In 2015, the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) and Advanced Virgo began observing the Universe in a revolutionary way. Gravitational waves from cosmic sources were detected for the first time, confirming their existence predicted almost one century before, and also directly revealing the existence of black holes in binary systems and characterizing their properties. In 2017, a new revolution was achieved with the first observation of a binary neutron star merger, GW170817, and its associated electromagnetic emission. The combination of the information from gravitational-wave and electromagnetic radiation produced a wealth of results, still growing, spectacularly demonstrating the power of the newly born field of gravitational-wave Multi Messenger Astrophysics. We discuss the discovery of GW170817 in the context of the achievements it brought to Gamma-Ray Burst astrophysics, and we also provide a few examples of advancements in fundamental physics and cosmology. The detection rates of binary neutron star mergers expected in the next decade for third generation gravitational-wave interferometers will open the new perspective of a statistical approach to the study of these multi-messenger sources.

中文翻译：

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中子星双星合并：GW170817 的遗产和未来前景

2015 年，高级激光干涉引力波天文台 (LIGO) 和高级处女座开始以革命性的方式观测宇宙。首次探测到来自宇宙源的引力波，证实了近一个世纪前预测的它们的存在，也直接揭示了双星系统中黑洞的存在并表征了它们的特性。2017 年，首次观测到双中子星合并 GW170817 及其相关的电磁辐射，实现了一场新的革命。引力波和电磁辐射信息的结合产生了丰富的成果，而且还在不断增长，壮观地展示了新生的引力波多信使天体物理学领域的力量。我们在 GW170817 为伽马射线爆发天体物理学带来成就的背景下讨论了 GW170817 的发现，我们还提供了一些基础物理学和宇宙学进步的例子。预计未来十年第三代引力波干涉仪对双中子星合并的探测率将为研究这些多信使源的统计方法开辟新的视角。