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The origin of the heavy elements in the Universe is not fully determined. Neutron star-black hole (NSBH) and {binary neutron star} (BNS) mergers may both produce heavy elements via rapid neutron-capture (r-process). We use the recent…
Recent detections of gravitational waves from mergers of neutron stars (NSs) and black holes (BHs) in the low and high-end mass gap regimes pose a puzzle to standard stellar and binary evolution theory. Mass-gap mergers may originate from…
During the merger of a black hole and a neutron star, baryonic mass can become unbound from the system. Because the ejected material is extremely neutron-rich, the r-process rapidly synthesizes heavy nuclides as the material expands and…
We consider the merging of high-mass black-hole binaries of the Cyg X-1 type, in which the O-star companion becomes a neutron star following a supernova explosion. Our estimated rate of mergers, $\sim 2\times 10^{-5} yr^{-1}$ for the…
Expulsion of neutron-rich matter following the merger of neutron star (NS) binaries is crucial to the radioactively-powered electromagnetic counterparts of these events and to their relevance as sources of r-process nucleosynthesis. Here we…
The simultaneous detection of gravitational and electromagnetic waves from a binary neutron star merger has both solidified the link between neutron star mergers and short-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and demonstrated the ability of…
Black hole - neutron star $(BH/NS)$ binaries are of interest in many ways: they are intrinsically multi-messenger systems, highly transient, radiate gravitational waves detectable by LIGO, and may produce $\gamma$-ray bursts. Although it…
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…
We propose that ultrahigh energy cosmic rays are produced in binary neutron star mergers. This scenario can account for the heretofore inexplicable narrow rigidity range of UHECRs, because the jets of BNS mergers are generated by a…
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)…
The origin of r-process elements remains unidentified and still puzzles us. The recent discovery of evidence for the ejection of r-process elements from a short-duration gamma-ray burst singled out neutron star mergers (NSMs) as their…
Merging neutron star binaries are prime candidate sources for heavy r-process nucleosynthesis. The amount of heavy r-process material is consistent with the mass ejection and rates of mergers, and abundances of relic radioactive materials…
The first neutron star (NS) merger observed by advanced LIGO and Virgo, GW170817, and its fireworks of electromagnetic counterparts across the entire electromagnetic spectrum marked the beginning of multi-messenger astronomy and…
While there are a number of proposed formation channels for subsolar mass compact objects, including black holes formed primordially, or neutron stars that form in collapsar disks, there have yet to be any conclusive observations of such…
The cosmic origin of the elements heavier than iron has long been uncertain. Theoretical modelling shows that the matter that is expelled in the violent merger of two neutron stars can assemble into heavy elements such as gold and platinum…
Observations of GW170817 strongly suggest that binary neutron star (BNS) mergers produce rapid neutron-capture nucleosynthesis (r-process) elements. However, it remains an open question whether these mergers can account for all the…
Investigations of elemental abundances in the ancient and most metal deficient stars are extremely important because they serve as tests of variable nucleosynthesis pathways and can provide critical inferences of the type of stars that…
The mergers of binaries containing neutron stars and stellar-mass black holes are the most promising sources for direct detection in gravitational waves by the interferometers Advanced LIGO and Virgo over the next few years. The concurrent…
(Abridged) The stellar sites and the complete mechanism of r-process nucleosynthesis are still unresolved issues. From consideration of the observed abundances in metal-poor stars, it is proposed that the production of the heavy r-process…
The first neutron star-neutron star (NS-NS) merger was discovered on August 17, 2017 through gravitational waves (GW170817) and followed with electromagnetic observations. This merger was detected in an old elliptical galaxy with no recent…