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A kilonova is a short-lived explosive event in the universe, resulting from the merger of two compact objects. Despite its importance as a primary source of heavy elements through r-process nucleosynthesis, its nature is not well…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2023-11-22 Donggeun Tak , Z. Lucas Uhm , James H. Gillanders

Neutron-rich outflows in neutron-star mergers (NSMs) or other explosive events can be subject to substantial heating through the release of rest-mass energy in the course of the rapid neutron-capture (r-) process. This r-process heating can…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2026-04-29 Oliver Just , Zewei Xiong , Gabriel Martínez-Pinedo

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"…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2023-03-23 Luciano Combi , Daniel M. Siegel

The kilonova (KN) associated with the binary neutron star (BNS) merger GW170817 is the only known electromagnetic counterpart to a gravitational wave source. Here we produce a sequence of radiative transfer models (using $\textsc{tardis}$)…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2022-05-25 J. H. Gillanders , S. J. Smartt , S. A. Sim , A. Bauswein , S. Goriely

A binary neutron star merger produces a rapidly evolving transient known as a kilonova (KN), which peaks a few days after merger. Modelling of KNe has often been approached assuming local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) conditions in the…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2022-06-01 Quentin Pognan , Anders Jerkstrand , Jon Grumer

The merger of two neutron stars has been predicted to produce an optical-infrared transient (lasting a few days) known as a 'kilonova', powered by the radioactive decay of neutron-rich species synthesized in the merger. Evidence that short…

We present calculations of r-process nucleosynthesis in neutrino-driven winds from the nascent neutron stars of core-collapse supernovae. A full dynamical reaction network for both the alpha-rich freezeout and the subsequent r-process is…

Astrophysics · Physics 2009-11-06 Shinya Wanajo , Toshitaka Kajino , Grant J. Mathews , Kaori Otsuki

We study the post-merger mass ejection of low-mass binary neutron stars (NSs) with the system mass of $2.5\, M_\odot$, and subsequent nucleosynthesis by performing general-relativistic, neutrino-radiation viscous-hydrodynamics simulations…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2020-10-07 Sho Fujibayashi , Shinya Wanajo , Kenta Kiuchi , Koutaro Kyutoku , Yuichiro Sekiguchi , Masaru Shibata

Spectroscopic observations of the kilonova AT 2017gfo provide a unique opportunity to identify signatures from individual heavy elements freshly synthesised via the r-process, the nucleosynthetic channel responsible for producing $\sim$half…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2026-05-13 J. H. Gillanders , A. Flors , R. Ferreira da Silva

We perform radiative transfer simulations for kilonova in various situations, including the cases of prompt collapse to a black hole from neutron-star mergers, high-velocity ejecta possibly accelerated by magnetars, and a black hole-neutron…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2020-02-12 Kyohei Kawaguchi , Masaru Shibata , Masaomi Tanaka

Nebular phase kilonovae (KNe) have significant infra-red (IR) emission thought to be mostly forbidden emission lines from rapid neutron capture (r-process) species in neutron star merger ejecta. Lanthanide elements in particular have…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2026-03-18 Quentin Pognan , Kyohei Kawaguchi , Shinya Wanajo , Sho Fujibayashi , Anders Jerkstrand , Jon Grumer

A major ingredient for kilonova lightcurves is the radioactive heating rate and its dependence on the electron fraction and velocity of the ejecta and, in principle, on the nuclear mass formula. Heating-rate formulae commonly used as the…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2025-06-03 Nikhil Sarin , Stephan Rosswog

Neutron star (NS) mergers are known to produce heavy elements through rapid neutron capture (r-process) nucleosynthesis. Actinides are expected to be created solely by the r-process in the most neutron rich environments. Confirming if NS…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2025-01-07 Quentin Pognan , Meng-Ru Wu , Gabriel Martínez-Pinedo , Ricardo Ferreira da Silva , Anders Jerkstrand , Jon Grumer , Andreas Flörs

Neutron star mergers eject neutron-rich matter in which heavy elements are synthesised. The decay of these freshly synthesised elements powers electromagnetic transients ("macronovae" or "kilonovae") whose luminosity and colour strongly…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2020-11-04 Lorenzo Nativi , Mattia Bulla , Stephan Rosswog , Christoffer Lundman , Grzegorz Kowal , Davide Gizzi , Gavin Paul Lamb , Albino Perego

The process of unstable mass transfer in a stellar binary can result in either a complete merger of the stars or successful removal of the donor envelope leaving a surviving more compact binary. "Luminous red nova" (LRN) are the class of…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2022-10-26 Tatsuya Matsumoto , Brian D. Metzger

We investigate the nucleosynthesis and kilonova emission based on numerical-relativity binary neutron star merger simulations that incorporate a two-moment neutrino-transport scheme. Unlike in previous works with simpler neutrino…

Simplified analytic methods are frequently used to model the light curves of supernovae and other energetic transients and to extract physical quantities, such as the ejecta mass and amount of radioactive heating. The applicability and…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2019-10-02 David K. Khatami , Daniel N. Kasen

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…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2025-11-25 Peter Anninos , Matthew Portman , Scott Carmichael , Robert Hoffman , Andre Sieverding

Macronovae (kilonovae) that arise in binary neutron star mergers are powered by radioactive beta decay of hundreds of $r$-process nuclides. We derive, using Fermi's theory of beta decay, an analytic estimate of the nuclear heating rate. We…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2017-04-12 Kenta Hotokezaka , Re'em Sari , Tsvi Piran