kilonova

kilo- +‎ nova. From kilo- (“thousands”). From being much more luminous than a nova, but less so than a typical supernova.

kilonova (plural kilonovas or kilonovae)

1. (astronomy) A type of supernova that is underluminous, caused by the merger of two neutron stars
2. (informal, physics) A radiation pattern typical of a kilonova.
   • 2013 November, V Paschalidis, SL Shapiro, “A new scheme for matching general relativistic ideal magnetohydrodynamics to its force-free limit”, in Physical Review D:

     Moreover, during merger neutron-rich matter can be ejected that can shine as a kilonova due to the decay of r-process elements [2–13].

   • 2013 December, YZ Fan, YW Yu, D Xu, ZP Jin, XF Wu, “A supramassive magnetar central engine for GRB 130603B”, in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, volume 779, number 2:

     The observed energetics and temporal/spectral properties of the late infrared bump (ie, the "kilonova") are also found to be consistent with emission from the ejecta launched during a neutron star (NS)-NS merger and powered by a magnetar central engine.

   • 2015 January, R Fernandez, D Kasen, BD Metzger, “The effect of black hole spin on winds from neutron star merger remnant accretion disks”, in American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #225:

     Disk winds generally contribute to a ~week long transient peaking in the near-infrared (kilonova), although an optical precursor can manifest as a signature of delayed black hole formation or high black hole spin.

   • 2015, R Fernández, D Kasen, “Outflows from accretion discs formed in neutron star mergers: effect of black hole spin”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name):

     This component can give rise to an ≲1 d blue optical 'bump' in a kilonova light curve, even in the case of prompt BH formation, which may facilitate its detection.

• Vanikolo