Related papers: Using failed supernovae to constrain the Galactic …
The rapid neutron-capture process or r-process is thought to produce the majority of the heavy elements (Z > 30) in extremely metal-poor stars. The same process is also responsible for a significant fraction of the heavy elements in the…
The exact evolution of elements in the universe, from primordial to heavier elements produced via the r-process, is still under scrutiny. The supernova deaths of the very first stars led to the enrichment of their local environments, and…
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…
Context. In recent years, the R-Process Alliance (RPA) has conducted a successful search for stars enhanced in elements produced by the rapid neutron-capture (r-)process. In particular, the RPA has uncovered a number of stars strongly…
This chapter presents an overview of the recent progress on spectroscopic observations of metal-poor stars with r-process element signatures found in the Milky Way's stellar halo and satellite dwarf galaxies. Major empirical lessons related…
Knowledge of abundance ratios as functions of metallicity can lead to insights on the origin and evolution of our Galaxy and its stellar populations. We aim to trace the chemical evolution of the neutron-capture elements Sr, Zr, La, Ce, Nd,…
The synthesis of $r$-process elements is known to involve extremely energetic explosions. At the same time, recent observations find significant $r$-process enrichment even in extremely small ultra-faint dwarf (UFD) galaxies. This raises…
The production of about half of the heavy elements found in nature is assigned to a specific astrophysical nucleosynthesis process: the rapid neutron capture process (r-process). Although this idea has been postulated more than six decades…
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…
The ultra-faint dwarf galaxy Reticulum~II was enriched by a single rare and prolific r-process event. The r-process content of Reticulum~II thus provides a unique opportunity to study metal mixing in a relic first galaxy. Using multi-object…
We examine the Pb and Th abundances in 27 metal-poor stars (-3.1 < [Fe/H] < -1.4) whose very heavy metal (Z > 56) enrichment was produced only by the rapid (r-) nucleosynthesis process. New abundances are derived from HST/STIS, Keck/HIRES,…
Context. Thanks to the heroic observational campaigns carried out in recent years we now have large samples of metal-poor stars for which measurements of detailed abundances exist. [...] These data hold important clues on the nature of the…
This paper presents the detailed abundances and r-process classifications of 126 newly identified metal-poor stars as part of an ongoing collaboration, the R-Process Alliance. The stars were identified as metal-poor candidates from the…
An overview of the sources for heavy elements in the early Galaxy is given. It is shown that observations of abundances in metal-poor stars can be used along with a basic understanding of stellar models to guide the search for the source of…
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 specific mechanism and astrophysical site for the production of half of the elements heavier than iron via rapid neutron capture (r-process) remains to be found. In order to reproduce the abundances of the solar system and of the old…
Mergers of compact binaries (of a neutron star and another neutron star or a black hole, NSMs) are suggested to be the promising astrophysical site of the r-process. While the average coalescence timescale of NSMs appears to be > 100 Myr,…
The chemical abundances of the very metal-poor double-enhanced stars are excellent information for setting new constraints on models of neutron-capture processes at low metallicity. These stars are known as s+r stars, since they show…
We perform a comparative analysis of nucleosynthesis yields from binary neutron star (BNS) mergers, black hole-neutron star (BHNS) mergers, and core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe) with the goal of determining which are the most dominant…
Heavy elements produced exclusively through rapid neutron capture (the '$r$-process') originate from violent cosmic explosions. While neutron star mergers are the primary candidates, another plausible production site are…