Creation of rare heavy elements witnessed in

neutron-star collision

An illustration of a kilonova, the spherical explosion created by the collision of two neutron stars. Photograph: Albert
Sneppen/Reuters

Space telescope used to monitor event 1bn light years away that sheds light on how
unusual elements are formed

Astronomers have witnessed the creation of rare heavy elements in the aftermath
of a violent collision between two neutron stars that were booted out of their home
galaxy about 1bn light years away.

The cataclysmic explosion unleashed a burst of gamma rays more than 1m times
brighter than the Milky Way and blasted material into space that formed the rare
element tellurium and others known as actinides and lanthanides. The more
common elements iodine and thorium are also thought to have been forged in the
event.

It is the first time such a cosmic spectacle, known as a kilonova, has been observed
with the James Webb space telescope
(https://www.theguardian.com/science/james-webb-space-telescope), which
enabled astronomers to identify the elements produced in the collision by their
infrared signatures.
The work, published in Nature (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-
06759-1), shows that while many elements are produced by the fusion of lighter
elements in the cores of stars, or in stellar explosions, some heavier elements are
born in the more energetic environment of neutron stars slamming into one another.

“For the first time we have evidence of these particular kinds of elements being
formed in these mergers,” said Andrew Levan, professor of astrophysics at Radboud
University in the Netherlands.

“It’s 150 years since we’ve had the [periodic table] and we still don’t know where a
good number of elements come from. One of the things we’re trying to do is fill in
those gaps.”

Neutron stars are incredibly dense and compact objects, as massive as the sun but
as small as a city. Astronomers were alerted to the potential neutron-star collision
in March when they detected an intense burst of gamma rays from deep space, the
second brightest recorded in the past 50 years.

Drawing on an array of ground- and space-based detectors and telescopes,

researchers first located the source of the 200-second radiation burst and then
trained the James Webb space telescope
(https://www.theguardian.com/science/james-webb-space-telescope) on the
aftermath.

An image taken by the James Webb space telescope showing the distance between the site of the stars’ collision and
the galaxy they came from. Photograph: NASA/PA
Over a period of days, the light from the collision changed from blue to red, a
hallmark of a kilonova. The neutron stars appeared to have been kicked out of a
bright galaxy spotted nearby before merging 120,000 light years away – the width
of the Milky Way – several hundred million years later.

The collision is likely to have created a new black hole, but in the merger, vast
amounts of neutrons and other material were propelled into space. These produced
the heavier elements through a process called rapid neutron capture. Atomic nuclei
that are bombarded with neutrons can become unstable and undergo radioactive
decay that transforms them into heavier elements.

Kilonova are extremely rare; scientists have witnessed only one other such event in
enough detail to infer elements potentially made in the explosion. While elements
such as iron and nickel are made in exploding stars, or supernovae, more violent
neutron-star collisions appear ripe for making heavier elements.

“About half of the elements heavier than iron are probably made in these events,”
said Levan, who worked on the observations with an international team of
astronomers. “We hoped to see this, but you never quite know what you’re going to
get.”

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