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When two solids at different temperatures are separated by a vacuum gap they relax toward their equilibrium state by exchanging heat either by radiation, phonon or electron tunneling, depending on their separation distance and on the nature…
The astrophysical origin of the rapid neutron-capture process (r-process), which produces about half of the elements heavier than iron, remains uncertain. The oldest, most metal-poor stars preserve the chemical signatures of early…
A new scenario for neutron-star cooling is proposed, based on the correspondence between pion condensation, occurring in neutron matter due to critical spin-isospin fluctuations, and the metal-insulator phase transition in a two-dimensional…
We study the effects of the outer boundary conditions in neutrino-driven winds on the r-process nucleosynthesis. We perform numerical simulations of hydrodynamics of neutrino-driven winds and nuclear reaction network calculations of the…
The properties of inhomogeneous neutron matter are crucial to the physics of neutron-rich nuclei and the crust of neutron stars. Advances in computational techniques now allow us to accurately determine the binding energies and densities of…
Cooling simulations of neutron stars (NSs) are performed assuming that stellar cores consist of neutrons, protons and electrons and using realistic density profiles of superfluid critical temperatures $T_{cn}(\rho)$ and $T_{cp}(\rho)$ of…
Inelastic dark matter and strongly interacting dark matter are poorly constrained by direct detection experiments since they both require the scattering event to deliver energy from the nucleus into the dark matter in order to have…
Progress in the astrophysical understanding of r-process nucleosynthesis also depends on the knowledge of nuclear-physics quantities of extremely neutron-rich isotopes. In this context, experiments at CERN-ISOLDE have played a pioneering…
We propose a novel island nucleation and growth model explicitly including transient (ballistic) mobility of the monomers deposited at rate $F$, assumed to be in a hot precursor state before thermalizing. In limiting regimes, corresponding…
Thermal emission of neutron stars in soft X-ray transients (SXTs) in a quiescent state is believed to be powered by the heat deposited in the stellar crust due to nuclear reactions during accretion (deep crustal heating paradigm).…
We study the dependence of primordial nuclear abundances on fundamental nuclear observables such as binding energies, scattering lengths, neutron lifetime, \textit{etc.} by varying these quantities. The numerical computations were performed…
We present a new nucleosynthesis process that may take place on neutron-rich ejecta experiencing an intensive neutrino flux. The nucleosynthesis proceeds similarly to the standard $r$-process, a sequence of neutron-captures and beta-decays,…
The quest for the origin of the chemical elements, which we find in our body, in our planet (Earth), in our star (Sun), or in our galaxy (Milky Way) could only be resolved with a thorough understanding of the nuclear physics properties of…
Nucleosynthesis beyond Fe poses additional challenges not encountered when studying astrophysical processes involving light nuclei. Astrophysical sites and conditions are not well known for some of the processes involved. On the nuclear…
We investigate superfluid phase transitions of asymmetric nuclear matter at finite temperature ($T$) and density ($\rho$) with a low proton fraction ($Y_{\rm p} \le 0.2$) which is relevant to the inner crust and outer core of neutron stars.…
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…
We describe a new method to incorporate thermonuclear heating in the envelope of accreting neutron star into long term simulations of their thermal evolution. We obtain boundary conditions for the heat exchange between the envelope and the…
The rapid neutron capture or 'r process' of nucleosynthesis is believed to be responsible for the production of approximately half the natural abundance of heavy elements found on the periodic table above iron (with proton number $Z=26$)…
A set of microscopic, covariant density-functional, and non-relativistic Skyrme-type equations of state is employed to study the structure of purely nucleonic neutron stars at finite temperature. After examining the agreement with presently…
The study of neutron stars is a topic of central interest in the investigation of the properties of strongly compressed hadronic matter. Whereas in heavy-ion collisions the fireball, created in the collision zone, contains very hot matter,…