Related papers: The study of r-process nucleosynthesis in binary n…
The r-process involves neutron-rich nuclei far off stability for which no experimental cross sections are known. Therefore, one has to rely on theory. The difficulties in the predictions are briefly addressed. To investigate the impact of…
The origin of heavy elements synthesized through the rapid neutron capture process ($r$-process) has been an enduring mystery for over half a century. Cehula et al. (2024) recently showed that magnetar giant flares, among the brightest…
Most heavy elements beyond the iron peak are synthesized via neutron capture processes. The nature of the astrophysical sites of neutron capture processes is still very unclear. In this work we explore the observational constraints of the…
Coalescing neutron star binary (NSB) systems are primary candidates for $r$-process enrichment of galaxies. The recent detection of $r$-process elements in ultra-faint dwarf (UFD) galaxies and the abundances measured in classical dwarfs…
We explore heavy element nucleosynthesis in neutrino-driven winds from rapidly-rotating, strongly magnetized proto-neutron stars for which the magnetic dipole is aligned with the rotation axis, and the field is assumed to be a static…
We present a review of the possible sources for r-process nuclei. It is known that there is as yet no self-consistent mechanism to provide abundant neutrons for a robust r-process in the neutrino-driven winds from nascent neutron stars. We…
The merger of binary neutron stars, or of a neutron star and a stellar-mass black hole, can result in the formation of a massive rotating torus around a spinning black hole. In addition to providing collimating media for gamma-ray burst…
We model the history of Galactic r-process enrichment using high-redshift, high-resolution zoom cosmological simulations of a Milky Way (MW) type halo. We assume that all r-process sources are neutron star mergers (NSMs) with a power law…
The r-process of nucleosynthesis requires a large neutron-to-seed nucleus ratio. This does not, however, that there be an excess of neutrons over protons. If the expansion of the material is sufficiently rapid and the entropy per nucleon is…
Roughly half of the heavy elements (atomic mass greater than that of iron) are believed to be synthesized in the late evolutionary stages of stars with masses between 0.8 and 8 solar masses. Deep inside the star, nuclei (mainly iron)…
Compact binary mergers involving at least one neutron star are promising sites for the synthesis of $\textit{r}$-process elements found in stars and planets. However, mergers can take place at significant offsets from their host galaxies,…
We explore neutrino capture during r-process nucleosynthesis in neutrino-driven ejecta from nascent neutron stars. We focus on the interplay between charged-current weak interactions and element synthesis, and we delineate the important…
The open question of where, when, and how the heavy elements beyond iron enrich our Universe has triggered a new era in nuclear physics studies.\ Of all the relevant nuclear physics inputs, the mass of very neutron-rich nuclides is a key…
The origin of heavy r-process elements in the universe is still a matter of great debate, with a confirmed scenario being neutron star (NS) mergers. Additional relevant sites could be specific classes of events, such as gamma-ray burst…
Understanding where elements were formed has been a key goal in astrophysics for nearly a century, with answers involving cosmology, stellar burning, and cosmic explosions. Since 1957, the origin of the heaviest elements (formed via the…
Mergers of binary neutron stars and black hole-neutron star binaries are one of the most promising sources for the ground-based gravitational-wave (GW) detectors and also a high-energy astrophysical phenomenon as illustrated by the…
The production of heavy-mass elements due to the rapid neutron-capture mechanism (r-process) is associated with astrophysical scenarios, such as supernovae and neutron-star mergers. In the r-process the capture of neutrons is followed by…
The cosmic evolution of the neutron star merger (NSM) rate can be deduced from the observed cosmic star formation rate. This allows to estimate the rate expected in the horizon of the gravitational wave detectors advanced Virgo and ad LIGO…
The recent aLIGO/aVirgo discovery of gravitational waves from the neutron star merger (NSM) GW170817 and the follow up kilonova observations have shown that NSMs produce copious amount of r-process material. However, it is difficult to…
We present the results of fully dynamical r-process network calculations for the ejecta of neutron star mergers (NSMs). The late stages of the inspiral and the final violent coalescence of a neutron star binary have been calculated in…