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Electromagnetic observations help support the theory that neutron star mergers contribute to rapid neutron capture (r-process) nucleosynthesis [28] —previously assumed to be associated with supernova explosions—and are therefore the primary source of r-process elements heavier than iron, [1] including gold and platinum. [48]
When two neutron stars fall into mutual orbit, they gradually spiral inward due to the loss of energy emitted as gravitational radiation. [1] When they finally meet, their merger leads to the formation of either a more massive neutron star, or—if the mass of the remnant exceeds the Tolman–Oppenheimer–Volkoff limit—a black hole.
The basic model for thermal transients from neutron star mergers was introduced by Li-Xin Li and Bohdan Paczyński in 1998. [1] In their work, they suggested that the radioactive ejecta from a neutron star merger is a source for powering thermal transient emission, later dubbed kilonova .
The slow neutron-capture process, or s-process, is a series of reactions in nuclear astrophysics that occur in stars, particularly asymptotic giant branch stars. The s -process is responsible for the creation ( nucleosynthesis ) of approximately half the atomic nuclei heavier than iron .
PSR J1946+2052 is a short-period binary pulsar system located 11,000–14,000 light-years (3,500–4,200 pc) away from Earth in the constellation Vulpecula.The system consists of a pulsar and a neutron star orbiting around their common center of mass every 1.88 hours, which is the shortest orbital period among all known double neutron star systems as of 2022.
Neutron star mergers are a recently discovered major source of elements produced in the r-process. When two neutron stars collide, a significant amount of neutron-rich matter may be ejected which then quickly forms heavy elements. Cosmic ray spallation is a process wherein cosmic rays impact nuclei and fragment them.
Simulated collision of two neutron stars. A stellar collision is the coming together of two stars [1] caused by stellar dynamics within a star cluster, or by the orbital decay of a binary star due to stellar mass loss or gravitational radiation, or by other mechanisms not yet well understood.
Nuclides with mass number greater than 64 are predominantly produced by neutron capture processes—the s-process and r-process–in supernova explosions and neutron star mergers. The Solar System is thought to have condensed approximately 4.6 billion years before the present, from a cloud of hydrogen and helium containing heavier elements in ...