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Astrophysics, High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, astro-ph.HE,Astrophysics, Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, astro-ph.CO,General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology, gr-qc,Nuclear Theory, nucl-th
Abstract:
The multi-messenger detection of the gravitational-wave signal GW170817, the
corresponding kilonova AT2017gfo and the short gamma-ray burst GRB170817A, as
well as the observed afterglow has delivered a scientific breakthrough. For an
accurate interpretation of all these different messengers, one requires robust
theoretical models that describe the emitted gravitational-wave, the
electromagnetic emission, and dense matter reliably. In addition, one needs
efficient and accurate computational tools to ensure a correct
cross-correlation between the models and the observational data. For this
purpose, we have developed the NMMA (Nuclear-physics and Multi-Messenger
Astrophysics) framework. The code allows incorporation of nuclear-physics
constraints at low densities as well as X-ray and radio observations of
isolated neutron stars. It also enables us to classify electromagnetic
observations, e.g., to distinguish between supernovae and kilonovae. In
previous works, the NMMA code has allowed us to constrain the equation of state
of supranuclear dense matter, to measure the Hubble constant, and to compare
dense-matter physics probed in neutron-star mergers and in heavy-ion
collisions. The extension of the NMMA code presented here is the first attempt
of analysing the gravitational-wave signal, the kilonovae, and the GRB
afterglow simultaneously, which reduces the uncertainty of our constraints.
Incorporating all available information, we estimate the radius of a 1.4 solar
mass neutron star to be $R=11.98^{+0.35}_{-0.40}$ km.
