Media Release
Tuesday, 17October 2017 – 01:00
The first detection of an electromagnetic counterpart to a gravitational wave event
For the first time, astronomers have observed the afterglow of an event that was also detected in gravitational waves. The object, dubbed AT2017gfo, was a pair of in-spiralling neutron stars in a galaxy 130 million light years away. The death spiral was detected in gravitational waves, and the resulting explosion was followed by over 50 observatories world wide, including the AAO and other observatories here in Australia.
On August, 17 the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), based in the United States, detected a new gravitational wave event, called GW170817.
GW170817 is the fifth source of gravitational waves ever recorded. The first one was discovered in September 2015, for which three founding members of the LIGO collaboration were awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics.
The GW170817 data are consistent with the merging of two neutron stars and are unlike the four previous events, which were merging black holes.
The Advanced-Virgointerferometer, based in Italy, was online at the time of the discovery and contributed to the localization of the new gravitational wave burst.
Based on information from LIGO and VIRGO, numerous telescopes immediately sprang into action to determine if an electromagnetic counterpart to the gravitational waves could be detected.
Meanwhile, NASA's Fermi satellite independently reported a short burst of gamma-rays within 2 seconds of the merger event associated with GW170817, consistent with the area of sky from which LIGO and VIRGO detected their gravitational waves.
This gamma-ray detection at the same time and place triggered even greater interest from the astronomical community and resulted in more intense follow up observations in optical, infrared and radio wavelengths.
A team of scientists within the Dark Energy Survey (DES) collaboration, which includes researchers from the Australian Astronomical Observatory and other Australian institutions, working with astronomers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) in the U.S., were among the first astronomers to observe the electromagnetic counterpartof GW170817 in optical wavelengths.
Using the 570-megapixel Dark Energy Camera (DECam) mounted at the 4m Blanco Telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile, DES identified the kilonova AT2017gfoin the nearby galaxy NGC 4993, located only 130 million light years from us, as the optical counterpart of GW170817.
“Because of its large field of view, the Dark Energy Camera was able to search almost the entire region where LIGO/VIRGO expected the gravitational wave source to be, and its exquisite sensitivity allowed us to make detailed measurements of the kilonova – the extremely energetic outburst created by the merging neutron stars,” AAO Instrument Scientist and DES Collaboration member Dr Kyler Kuehn stated.
A kilonova is similar to a supernova in some aspects, but it is different in others. It occurs when two neutron stars crash into each other. These events are thought to be the mechanism by which many of the elements heavier than iron, such as gold, are formed.
“But as impressive as it is, the Dark Energy Camera is only one of many instruments with a front row seat to this celestial spectacle. A lot of effort has gone into preparing dozens of telescopes around the world to search for electromagnetic counterparts to gravitational waves”, Dr Kuehn added.
Simultaneously to the DES study, a large group of Australian astronomers obtained follow up observations of the kilonova AT2017gfo at optical, infrared and radio wavelengths, using 14 Australian telescopes as part of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav) and other Australian programs.
Their data are consistent with the expected outburst and subsequent merger of two neutron stars, in agreement with the results derived for GW170817 by the LIGO/Virgo collaboration.
“Before this event, it was like we were sitting in an IMAX theatre with blindfolds on. The gravitational wave detectors let us ‘hear’ the movies of black hole collisions, but we couldn't see anything. This event lifted the blindfolds and, wow, what an amazing show!!”, A/Professor Jeff Cooke, astronomer at Swinburne University who led many of the observations said.
The Australia team also conducted observations at the 3.9m Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT), that is managed by the Australian Astronomical Observatory (AAO). Additional archive data from the 6dF survey obtained at the AAO’s 1.2m UK Schmidt Telescope were also used.
“The observations undertaken at the AAT place important constraints on the nature of the environment in which the kilonova occurred”, AAO astronomer Dr Chris Lidman said.
The follow up observations were not scheduled, but the excitement that this event generated in the astronomical community was so large that regular programs were placed on hold.
“Many astronomers dropped any other planned observation and used all the available resources to study this rare event”, said PhD candidate Igor Andreoni (Swinburne University and Australian Astronomical Observatory), first author of the scientific paperthatwill be published in the science journal “Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia” (PASA).
The study alsoreveals that the host galaxy has not experienced significant star-formation during the last billion years. However, there is some evidence that indicates that NGC 4993 experienced a collision with a smaller galaxy not long time ago.
The position of the kilonovaAT2017gfo, found in the external parts of NGC 4993, may suggest that the binary neutron star could have been part of the smaller galaxy.
Australian astronomers were thrilled to contribute to both the detection and the ongoing observations of the kilonova AT2017gfo, the electromagnetic counterpart to the gravitational wave event GW170817.
“We have been waiting and preparing for an event like this, but didn’t think it would happen so soon and in a galaxy that is so near to us. Once we were alerted of the gravitational wave detection, we immediately contacted a dozen telescopes and joined the worldwide effort to study this historic event. It didn’t let us down!”, A/Professor Jeff Cooke said.
"It was crucial to have telescopes placed in every continent, including Australia, to keep this rare event continuously monitored", PhD candidateIgor Andreoni said.
“To me, this gravitational + electromagnetic wave combined detection is even more important than the initial detection that resulted in the Nobel Prize. This has changed the way the entire astronomical community operates”, AAO Instrument Scientist Dr Kyler Kuehn stated.
The first identification of the electromagnetic counterpart to a gravitational wave event is a milestone in the history of modern Astronomy,and opens a new era of multi-messenger astronomy.
The ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav) is funded by the Australian Government through theAustralian Research CouncilCentres of Excellence funding scheme. OzGrav is a partnership betweenSwinburne Universityof Technology(host of OzGrav headquarters), theAustralian National University,Monash University,University of Adelaide,University of Melbourne, andUniversity of Western Australia, along with other collaborating organisations in Australia and overseas.
TheDark Energy Surveyis a collaboration of more than 400 scientists from 26 institutions in seven countries. Funding for the DES Projects has been provided by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science, U.S. National Science Foundation, Ministry of Science and Education of Spain, Science and Technology Facilities Council of the United Kingdom, Higher Education Funding Council for England, ETH Zurich for Switzerland, National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign, Kavli Institute of Cosmological Physics at the University of Chicago, Center for Cosmology and Astro-Particle Physics at Ohio State University, Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy at Texas A&M University, Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos, Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico and Ministério da Ciência e Tecnologia, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, and the collaborating institutions in the Dark Energy Survey, the list of which can be found at
The AAO is a division of the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science.
Publication details:
Six papers relating to the DECam discovery of the optical counterpart are planned for publication in The Astrophysical Journal. Preprints of all papers are available here:
I. Andreoni and 124 coauthors, “Follow up of GW170817 and its electromagnetic
counterpart by Australian-led observing programs”, 2017, submitted to Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia (PASA).
Further information:
Link to DES:
Link to OzGrav:
Science Contacts:
Dr Chris Lidman
Research Astronomer, Head of National Facilities, Australian Astronomical Observatory
P: +61 (2) 9372 4823 E:
Dr Kyler Kuehn
Instrument Scientist, Australian Astronomical Observatory
M: +61 405 073 010 E:
Media contact:
Dr Ángel López-Sánchez,
Research Astronomer and Science Communication Officer,
Australian Astronomical Observatory
M: +61 406 265 917 E:
Images:
Caption: Composite of detection images, including the discovery z image taken on August 18th and the g and r images taken 1 day later. Right: The same area two weeks later. Credit: Soares-Santos et al. and DES Collaboration.
Image with arrow:
Image with no arrow:
Caption:Artist’s illustration of two merging neutron stars. The narrow beams represent the gamma-ray burst while the rippling spacetime grid indicates the gravitational waves that characterize the merger. Swirling clouds of material ejected from the merging stars are a possible source of the light that was seen at lower energies. Credit: National Science Foundation/LIGO/Sonoma State University/A. Simonnet
This image is available at:
Animation: The explosive counterparts of gravitational waves.
Astronomy collaborations like the Dark Energy Survey, which Fermilab leads, can track down the visible sources of gravitational waves caused by binary neutron stars. This animation, presented here without sound, takes you through the collision of two neutron stars, and shows you the explosion of light and energy seen by the Dark Energy Camera on August 17, 2017.
Animation with voiceover:
Animation without voiceover:
Credit: Fermilab and DES collaboration.
Video Story: Chasing down gravitational wave sources with the Dark Energy Camera
On August 17, 2017, scientists using the Dark Energy Camera tracked down the first visible counterpart to a gravitational wave signal ever spotted by astronomers. Using data provided by the LIGO and Virgo collaborations, scientists embarked on a quest for the unknown, and discovered a new wonder of the universe. Includes interviews with Fermilab’s Jim Annis and Brandeis University’s Marcelle Soares-Santos.
Credit: Fermilab and DES collaboration.
Video: Summary of the detection of the kilonova AT2017gfo at optical, infrared and radio wavelengths, using 14 Australian telescopes as part of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav) and other Australian programs.
GW170817-detection-1080p25-15Mbps.mp4
Credit: OzGrav/LSC-Virgo.
Interview: Matthew Bailes, director of OzGrav, talks about the discovery.
OzGrav-Director-Interview.mp4
Credit: OzGrav/LSC-Virgo.
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