MJ, Galloway, DK, Garbutt, JA, Green, MJ, Hartmann, DH, Jakobsson, P, Kerry, P, Kouveliotou, C, Langeroodi, D, Le Floc’h, E, Leung, JK, Littlefair, SP, Munday, J, O’Brien, P, Parsons, SG, Pelisoli, I, Sahman, DI, Salvaterra, R, Sbarufatti, B, Steeghs, D, Tagliaferri, G, Thöne, CC, de Ugarte Postigo, A & Kann, DA 2024, 'Heavy-element production in a compact object merger observed by JWST', Nature, vol. 626, no. 8000, pp. 737-741. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06759-1

TY - JOUR

T1 - Heavy-element production in a compact object merger observed by JWST

AU - Levan, Andrew J.

AU - Gompertz, Benjamin P.

AU - Salafia, Om Sharan

AU - Bulla, Mattia

AU - Burns, Eric

AU - Hotokezaka, Kenta

AU - Izzo, Luca

AU - Lamb, Gavin P.

AU - Malesani, Daniele B.

AU - Oates, Samantha R.

AU - Ravasio, Maria Edvige

AU - Rouco Escorial, Alicia

AU - Schneider, Benjamin

AU - Sarin, Nikhil

AU - Schulze, Steve

AU - Tanvir, Nial R.

AU - Ackley, Kendall

AU - Anderson, Gemma

AU - Brammer, Gabriel B.

AU - Christensen, Lise

AU - Dhillon, Vikram S.

AU - Evans, Phil A.

AU - Fausnaugh, Michael

AU - Fong, Wen Fai

AU - Fruchter, Andrew S.

AU - Fryer, Chris

AU - Fynbo, Johan P.U.

AU - Gaspari, Nicola

AU - Heintz, Kasper E.

AU - Hjorth, Jens

AU - Kennea, Jamie A.

AU - Kennedy, Mark R.

AU - Laskar, Tanmoy

AU - Leloudas, Giorgos

AU - Mandel, Ilya

AU - Martin-Carrillo, Antonio

AU - Metzger, Brian D.

AU - Nicholl, Matt

AU - Nugent, Anya

AU - Palmerio, Jesse T.

AU - Pugliese, Giovanna

AU - Rastinejad, Jillian

AU - Rhodes, Lauren

AU - Rossi, Andrea

AU - Saccardi, Andrea

AU - Smartt, Stephen J.

AU - Stevance, Heloise F.

AU - Tohuvavohu, Aaron

AU - van der Horst, Alexander

AU - Vergani, Susanna D.

AU - Watson, Darach

AU - Barclay, Thomas

AU - Bhirombhakdi, Kornpob

AU - Breedt, Elmé

AU - Breeveld, Alice A.

AU - Brown, Alexander J.

AU - Campana, Sergio

AU - Chrimes, Ashley A.

AU - D’Avanzo, Paolo

AU - D’Elia, Valerio

AU - De Pasquale, Massimiliano

AU - Dyer, Martin J.

AU - Galloway, Duncan K.

AU - Garbutt, James A.

AU - Green, Matthew J.

AU - Hartmann, Dieter H.

AU - Jakobsson, Páll

AU - Kerry, Paul

AU - Kouveliotou, Chryssa

AU - Langeroodi, Danial

AU - Le Floc’h, Emeric

AU - Leung, James K.

AU - Littlefair, Stuart P.

AU - Munday, James

AU - O’Brien, Paul

AU - Parsons, Steven G.

AU - Pelisoli, Ingrid

AU - Sahman, David I.

AU - Salvaterra, Ruben

AU - Sbarufatti, Boris

AU - Steeghs, Danny

AU - Tagliaferri, Gianpiero

AU - Thöne, Christina C.

AU - de Ugarte Postigo, Antonio

AU - Kann, David Alexander

PY - 2024/2/22

Y1 - 2024/2/22

N2 - The mergers of binary compact objects such as neutron stars and black holes are of central interest to several areas of astrophysics, including as the progenitors of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs)1, sources of high-frequency gravitational waves (GWs)2 and likely production sites for heavy-element nucleosynthesis by means of rapid neutron capture (the r-process)3. Here we present observations of the exceptionally bright GRB 230307A. We show that GRB 230307A belongs to the class of long-duration GRBs associated with compact object mergers4–6 and contains a kilonova similar to AT2017gfo, associated with the GW merger GW170817 (refs. 7–12). We obtained James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) mid-infrared imaging and spectroscopy 29 and 61 days after the burst. The spectroscopy shows an emission line at 2.15 microns, which we interpret as tellurium (atomic mass A = 130) and a very red source, emitting most of its light in the mid-infrared owing to the production of lanthanides. These observations demonstrate that nucleosynthesis in GRBs can create r-process elements across a broad atomic mass range and play a central role in heavy-element nucleosynthesis across the Universe.

AB - The mergers of binary compact objects such as neutron stars and black holes are of central interest to several areas of astrophysics, including as the progenitors of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs)1, sources of high-frequency gravitational waves (GWs)2 and likely production sites for heavy-element nucleosynthesis by means of rapid neutron capture (the r-process)3. Here we present observations of the exceptionally bright GRB 230307A. We show that GRB 230307A belongs to the class of long-duration GRBs associated with compact object mergers4–6 and contains a kilonova similar to AT2017gfo, associated with the GW merger GW170817 (refs. 7–12). We obtained James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) mid-infrared imaging and spectroscopy 29 and 61 days after the burst. The spectroscopy shows an emission line at 2.15 microns, which we interpret as tellurium (atomic mass A = 130) and a very red source, emitting most of its light in the mid-infrared owing to the production of lanthanides. These observations demonstrate that nucleosynthesis in GRBs can create r-process elements across a broad atomic mass range and play a central role in heavy-element nucleosynthesis across the Universe.

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85182219102

U2 - 10.1038/s41586-023-06759-1

DO - 10.1038/s41586-023-06759-1

M3 - Article

C2 - 37879361

AN - SCOPUS:85182219102

SN - 0028-0836

VL - 626

SP - 737

EP - 741

JO - Nature

JF - Nature

IS - 8000

ER -

Heavy-element production in a compact object merger observed by JWST

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