# Nuclear Astrophysics in the Multimessenger Era: A Partnership Made in Heaven

## TL;DR

The paper discusses how the multimessenger detection of GW170817 has advanced our understanding of neutron star matter, especially constraining the symmetry energy and the equation of state through gravitational wave data.

## Contribution

It analyzes the impact of GW170817 on the neutron-rich matter equation of state, highlighting constraints on the symmetry energy from gravitational wave observations.

## Key findings

- GW170817 constrains the neutron star equation of state.
- Results suggest a soft symmetry energy, limiting stellar radii.
- Gravitational wave data refines models of dense matter.

## Abstract

On August 17, 2017 the LIGO-Virgo collaboration detected for the first time gravitational waves from the binary merger of two neutron stars (GW170817). Unlike the merger of two black holes, the associated electromagnetic radiation was also detected by a host of telescopes operating over a wide range of frequencies---opening a brand new era of multimessenger astronomy. This historical detection is providing fundamental new insights into the astrophysical site for the r-process and on the nature of dense matter. In this contribution we examine the impact of GW170817 on the equation of state of neutron rich matter, particularly on the density dependence of the symmetry energy. Limits on the tidal polarizability extracted from GW170817 seem to suggest that the symmetry energy is soft, thereby excluding models that predict overly large stellar radii.