Dynamics and Equation of State Dependencies of Relevance for Nucleosynthesis in Supernovae and Neutron Star Mergers

Understand

Neutron stars (NSs) and black holes (BHs) are born when the final collapse of the stellar core terminates the lives of stars more massive than about 9 Msun.

• This can trigger the powerful ejection of a large fraction of the star's material in a core-collapse supernova (CCSN), whose extreme luminosity is energized by the decay of radioactive isotopes such as 56Ni and 56Co.
• When evolving in close binary systems, the compact relics of such infernal catastrophes spiral towards each other on orbits gradually decaying by gravitational-wave emission.
• Ultimately, the violent collision of the two components forms a more massive, rapidly spinning remnant, again accompanied by the ejection of considerable amounts of matter.