After a neutron star collision in the galaxy NGC4993, gamma-ray and optical counterparts of the gravitational wave signal could be detected on Earth. (image: ESO)
Research news - For the first time ever, scientists have measured electromagnetic and gravitational signals generated by the collision of neutron stars. In a special research project led by the Technical University of Munich (TUM), physicists with the Collaborative Research Center 1258 "Neutrinos and Dark Matter" team recorded the aftermath of the powerful event. Their findings will facilitate verification of theories on the exact progression of the merger - as well as the theoretical models on sizes, masses and matter properties of neutron stars. The collision of the two neutron stars occurred in the galaxy NGC4993, about 130 million light years away from Earth. The gravitational waves of this massive event were observed by the U.S. Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) and its European sister observatory Virgo, on August 17, 2017 (GW170817). These new observations bring us a step closer to answering a very fundamental question in physics: What is the state of matter in a neutron star? Of all the star types known to science, neutron stars are the smallest and most dense stars. They're the final stage in the collapse of a massive star and typically have a radius of 10 to 20 kilometers, with about twice the mass of our own sun.
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