Limits on the ejecta mass during the search for kilonovae associated with neutron star-black hole mergers: A case study of S230518h, GW230529, S230627c and the low-significance candidate S240422ed

Neutron star-black hole (NSBH) mergers, detectable via their gravitational-wave (GW) emission, are expected to produce kilonovae (KNe). Four NSBH candidates have been identified and followed-up by more than fifty instruments since the start of the fourth GW observing run (O4), in May 2023, up to July 2024; however, no confirmed associated KN has been detected. This study evaluates ejecta properties from multimessenger observations to understand the absence of detectable KN: we use GW public information and joint observations taken from 05.2023 to 07.2024 (LVK, ATLAS, DECam, GECKO, GOTO, GRANDMA, SAGUARO, TESS, WINTER, ZTF). First, our analysis on follow-up observation strategies shows that, on average, more than 50% of the simulated KNe associated with NSBH mergers reach their peak luminosity around one day after merger in the $g$, $r$, $i$- bands, which is not necessarily covered for each NSBH GW candidate. We also analyze the trade-off between observation efficiency and the intrinsic properties of the KN emission, to understand the impact on how these constraints affect our ability to detect the KN, and underlying ejecta properties for each GW candidate. In particular, we can only confirm the kilonova was not missed for 1% of the GW230529 and S230627c sky localization region, given the large sky localization error of GW230529 and the large distance for S230627c and, their respective KN faint luminosities. More constraining, for S230518h, we infer the dynamical ejecta and postmerger disk wind ejecta ${m}_{\mathrm{dyn}},{m}_{\mathrm{wind}}<0.03{M}_{\ensuremath{\bigodot}}$ and the viewing angle $\ensuremath{\theta}>25\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}$. Similarly, the nonastrophysical origin of S240422ed is likely further confirmed by the fact that we would have detected even a faint KN at the time and presumed distance of the S240422ed event candidate, within a minimum 45% credible region of the sky area, that can be larger depending on the KN scenario.

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Journal
Physical review. D/Physical review. D.
Published
2025-07-18
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1103/6ld6-95xh
Citations
7
Primary Topic
Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
8.08

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article

Limits on the ejecta mass during the search for kilonovae associated with neutron star-black hole mergers: A case study of S230518h, GW230529, S230627c and the low-significance candidate S240422ed

C. D. Kilpatrick, M. Lamoureux, J. D. Lyman, Hoseung Choi et al.
7 citations
Physical review. D/Physical review. D.
Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae
8.08
article

Limits on the ejecta mass during the search for kilonovae associated with neutron star-black hole mergers: A case study of S230518h, GW230529, S230627c and the low-significance candidate S240422ed

C. D. Kilpatrick, M. Lamoureux, J. D. Lyman, Hoseung Choi, Francesca Magnani, Geoffrey Mo, K. Noysena, Vaidehi Gupta, Oleksandra Pyshna, Wen‐fai Fong, Y Rajabov, Gregory S. H. Paek, A. Takey, Thomas Hussenot-Desenonges, Shreya Anand, A. R. Gibbs, Seo-Won Chang, M. Molham, François Foucart, Myungshin Im, P. Shawhan, Danny T. H. Steeghs, K. Ackley, S. V. Karpov, Dalya Akl, H.-B. Eggenstein, Mattia Bulla, M. Jeong, Robert Stein, G. Hosseinzadeh, Cristina Andrade, Chung‐Uk Lee, N. Kochiashvili, Rahul Jayaraman, Nathan P. Lourie, A. Palmese, Brendan O’Connor, T. Pradier, Michael Fausnaugh, A. Wold, Andrew Toivonen, S. Antier, Tomás Cabrera, A. Nitz, M. Mašek, David J. Sand, Lei Hu, Tim Dietrich, H. F. Stevance, Leandro de Almeida, S. Kim, Nidhal Guessoum, Desmond O’Neill, M. W. Coughlin, Igor Andreoni, Ming Sun, S. J. Smartt, D. Turpin, K. Ulaczyk, Felipe Navarete, Martin J. Dyer, Jillian Rastinejad, W. J. B. Corradi, Robert A. Simcoe, K. A. Bostroem, M. Nicholl, Viraj Karambelkar, R. Poggiani, Eric Burns, M Freeberg, Danielle Frostig, Tomás Ahumada, Manisha Shrestha, Thibeau Wouters, Keerthi Kunnumkai, Pierre-Alexandre Duverne, M. M. Kasliwal, Patrice Hello, D. Dornic, J.-G. Ducoin, Karl J. Friston
article en
7 citations

Abstract

Neutron star-black hole (NSBH) mergers, detectable via their gravitational-wave (GW) emission, are expected to produce kilonovae (KNe). Four NSBH candidates have been identified and followed-up by more than fifty instruments since the start of the fourth GW observing run (O4), in May 2023, up to July 2024; however, no confirmed associated KN has been detected. This study evaluates ejecta properties from multimessenger observations to understand the absence of detectable KN: we use GW public information and joint observations taken from 05.2023 to 07.2024 (LVK, ATLAS, DECam, GECKO, GOTO, GRANDMA, SAGUARO, TESS, WINTER, ZTF). First, our analysis on follow-up observation strategies shows that, on average, more than 50% of the simulated KNe associated with NSBH mergers reach their peak luminosity around one day after merger in the $g$, $r$, $i$- bands, which is not necessarily covered for each NSBH GW candidate. We also analyze the trade-off between observation efficiency and the intrinsic properties of the KN emission, to understand the impact on how these constraints affect our ability to detect the KN, and underlying ejecta properties for each GW candidate. In particular, we can only confirm the kilonova was not missed for 1% of the GW230529 and S230627c sky localization region, given the large sky localization error of GW230529 and the large distance for S230627c and, their respective KN faint luminosities. More constraining, for S230518h, we infer the dynamical ejecta and postmerger disk wind ejecta ${m}_{\mathrm{dyn}},{m}_{\mathrm{wind}}<0.03{M}_{\ensuremath{\bigodot}}$ and the viewing angle $\ensuremath{\theta}>25\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}$. Similarly, the nonastrophysical origin of S240422ed is likely further confirmed by the fact that we would have detected even a faint KN at the time and presumed distance of the S240422ed event candidate, within a minimum 45% credible region of the sky area, that can be larger depending on the KN scenario.

Physical review. D/Physical review. D.Vol. 112(8)
University of Pisa (IT), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US), Louisiana State University (US), California Institute of Technology (US), Queen's University Belfast (GB), Goddard Space Flight Center (US), University of Hawaii System (US), University of Arizona (US), Seoul National University (KR), University of Liège (BE), University of Potsdam (DE), University of New Hampshire at Manchester (US), Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (UA), Utrecht University (NL), American University of Sharjah (AE), University of Ferrara (IT), Université Paris Cité (FR), Paderborn University (DE), Aix-Marseille Université (FR), Université Paris-Saclay (FR), University of Minnesota System (US), Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KR), Evgeni Kharadze Georgian National Astrophysical Observatory (GE), University of California System (US), University of Warwick (GB), University of Oxford (GB), National Institute for Subatomic Physics (NL), Queens University (BD), Ulugh Beg Astronomical Institute (UZ), Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Ferrara (IT), National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics (EG), Joint Space Science Institute (US), Southern Astrophysical Research Telescope (CL), FZU ‒ Institute of Physics of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (CZ), Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian (US), Collurania Teramo Observatory (IT), National Observatory (BR), Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur (FR), Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (DE), Laboratoire de Physique des 2 Infinis Irène Joliot-Curie (FR), NSF NOIRLab (US), Astronomical Observatory (RS), Laboratório Nacional de Astrofísica (BR), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US), University of Maryland, College Park (US), Université de Strasbourg (FR), Syracuse University (US), Carnegie Mellon University (US), National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (TH), University of Sheffield (GB), UCLouvain (BE)
National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, John Templeton Foundation, Space Telescope Science Institute, University of Oxford, European Commission, Queen's University Belfast, National Research Foundation, Ministerstvo Školství, Mládeže a Tělovýchovy, National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics, Fonds De La Recherche Scientifique - FNRS, Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales, Daimler und Benz Stiftung, Science and Technology Development Fund, Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, Queen's University, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, National Research Foundation of Korea, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation, Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos, Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais, Ministry of Science and ICT, South Korea, Korea Research Environment Open Network, Office of Science, Science and Technology Facilities Council, Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules, Nuclear Physics
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Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae
8.08
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