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Constraining the Kilonova Rate with Zwicky Transient Facility Searches Independent of Gravitational Wave and Short Gamma-Ray Burst Triggers
KTH, Centres, Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics NORDITA. Stockholm Univ, Roslagstullsbacken 23, SE-10691 Stockholm, Sweden..
2020 (English)In: Astrophysical Journal, ISSN 0004-637X, E-ISSN 1538-4357, Vol. 904, no 2, article id 155Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

The first binary neutron star merger, GW170817, was accompanied by a radioactivity-powered optical/infrared transient called a kilonova. To date, no compelling kilonova has been found in all-sky optical surveys, independently of short gamma-ray burst and gravitational-wave triggers. In this work, we searched the first 23 months of the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) data stream for candidate kilonovae in the form of rapidly evolving transients. We combined ZTF alert queries with forced point-spread-function photometry and nightly flux stacking to increase our sensitivity to faint and fast transients. Automatic queries yielded >11,200 candidates, 24 of which passed quality checks and selection criteria based on a grid of kilonova models tailored for both binary neutron star and neutron star-black hole mergers. None of the candidates in our sample was deemed a possible kilonova after thorough vetting. The sources that passed our selection criteria are dominated by Galactic cataclysmic variables. We identified two fast transients at high Galactic latitude, one of which is the confirmed afterglow of long-duration GRB.190106A, the other is a possible cosmological afterglow. Using a survey simulation code, we constrained the kilonova rate for a range of models including top-hat, linearly decaying light curves, and synthetic light curves obtained with radiative transfer simulations. For prototypical GW170817-like kilonovae, we constrain the rate to be R < 1775 Gpc(-3) yr(-1) (95% confidence). By assuming a population of kilonovae with the same geometry and composition of GW170817 observed under a uniform viewing angle distribution, we obtained a constraint on the rate of R.<.4029 Gpc(-3) yr(-1).

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
American Astronomical Society , 2020. Vol. 904, no 2, article id 155
Keywords [en]
Neutron stars, Compact objects, Gravitational wave sources, Transient sources, Surveys, R-process, Optical observation, Optical bursts, Gamma-ray bursts, Cataclysmic variable stars, Gravitational wave astronomy
National Category
Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-287827DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/abbf4cISI: 000594539100001Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85097511525OAI: oai:DiVA.org:kth-287827DiVA, id: diva2:1520436
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Nordita SU

QC 20210120

Available from: 2021-01-20 Created: 2021-01-20 Last updated: 2024-03-18Bibliographically approved

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Bulla, Mattia

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