Pith. sign in

REVIEW 7 cited by

Constraining the Maximum Mass of Neutron Stars From Multi-Messenger Observations of GW170817

Not yet reviewed by Pith; the record is open.

Re-run · record.json Download PDF Read on arXiv ↗

This paper has not been read by Pith yet. Machine review is queued; the pith claim, tier, and objections will appear here once it completes.

SPECIMEN: schema-true, not a live event

T0 review · schema-true

One-sentence machine reading of the paper's core claim.

pith:XXXXXXXX · record.json · timestamp

arxiv 1710.05938 v2 pith:LETQNHO4 submitted 2017-10-16 astro-ph.HE

Ben Margalit , Brian Metzger This is my paper · ORCID
classification astro-ph.HE
keywords ejectamergergw170817energymassobservationsbinaryconstrain
verification ladder T0 review T1 audit T2 compute T3 formal
0 comments
abstract

We combine electromagnetic (EM) and gravitational wave (GW) information on the binary neutron star (NS) merger GW170817 in order to constrain the radii $R_{\rm ns}$ and maximum mass $M_{\rm max}$ of NSs. GW170817 was followed by a range of EM counterparts, including a weak gamma-ray burst (GRB), kilonova (KN) emission from the radioactive decay of the merger ejecta, and X-ray/radio emission consistent with being the synchrotron afterglow of a more powerful off-axis jet. The type of compact remnant produced in the immediate merger aftermath, and its predicted EM signal, depend sensitively on the high-density NS equation of state (EOS). For a soft EOS which supports a low $M_{\rm max}$, the merger undergoes a prompt collapse accompanied by a small quantity of shock-heated or disk wind ejecta, inconsistent with the large quantity $\gtrsim 10^{-2}M_{\odot}$ of lanthanide-free ejecta inferred from the KN. On the other hand, if $M_{\rm max}$ is sufficiently large, then the merger product is a rapidly-rotating supramassive NS (SMNS), which must spin-down before collapsing into a black hole. A fraction of the enormous rotational energy necessarily released by the SMNS during this process is transferred to the ejecta, either into the GRB jet (energy $E_{\rm GRB}$) or the KN ejecta (energy $E_{\rm ej}$), also inconsistent with observations. By combining the total binary mass of GW170817 inferred from the GW signal with conservative upper limits on $E_{\rm GRB}$ and $E_{\rm ej}$ from EM observations, we constrain the likelihood probability of a wide-range of previously-allowed EOS. These two constraints delineate an allowed region of the $M_{\rm max}-R_{\rm ns}$ parameter space, which once marginalized over NS radius places an upper limit of $M_{\rm max} \lesssim 2.17M_{\odot}$ (90\%), which is tighter or arguably less model-dependent than other current constraints.

Discussion (0). Continue with ORCID to comment.

Forward citations

Cited by 7 Pith papers

Reviewed papers in the Pith corpus that reference this work. Sorted by Pith novelty score. Full citation record

  1. Black hole-neutron star binaries with high spins and large mass asymmetries: III. Properties of the ejected material and its electromagnetic signatures

    gr-qc 2026-07 conditional novelty 6.0 of 10

    High-spin, high-mass-ratio black hole–neutron star mergers eject 0.02–0.06 solar masses of neutron-rich (Y_e≈0.05) debris whose kilonovae are infrared-bright, optically dark, and match late-time AT2017gfo while stayin...

  2. Beta-Particle Transport and Thermalization in Kilonova Ejecta with Detailed Atomic Microphysics

    astro-ph.HE 2026-07 unverdicted novelty 6.0 of 10

    Relativistic transport model for beta-particles in homologously expanding kilonova ejecta, incorporating per-species atomic data, shows non-local deposition and escape lower thermalization efficiency with analytic pre...

  3. A magnetar formation in binary neutron star merger

    astro-ph.HE 2026-06 unverdicted novelty 6.0 of 10

    High-resolution GR neutrino-radiation MHD simulation of 1.35-1.35 Msun BNS merger shows KHI-driven B-field amplification to magnetar levels (~10^50 erg, factor >=316) in 3 ms post-merger.

  4. The error budget of binary neutron star merger simulations for configurations with high spin

    gr-qc 2025-06 accept novelty 6.0 of 10

    For highly spinning (chi=0.5) binary neutron stars, evolution code choice is the largest numerical waveform error, and current analytical models disagree with numerical relativity beyond that error after the stars touch.

  5. Prospect for Detection of Strongly Lensed Multi-messenger Signals of Binary Neutron Star Mergers

    astro-ph.HE 2026-07 conditional novelty 5.0 of 10

    Future CE+ET detectors may detect lensed BNS kilonovae at ~0.5/yr via pointed follow-up of known galaxy lenses, while lensed sGRBs and afterglows remain rare or undetectable with current-generation facilities.

  6. Properties of compact objects in quadratic non-metricity gravity

    gr-qc 2025-07 reject novelty 4.0 of 10

    Quadratic non-metricity gravity with a fitted coupling ξ can match PSR J0740+6620 while keeping the radial sound speed below c²/3, according to the paper's chosen metric ansatz.

  7. The equation of state for neutron stars

    nucl-th 2026-07 unverdicted

    A textbook-style review of the neutron-star equation of state covering the models, experimental and observational constraints, and open questions, with no new result claimed or derived.

Pith tools