Related papers: R-process enrichment from a single event in an anc…
The actinides, including thorium (Th), are the heaviest observable elements synthesized in the universe, holding clues to the extremes of the astrophysical and nuclear conditions of $r$-process sites. We present Th abundances based on…
Whereas light element abundance variations are a hallmark of globular clusters, there is little evidence for variation in neutron-capture elements. A significant exception is M15, which shows a star-to-star dispersion in neutron-capture…
The rapid neutron-capture process, creating about half of the heaviest elements in the Solar System was believed to be unique. Many recent studies have shown that this does not include the formation of lighter elements (in particular 38 < Z…
We present the chemical abundances of Fe, alpha- and neutron-capture elements in 12 metal-poor Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) giant stars, observed with the high-resolution spectrographs UVES/VLT and MIKE/Magellan. These stars have [Fe/H]…
Abundance observations indicate the presence of often surprisingly large amounts of neutron capture (i.e., s- and r-process) elements in old Galactic halo and globular cluster stars. These observations provide insight into the nature of the…
Several circumstantial arguments point to the formation of the third r-process peak at A about 190, near platinum, in stars of mass of about 8-10 solar masses: 1) The delayed production of europium with respect to iron imposes a time scale…
We present new abundance determinations of neutron-capture elements Ge, Zr, Os, Ir, and Pt in a sample of 11 metal-poor (-3.1 <= [Fe/H] <= -1.6) Galactic halo giant stars, based on Hubble Space Telescope UV and Keck I optical…
An update on astrophysical models for nucleosynthesis via rapid neutron capture, the r process, is given. A neutrino-induced r process in supernova helium shells may have operated up to metallicities of ~10^-3 times the solar value. Another…
By adopting a chemical evolution model for the Milky Way already reproducing the evolution of several chemical elements, we compare our theoretical results with accurate and new stellar data of neutron capture elements and we are able to…
We present an analysis of the s-process elements Zr, Ba, and La and the r-process element Eu in a sample of 50 stars in 19 open clusters. Stellar abundances of each element are based on measures of a minimum of two lines per species via…
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…
The main astronomical source of r-process elements has not yet been identified. One plausible site is neutron star mergers (NSMs), but from perspective of the Galactic chemical evolution, it has been pointed out that NSMs cannot reproduce…
The chemical evolution of neutron capture elements in the Milky Way disc is still a matter of debate. We aim to understand the chemical evolution of r-process elements in Milky Way disc. We focus on three pure r-process elements Eu, Gd, and…
We study the production of barium (Ba) and strontium (Sr) in ultrafaint dwarf galaxies (UFDs). Both r- and s- processes produce these elements, and one can infer the contribution of the r-process from the characteristic r-process abundance…
The early-R stars are carbon-rich K-type giants. They are enhanced in C12, C13 and N14, have approximately solar oxygen, magnesium isotopes, s-process and iron abundances, have the luminosity of core-helium burning stars, are not rapid…
We suggest that if the astrophysical site for r-process nucleosynthesis in the early Galaxy is confined to a narrow mass range of Type II supernova (SN II) progenitors, with a lower mass limit of Mms = 20 Msun, a unique feature in the…
The discovery of gravitational waves has confirmed old theoretical predictions that binary systems formed with compact stars play a crucial role not only for cosmology and nuclear astrophysics. As a byproduct of these and subsequent…
Half of all the elements in the universe heavier than iron were created by rapid neutron capture. The theory for this astrophysical `$r$-process' was worked out six decades ago and requires an enormous neutron flux to make the bulk of these…
We analyze data from several studies of metal-poor stars in the Milky Way, focusing on both strong (Eu) and weak (Sr) $r$-process elements. Because these elements were injected in an explosion, we calculate the mass swept up when the blast…
Star-to-star dispersion of r-process elements has been observed in a significant number of old, metal-poor globular clusters. We investigate early-time neutron-star mergers as the mechanism for this enrichment. Through both numerical…