The Signatures of r-Process Enrichment in Hydrogen-Rich Supernovae

The astrophysical origins of the heaviest elements in the universe, like gold and platinum, are not completely understood. Major progress was made in 2017 when LIGO detected the first binary neutron star merger and the accompanying kilonova confirmed mergers as an r-process site. However, observations of metal-poor stars in the galactic halo or nearby galaxies require an additional r-process source, pointing to core-collapse supernovae as candidate sites. In this talk I will explore the effects of enrichment from r-process nuclei on the light-curves of hydrogen-rich supernovae (SNe IIP) and assess the detectability of these signatures. I will show that SNe with an r-process mass yield greater than ~10^-2 solar masses exhibit appreciable differences in their light-curves as compared to ordinary SNe IIP (without any r-process elements). Assuming a mass yield of ~10^-2 solar masses per event and respecting constraints on the total Galactic production rate, an estimated minimum of ~10^3−10^4 SNe need be observed to find one r-enriched event, a feat that may become possible with Vera Rubin Observatory's LSST.