Related papers: Where, oh where has the r-process gone?
In rapid neutron capture, or r-process, nucleosynthesis, heavy elements are built up via a sequence of neutron captures and beta decays that involves thousands of nuclei far from stability. Though we understand the basics of how the…
The identification of the astrophysical site and the specific conditions in which r-process nucleosynthesis takes place remain unsolved mysteries of astrophysics. The present paper emphasizes some important future challenges faced by…
The merger of two neutron stars or of a neutron star and a black hole often result in the ejection of a few percents of a solar mass of matter expanding at high speed in space. Being matter coming from the violent disruption of a neutron…
Abundances of low-metallicity stars offer a unique opportunity to understand the contribution and conditions of the different processes that synthesize heavy elements. Many old, metal-poor stars show a robust abundance pattern for elements…
The neutrino driven wind during a core collapse supernova is an attractive site for r-process nucleosynthesis. The electron fraction $Y_e$ in the wind depends on observable neutrino energies and luminosities. The mean antineutrino energy is…
We have studied whether the rotation and magnetic fields in neutrino-driven winds can be key processes for the rapid-process (r-process) nucleosynthesis. We have examined the features of a steady and subsonic wind solutions which extend the…
The astrophysical rapid neutron capture process or `$r$ process' of nucleosynthesis is believed to be responsible for the production of approximately half the heavy element abundances found in nature. This multifaceted problem remains one…
The astrophysical site(s) of the r-process are uncertain, with candidates such as neutron star mergers and magneto-rotational supernovae predicting different event rates, delay times, and heavy-element yields. Galactic chemical evolution…
The chemical abundances of metal-poor stars provide important clues to explore stellar formation history and set significant constraints on models of the r-process. In this work, we find that the abundance patterns of the light and iron…
During the first 20 seconds of its life, the enormous neutrino luminosity of a neutron star drives appreciable mass loss from its surface. This neutrino-driven wind has been previously identified as a likely site for the r-process. Qian &…
Heavy elements, those produced by neutron-capture reactions, have traditionally shown no star-to-star dispersion in all but a handful of metal-poor globular clusters (GCs). Recent detections of low [Pb/Eu] ratios or upper limits in several…
During the first 20 seconds of its life, the enormous neutrino luminosity of a neutron star drives appreciable mass loss from its surface. Previous investigations have shown that this neutrino-driven wind could be the site where the…
Elements heavier than zinc are synthesized through the (r)apid and (s)low neutron-capture processes. The main site of production of the r-process elements (such as europium) has been debated for nearly 60 years. Initial studies of chemical…
Heavy elements are synthesized by the r-process in neutron star mergers and potentially in rare supernovae linked to strong magnetic fields. Expensive hydrodynamic simulations of these extreme environments are usually post-processed to…
There has been significant progress in the understanding of the r-process over the last ten years. The conditions required for this process have been examined in terms of the parameters for adiabatic expansion from high temperature and…
We investigate nuclear reactions and feedback in hyperaccreting neutron star environments, considering accretion rates in the range 0.3 - $3\times10^4$ $M_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$, typical of short-period compact object binaries in common…
The r-process nucleosynthesis in core-collapse supernovae (CC-SNe) is studied, with a focus on the explosion scenario induced by rotation and strong magnetic fields. Nucleosynthesis calculations are conducted based on magneto-hydrodynamical…
Current r-process models under-produce A<130 nuclei. P-process models either underproduce A<100 and 150<A<165 p-nuclei, or have other limitations. We argue that the puzzles in these two mechanisms can be solved by heavy-ion spallation.…
Young, fast-rotating neutron stars are promising candidate sources for the production of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays (UHECRs). The interest in this model has recently been boosted by the latest chemical composition measurements of cosmic…
(Abridged) It is shown that a semi-quantitative agreement with the gross solar r-process abundance pattern near and above mass number A=130 can be obtained by a superposition of two distinctive kinds of supernova r-process events. These…