Nucleosynthesis of heavy elements in core-collapse supernovae and neutron star mergers
by
Almudena Arcones(Technische Universität Darmstadt)
→
Europe/Stockholm
FB42
FB42
Description
The origin of half of the heavy elements remains a very challenging problem from both the astrophysics and nuclear physics perspectives. Elements between iron and silver are produced at the end of the life of massive stars when they explode as core-collapse supernovae. Heavier elements, like gold or uranium, can be synthesised only under extreme neutron-rich conditions and the search of their astrophysical site continues. I will discuss the production of heavy elements in supernovae and neutron-star mergers. Our results are based on hydrodynamic simulations and detailed nucleosynthesis calculations. Constraints from observations and chemical evolution are key to better understand these extreme astrophysical scenarios.
