On 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of ∼ 1.7 s with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg2 at a luminosity distance of 40 − 8 + 8 Mpc and with component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 M ⊙ . An extensive observing campaign was launched across the electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC 4993 (at ∼ 40 Mpc ) less than 11 hours after the merger by the One-Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment. Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward evolution over ∼10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and radio emission were discovered at the transient’s position ∼ 9 and ∼ 16 days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron stars in NGC 4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta.

On 17 August 2017, the Advanced LIGO and Virgo detectors observed the gravitational-wave event GW170817-a strong signal from the merger of a binary neutron-star system. Less than two seconds after the merger, a γ-ray burst (GRB 170817A) was detected within a region of the sky consistent with the LIGO-Virgo-derived location of the gravitational-wave source. This sky region was subsequently observed by optical astronomy facilities, resulting in the identification of an optical transient signal within about ten arcseconds of the galaxy NGC 4993. This detection of GW170817 in both gravitational waves and electromagnetic waves represents the first 'multi-messenger' astronomical observation. Such observations enable GW170817 to be used as a 'standard siren' (meaning that the absolute distance to the source can be determined directly from the gravitational-wave measurements) to measure the Hubble constant. This quantity represents the local expansion rate of the Universe, sets the overall scale of the Universe and is of fundamental importance to cosmology. Here we report a measurement of the Hubble constant that combines the distance to the source inferred purely from the gravitational-wave signal with the recession velocity inferred from measurements of the redshift using the electromagnetic data. In contrast to previous measurements, ours does not require the use of a cosmic 'distance ladder': the gravitational-wave analysis can be used to estimate the luminosity distance out to cosmological scales directly, without the use of intermediate astronomical distance measurements. We determine the Hubble constant to be about 70 kilometres per second per megaparsec. This value is consistent with existing measurements, while being completely independent of them. Additional standard siren measurements from future gravitational-wave sources will enable the Hubble constant to be constrained to high precision.

We obtained spectra, covering the CaII H and K region, for 49 exoplanet host (EH) stars, observable from the southern hemisphere. We measured the chromospheric activity index, R HK . We compiled previously published values of this index for the observed objects as well as the remaining EH stars in an effort to better smooth temporal variations and derive a more representative value of the average chromospheric activity for each object. We used the average index to obtain ages for the group of EH stars. In addition we applied other methods, such as: Isochrone, lithium abundance, metallicity and transverse velocity dispersions, to compare with the chromospheric results. The kinematic method is a less reliable age estimator because EH stars lie red-ward of Parenago's discontinuity in the transverse velocity dispersion vs dereddened B − V diagram. The chromospheric and isochrone techniques give median ages of 5.2 and 7.4 Gyr, respectively, with a dispersion of ∼4 Gyr. The median age of F and G EH stars derived by the isochrone technique is ∼1−2 Gyr older than that of identical spectral type nearby stars not known to be associated with planets. However, the dispersion in both cases is large, about ∼2−4 Gyr. We searched for correlations between the chromospheric and isochrone ages and L IR /L * (the excess over the stellar luminosity) and the metallicity of the EH stars. No clear tendency is found in the first case, whereas the metallicy dispersion seems to slightly increase with age.

Following the reported discovery of the gravitational-wave pulse GW170817/ G298048 by three LIGO/Virgo antennae (Abbott et al., 2017a), the MASTER Global Robotic Net telescopes obtained the first image of the NGC 4993 galaxy after the NS+NS merging. The optical transient MASTER OTJ130948.10-232253.3/SSS17a was later found, which appears to be a kilonova resulting from a merger of two neutron stars. In this paper we report the independent detection and photometry of the kilonova made in white light and in B, V, and R filters. We note that luminosity of the discovered kilonova NGC 4993 is very close to another possible kilonova proposed early GRB 130603 and GRB 080503.

Aims. We present fundamental stellar parameters, chemical abundances, and rotational velocities for a sample of 86 evolved stars with planets (56 giants; 30 subgiants), and for a control sample of 137 stars (101 giants; 36 subgiants) without planets. The analysis was based on both high signal-to-noise and resolution echelle spectra. The main goals of this work are i) to investigate chemical differences between evolved stars that host planets and those of the control sample without planets; ii) to explore potential differences between the properties of the planets around giants and subgiants; and iii) to search for possible correlations between these properties and the chemical abundances of their host stars. Implications for the scenarios of planet formation and evolution are also discussed. Methods. The fundamental stellar parameters (T eff , log g, [Fe/H], ξ t ) were computed homogeneously using the FUNDPAR code. The chemical abundances of 14 elements (Na, Mg, Al, Si, Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Zn, and Ba) were obtained using the MOOG code. Rotational velocities were derived from the full width at half maximum of iron isolated lines. Results. In agreement with previous studies, we find that subgiants with planets are, on average, more metal-rich than subgiants without planets by ∼0.16 dex. The [Fe/H] distribution of giants with planets is centered at slightly subsolar metallicities and there is no metallicity enhancement relative to the [Fe/H] distribution of giants without planets. Furthermore, contrary to recent results, we do not find any clear difference between the metallicity distributions of stars with and without planets for giants with M > 1.5 M . With regard to the other chemical elements, the analysis of the [X/Fe] distributions shows differences between giants with and without planets for some elements, particularly V, Co, and Ba. Subgiants with and without planets exhibit similar behavior for most of the elements. On the other hand, we find no evidence of rapid rotation among the giants with planets or among the giants without planets. Finally, analyzing the planet properties, some interesting trends might be emerging: i) multi-planet systems around evolved stars show a slight metallicity enhancement compared with single-planet systems; ii) planets with a 0.5 AU orbit subgiants with [Fe/H] > 0 and giants hosting planets with a 1 AU have [Fe/H] < 0; iii) higher-mass planets tend to orbit more metal-poor giants with M ≤ 1.5 M , whereas planets around subgiants seem to follow the planet-mass metallicity trend observed on dwarf hosts; iv) [X/Fe] ratios for Na, Si, and Al seem to increase with the mass of planets around giants; v) planets orbiting giants show lower orbital eccentricities than those orbiting subgiants and dwarfs, suggesting a more efficient tidal circularization or the result of the engulfment of close-in planets with larger eccentricities.