Abstract:
Our understanding of the origin of heavy elements by the r-process has made great progress in the last years. In addition to the gravitational wave and kilonova observations for GW170817, there have been major advances in the hydrodynamical simulations of neutron star mergers and core-collapse supernovae, in the microphysics included in those simulations (neutrinos and high density equation of state (EoS)), in galactic chemical evolution models, in observations of old stars in our galaxy and in dwarf galaxies. This talk will discuss these new advances. First, we will explore the impact of the EoS in neutron star merger nucleosynthesis and kilonova. Investigation of the EoS in core-collapse supernovae demonstrates that the effective mass governs the neutron star contraction. We will then discuss the first magneto-rotational supernova simulations with detailed neutrino transport and their nucleosynthesis. Observations of old stars and meteorites can strongly constrain the astrophysical site of the r-process, once the nuclear physics uncertainties of extreme neutron-rich nuclei are reduced by experiments and by improved theoretical models.
Zoom link will be available via announcement email, or by contacting: stroberg[at]uw.edu.