Related papers: Neutron Star Mergers Might not be the Only Source …
We quantify the stellar abundances of neutron-rich r-process nuclei in cosmological zoom-in simulations of a Milky Way-mass galaxy from the Feedback In Realistic Environments project. The galaxy is enriched with r-process elements by binary…
Some of the heavy elements, such as gold and europium (Eu), are almost exclusively formed by the rapid neutron capture process (r-process). However, it is still unclear which astrophysical site between core-collapse supernovae and neutron…
Comparing Galactic chemical evolution models to the observed elemental abundances in the Milky Way, we show that neutron star mergers can be a leading r-process site only if at low metallicities such mergers have very short delay times and…
Neutron-star mergers were recently confirmed as sites of rapid-neutron-capture (r-process) nucleosynthesis. However, in Galactic chemical evolution models, neutron-star mergers alone cannot reproduce the observed element abundance patterns…
We use cosmological, magnetohydrodynamical simulations of Milky Way-mass galaxies from the Auriga project to study their enrichment with rapid neutron capture (r-process) elements. We implement a variety of enrichment models from both…
The origin of half of the rapid neutron-capture nucleosynthesis (r-process) elements in the Universe remains an open question. Binary neutron star (BNS) mergers have been shown to face difficulties in reproducing the observed r-process…
The astrophysical nature of r-process sites is a long standing mystery and many probable sources have been suggested in the past, among them lower-mass core-collapse supernovae (in the range 8 - 10 Msol), higher-mass core-collapse…
There are many candidate sites of the r-process: core-collapse supernovae (including rare magnetorotational core-collapse supernovae), neutron star mergers, and neutron star/black hole mergers. The chemical enrichment of…
Recent progress of nucleosynthesis work as well as the discovery of a kilonova associated with the gravitational-wave source GW170817 indicates that neutron star mergers (NSM) can be a site of the r-process. Several studies of galactic…
Neutron star mergers have been long considered as promising sites of heavy $r$-process nucleosynthesis. We overview observational evidence supporting this scenario including: the total amount of $r$-process elements in the Galaxy, extreme…
The existence of neutron star mergers has been supported since the discovery of the binary pulsar and the observation of its orbital energy loss, consistent with General Relativity. They are considered nucleosynthesis sites of the rapid…
Rapid neutron capture process (r-process) elements have been detected in a large fraction of metal-poor halo stars, with abundances relative to iron (Fe) that vary by over two orders of magnitude. This scatter is reduced to less than a…
Growing interests in neutron star (NS) mergers as the origin of r-process elements have sprouted since the discovery of evidence for the ejection of these elements from a short-duration gamma-ray burst. The hypothesis of a NS merger origin…
The nucleosynthetic site of the rapid ($r$) neutron-capture process is currently being debated. The direct detection of the neutron star merger GW170817, through gravitational waves and electromagnetic radiation, has confirmed such events…
Since the discovery of the binary neutron star merger GW170817 and its associated kilonova, neutron star mergers have been established as a key production channel for r-process elements in the Universe. However, various lines of evidence,…
While it is now known that double neutron star binary systems (DNSs) are copious producers of heavy elements, there remains much speculation about whether they are the sole or even principal site of rapid neutron-capture (r-process)…
I show that recent observations of r-process abundances in metal-poor stars are difficult to explain if neutron star mergers (NSMs) are the major r-process sources. In contrast, such observations and meteoritic data on Hf182 and I129 in the…
We study the abundance patterns and the radial gradients of s-process elements (Y, Zr, Ba, La and Ce), r-process elements (Eu) and mixed-process elements (Mo, Nd and Pr) in the Galactic thin disc by means of a detailed two-infall chemical…
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…
We investigate the production sites and the enrichment history of $r$-process elements in the Galaxy, as traced by the [Eu/Fe] ratio, using the high resolution, cosmological zoom-in simulation `Eris'. At $z=0$, Eris represents a close…