Related papers: Impact of weak interactions of free nucleons on th…
We present a coherent study of the impact of neutrino interactions on the r-process element nucleosynthesis and the heating rate produced by the radioactive elements synthesised in the dynamical ejecta of neutron star-neutron star (NS-NS)…
We explore neutrino capture during r-process nucleosynthesis in neutrino-driven ejecta from nascent neutron stars. We focus on the interplay between charged-current weak interactions and element synthesis, and we delineate the important…
Weak reactions are critical for the neutron richness of the matter dynamically ejected after the merger of two neutron stars. The neutron richness, defined by the electron fraction (Ye), determines which heavy elements are produced by the…
We discuss various neutrino-nucleus interactions in connection with the supernova r-process nucleosynthesis, which possibly occurs in the neutrino-driven wind of a young neutron star. These interactions include absorptions of electron…
We use results from long-time core-collapse supernovae simulations to investigate the impact of the late time evolution of the ejecta and of the nuclear physics input on the calculated r-process abundances. Based on the latest…
Binary neutron star mergers are promising sources of gravitational waves for ground-based detectors such as Advanced LIGO. Neutron-rich material ejected by these mergers may also be the main source of r-process elements in the Universe,…
Material expelled from binary neutron star (BNS) mergers can harbor r-process nucleosynthesis and power a Kilonova (KN), both intimately related to the astrophysical conditions of the ejection. In turn such conditions indirectly depend on…
During the merger of a black hole and a neutron star, baryonic mass can become unbound from the system. Because the ejected material is extremely neutron-rich, the r-process rapidly synthesizes heavy nuclides as the material expands and…
The inclusion of massive neutrinos affects the cross sections involved in the formation of heavy nuclei, modifying their abundances. Rapid neutron capture processes (r-process) are often associated with explosive events such as…
Recent studies suggest that binary neutron star (NS-NS) mergers robustly produce the heavy r-process nuclei above the atomic mass number A ~ 130 because of their ejecta consisting of almost pure neutrons (electron fraction of Y_e < 0.1).…
We present fully general-relativistic simulations of binary neutron star mergers with a temperature and composition dependent nuclear equation of state. We study the dynamical mass ejection from both quasi-circular and dynamical-capture…
Current models for the $r$ process are summarized with an emphasis on the key constraints from both nuclear physics measurements and astronomical observations. In particular, we analyze the importance of nuclear physics input such as…
We investigate $r$-process nucleosynthesis and kilonova emission resulting from binary neutron star (BNS) mergers based on a three-dimensional (3D) general-relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) simulation of a hypermassive neutron star…
Neutrinos are copiously emitted by neutron star mergers, due to the high temperatures reached by dense matter during the merger and its aftermath. Neutrinos influence the merger dynamics and shape the properties of the ejecta, including the…
Fast material ejected dynamically over $<10$ ms during the merger of a binary neutron-star (BNS) system can give rise to distinctive electromagnetic counterparts to the system's gravitational-wave emission that can serve as a "smoking gun"…
We follow the longterm evolution of the dynamic ejecta of neutron star mergers for up to 100 years and over a density range of roughly 40 orders of magnitude. We include the nuclear energy input from the freshly synthesized, radioactively…
A possible mechanism for the formation of heavy-mass elements in supernovae is the rapid neutron-capture-mechanism (r-process). It depends upon the electron-fraction $Y_e$, a quantity which is determined by beta-decay-rates. In this paper,…
In this study we explore the nucleosynthesis in the dynamic ejecta of compact binary mergers. We are particularly interested in the question how sensitive the resulting abundance patterns are to the parameters of the merging system.…
Heavy elements like gold, platinum or uranium are produced in the r-process, which needs neutron-rich and explosive environments. Neutron star mergers are a promising candidate for an r-process site. They exhibit three different channels…
When binary systems of neutron stars merge, a very small fraction of their rest mass is ejected, either dynamically or secularly. This material is neutron-rich and its nucleosynthesis could provide the astrophysical site for the production…