Electromagnetic Signatures of Neutron Star Mergers in the Advanced LIGO Era

TL;DR

This paper reviews the current understanding and modeling of electromagnetic signals from neutron star mergers, emphasizing their importance for multimessenger astronomy and the synthesis of heavy elements.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of electromagnetic emission models across different merger phases and wavelengths, highlighting diagnostics of merger physics and nucleosynthesis.

Findings

Electromagnetic signals are crucial for multimessenger observations.

Models help interpret merger physics and element synthesis.

Future developments will enhance observational and theoretical understanding.

Abstract

The mergers of binaries containing neutron stars and stellar-mass black holes are the most promising sources for direct detection in gravitational waves by the interferometers Advanced LIGO and Virgo over the next few years. The concurrent detection of electromagnetic emission from these events would greatly enhance the scientific return of these discoveries. Here we review the state of the art in modeling the electromagnetic signal of neutron star binary mergers across different phases of the merger and multiple wavelengths. We focus on those observables which provide the most sensitive diagnostics of the merger physics and the contribution to the synthesis of rapid neutron capture ($r$-process) elements in the Galaxy. We also outline expected future developments on the observational and theoretical sides of this rapidly evolving field.