The Astrophysics and Astronomy Commission of the fourth edition of the Young Researchers Award promoted by Gruppo 2003 has decided to grant a Special Mention to the research conducted by Dr. Yuhan Yang. The award stems from her studies on a rare lanthanide-rich kilonova generated after a long gamma-ray burst, offering new insights into the production of heavy elements in the Universe.
“A lanthanide-rich kilonova in the aftermath of a long gamma-ray burst”. Nature, 2024.
Below is a brief description of the research:
Kilonovae are extraordinary cosmic explosions occur after the collision of two compact stars, such as neutron star–neutron star or neutron star–black hole binaries. These events are not only spectacular, but they also forge some of the rarest elements in the Universe, including gold, platinum, and other heavy metals.
For many years, kilonovae were thought to be associated only with very short gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). However, GRB 230307A has changed this picture: despite lasting nearly 40 seconds, it still produced a kilonova, making it only the second long-duration GRB ever observed with a kilonova.
In this study, the authors followed the light from this explosion up to two months using the James Webb Space Telescope and the Hubble Space Telescope. Thanks to their sensitivity in infrared light, we were able to catch clear signs of the heaviest elements created in the explosion. These observations provide the strongest evidence so far that kilonovae are key cosmic factories of rare-earth materials.
