Seminar/Group Meeting: Fabio Magistrelli

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Seminar/Group Meeting: Fabio Magistrelli

October 18, 2024
12:00 PM - 12:30 PM
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Pupin 705 and online

Title: Self-consistent predictions of nucleosynthesis and kilonovae from compact binary mergers

Abstract: Understanding the details of r-process nucleosynthesis in binary neutron star mergers (BNSM) ejecta is key to interpreting kilonova observations and identifying the role of BNSMs in the origin of heavy elements. I will present a new tool to self-consistently study, in a two-dimensional, ray-by-ray approximation, the radiation-hydrodynamic evolution of BNSM ejecta with an online nuclear network (NN). Starting from ab-initio numerical relativity profiles and including detailed r-process reactions, nuclear heating effects and a local thermalization model, we are able to predict the matter composition evolution and the kilonova light curves up to the days timescale. I will outline the significant impact that the NN coupling with the ejecta dynamics has on the element formation and kilonova emission. I will also discuss how self-consistently accounting for this coupling can improve the reliability of the predictions obtained with the common postprocessing methods. Moreover, I will give an overview of some work-in-progress applications of our code, from the analysis of new hundreds-of-millisecond NR simulations to its application to cosmochemistry and galactic chemical evolution.