Stephen Smartt
The composition of the kilonova AT2017gfo and prospects for 2023
In 2017, the first detection of a merger event of two neutron stars was made by the LIGO-Virgo gravitational wave detectors. It was followed by the discovery of a short gamma ray burst and an optical-infrared kilonova. The kilonova's thermal emission can be explained through radioactive heating by elements heavier than iron. I will review the latest work on determining the chemical composition of the ejecta from a combination of nucleosynthesis calculations and radiative transfer models. I will particularly focus on how the the daily sequence of spectroscopic data taken with ESO's Very Large Telescope can constrain the models. I will also review prospects for the LIGO-Virgo-Kagra 4th Observing run which will begin in 2023.