Related papers: Low-mass neutron star nucleosynthesis -- stripping…
Explosive nucleosynthesis is a combination of the nuclear physics of thermonuclear reactions, and the hydrodynamics of the plasma in which the reactions occur. It depends upon the initial conditions---the stellar evolution up to the…
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…
We have made a parametric study of s-process nucleosynthesis in the metal poor ([Fe/H]=-2.7) stars LP625-44 and LP706-7. We find that a high neutron exposure and a small overlap factor are necessary to fit the abundance pattern observed in…
{"Bare collapse", the collapse of a bare stellar core to a neutron star with a very small mass ejection links two seemingly unrelated phenomena: the formation of binary neutron star (BNS) systems and the observations of fast and luminous…
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…
The astrophysical r-process site where about half of the elements heavier than iron are produced has been a puzzle for several decades. Here we discuss the role of neutron star mergers (NSMs) in the light of the first direct detection of…
There has been a persistent conundrum in attempts to model the nucleosynthesis of heavy elements by rapid neutron capture (the $r$-process). Although the location of the abundance peaks near nuclear mass numbers 130 and 195 identify an…
We reanalyze $r$-process nucleosynthesis in the neutron-rich ejecta from a prompt supernova explosion of a low-mass (11 M$_\odot$) progenitor. A pompt explosion is not yet ruled out as a possibility for low-mass supernova progenitors.…
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…
We revisit a neutrino-driven r-process mechanism in the He shell of a core-collapse supernova, finding that it could succeed in early stars of metallicity < solar/1000, at relatively low temperatures and neutron densities, producing A ~ 130…
The heating and cooling of transiently accreting neutron stars provides a powerful probe of the structure and composition of their crust. Observations of superbursts and crust cooling of accretion-heated neutron stars require more heat…
We demonstrate that rapid expansion of the shocked surface layers of an O-Ne-Mg core following its collapse can result in r-process nucleosynthesis. As the supernova shock accelerates through these layers, it makes them expand so rapidly…
The equation of state of the neutron-star outer crust is sensitive to nuclear mass predictions and provides a direct connection to properties of nuclei throughout the nuclide map, including those beyond experimental reach. We quantify the…
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 which might be prone to considerable uncertainties far off stability. To investigate the…
Current models for the $r$ process are summarized with an emphasis on the key constraints from both nuclear physics measurements and astronomical observations. In particular, we analyze the importance of nuclear physics input such as…
Light and intermediate nuclei as well as s-process elements have been detected in presolar grains and in evolved red giants. The abundances of some of these nuclei cannot be accounted for by canonical stellar models and require…
We have studied detailed nucleosynthesis in the shocked surface layers of an Oxygen-Neon-Magnesium core collapse supernova with an eye to determining if the conditions are suitable for r process nucleosynthesis. We find no such conditions…
X-ray observations of transiently accreting neutron stars during quiescence provide information about the structure of neutron star crusts and the properties of dense matter. Interpretation of the observational data requires an…
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) must originate from low baryon load, ultrarelativistic outflows; however, slower, more baryon-rich outflows (BROs) should also arise in connection with GRBs as ``circum-jet winds'' and/or ``failed GRBs''. We study…
Our understanding of the origin of heavy elements beyond iron relies on the rapid neutron capture process (r-process), which accounts for roughly half of their cosmic abundance. However, the extreme neutron-rich conditions required for the…