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This paper examines nucleosynthesis in a low-mass neutron star crust that loses mass due to accretion in a close binary system and, reaching a hydrodynamically unstable configuration explodes. The r-process proceeds mainly in the inner crust. Nucleosynthesis in the outer crust is an explosive process with a sharp increase in temperature caused by an outward-propagating shockwave (shock-wave nucleosynthesis). The number of heavy elements produced in a low-mass neutron star crust during the explosion is approximately equals 0.041 solar masses, which exceeds the number of heavy elements ejected as jets in the neutron star merger scenario., Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures

The nucleosynthesis of heavy elements in the scenario for the evolution of a close binary of neutron stars differing greatly in mass is considered. In contrast to the scenario for the merger of two neutron stars of comparable masses considered repeatedly in the literature, the evolution of such a binary at the final stage consists in a rapid mass transfer to the more massive star and an explosive disruption of the low-mass component. We provide the details of the explosion and calculate the abundances of the heavy elements produced in this process for various initial conditions., Comment: 17 pages, 6 figs, 1 table

The role of weakly bound neutral clusters, such as dineutrons and tetraneutrons, in matter of high density and high temperature is discussed. Under such conditions, which are characteristic of core-collapse supernovae, the lifetime of multineutrons may prove to be sufficiently long for them to have a pronounced effect on the formation of the chemical composition. The influence of the multineutron binding energy and other nuclear properties on the magnitude of the effect being considered is examined., Comment: 16 pages, 3 figs

The existence of neutron star mergers has been supported since the discovery of the binary pulsar and the observation of its orbital energy loss, consistent with General Relativity. They are considered nucleosynthesis sites of the rapid neutron-capture process (r-process), which is responsible for creating approximately half of all heavy elements beyond Fe and is the only source of elements beyond Pb and Bi. Detailed nucleosynthesis calculations based on the decompression of neutron star matter are consistent with solar r-process abundances of heavy nuclei. Neutron star mergers have also been identified with short-duration {\gamma}-ray bursts via their IR afterglow. The high neutron densities in ejected matter permit a violent r-process, leading to fission cycling of the heaviest nuclei in regions far from (nuclear) stability. Uncertainties in several nuclear properties affect the abundance distributions. The modeling of astrophysical events also depends on the hydrodynamic treatment, the occurrence of a neutrino wind after the merger and before the possible emergence of a black hole, and the properties of black hole accretion disks. We discuss the effect of nuclear and modeling uncertainties and conclude that binary compact mergers are probably a (or the) dominant site of the production of r-process nuclei in our Galaxy., Comment: preprint version of a review to appear in Ann. Rev. Nucl. Part. Sci. 67 (2017), literature review up to February 2017

Mathematical model of heavy and superheavy nuclei production in intensive pulsed neutron fluxes of explosive process is developed. The pulse character of the process allows dividing it in time into two stages: very short rapid process of multiple neutron captures with higher temperature and very intensive neutron fluxes, and relatively slower process with lower temperature and neutron fluxes. The model was also extended for calculation of the transuranium yields in nuclear explosions takes into account the adiabatic character of the process, the probabilities of delayed fission, and the emission of delayed neutrons. Also the binary starting target isotopes compositions were included. Calculations of heavy transuranium and transfermium nuclei production were made for Mike, Par and Barbel experiments, performed in USA. It is shown that the production of transfermium neutron-rich nuclei and superheavy elements with A ~ 295 is only possible in case of binary mixture of starting isotopes with the significant addition of heavy components, such as long-lived isotopes of curium, or californium., Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures, 26 Refererences

The nucleosynthesis yields from neutrino-induced spallation of 4He are calculated in case of penetration of some 4He into the carbon-oxygen-neon shell. The neutrino contribution to creation of the weak r-process component becomes noticeable in case 4He is dragged down at radii R < 10^9 cm., Comment: The Paper is in formatting for submission to MNRAS

We discuss the possibility whether superheavy elements can be produced in Nature by the astrophysical rapid neutron capture process. To this end we have performed fully dynamical network r-process calculations assuming an environment with neutron-to-seed ratio large enough to produce superheavy nuclei. Our calculations include two sets of nuclear masses and fission barriers and include all possible fission channels and the associated fission yield distributions. Our calculations produce superheavy nuclei with A ~ 300 that however decay on timescales of days., Comment: 12 pages, 11 figures

The most promising astrophysical sources of kHz gravitational waves (GWs) are the inspiral and merger of binary neutron star(NS)/black hole systems. Maximizing the scientific return of a GW detection will require identifying a coincident electro-magnetic (EM) counterpart. One of the most likely sources of isotropic EM emission from compact object mergers is a supernova-like transient powered by the radioactive decay of heavy elements synthesized in ejecta from the merger. We present the first calculations of the optical transients from compact object mergers that self-consistently determine the radioactive heating by means of a nuclear reaction network; using this heating rate, we model the light curve with a one dimensional Monte Carlo radiation transfer calculation. For an ejecta mass ~1e-2 M_sun[1e-3 M_sun] the resulting light curve peaks on a timescale ~ 1 day at a V-band luminosity nu L_nu ~ 3e41[1e41] ergs/s (M_V = -15[-14]); this corresponds to an effective "f" parameter ~3e-6 in the Li-Paczynski toy model. We argue that these results are relatively insensitive to uncertainties in the relevant nuclear physics and to the precise early-time dynamics and ejecta composition. Due to the rapid evolution and low luminosity of NS merger transients, EM counterpart searches triggered by GW detections will require close collaboration between the GW and astronomical communities. NS merger transients may also be detectable following a short-duration Gamma-Ray Burst or "blindly" with present or upcoming optical transient surveys. Because the emission produced by NS merger ejecta is powered by the formation of rare r-process elements, current optical transient surveys can directly constrain the unknown origin of the heaviest elements in the Universe., Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures; accepted to MNRAS; title changed to highlight r-process connection and new figure added.

Neutron-induced reaction rates, including fission, are calculated in the temperature range 1.d8

The equation of state and composition of matter are calculated for conditions typical for pre-collapse and early collapse stages in core collapse supernovae. The composition is evaluated under the assumption of nuclear statistical equilibrium, when the matter is considered as an `almost' ideal gas with corrections due to thermal excitations of nuclei, to free nucleon degeneracy, and to Coulomb and surface energy corrections. The account of these corrections allows us to obtain the composition for densities a bit below the nuclear matter density. Through comparisons with the equation of state (EOS) developed by Shen et al. we examine the approximation of one representative nucleus used in most of recent supernova EOS's. We find that widely distributed compositions in the nuclear chart are different, depending on the mass formula, while the thermodynamical quantities are quite close to those in the Shen's EOS., Comment: LaTeX 21 pages, 16 figures

The r-process constitutes one of the major challenges in nuclear astrophysics. Its astrophysical site has not yet been identified but there is observational evidence suggesting that at least two possible sites should contribute to the solar system abundance of r-process elements and that the r-process responsible for the production of elements heavier than Z=56 operates quite robustly producing always the same relative abundances. From the nuclear-physics point of view the r-process requires the knowledge of a large number of reaction rates involving exotic nuclei. These include neutron capture rates, beta-decays and fission rates, the latter for the heavier nuclei produced in the r-process. We have developed for the first time a complete database of reaction rates that in addition to neutron-capture rates and beta-decay half-lives includes all possible reactions that can induce fission (neutron-capture, beta-decay and spontaneous fission) and the corresponding fission yields. In addition, we have implemented these reaction rates in a fully implicit reaction network. We have performed r-process calculations for the neutrino-driven wind scenario to explore whether or not fission can contribute to provide a robust r-process pattern.

We study here the formation of heavy r-process nuclei in the high-entropy environment of rapidly expanding neutrino-driven winds from compact objects. In particular, we explore the sensitivity of the element creation in the A>130 region to the low-temperature behavior of the outflows. For this purpose we employ a simplified model of the dynamics and thermodynamical evolution for radiation dominated, adiabatic outflows. It consists of a first stage of fast, exponential cooling, followed by a second phase of slower evolution, either assuming constant density and temperature or a power-law decay of these quantities. These cases are supposed to capture the most relevant effects of a strong deceleration or decreasing acceleration of the transsonic outflows, respectively, e.g. in a wind termination shock caused by the collision with the slower, preceding supernova ejecta. We find that not only the transition temperature between the two expansion phases can make a big difference in the formation of the platinum peak, but also the detailed cooling law during the later phase. Unless the transition temperature and corresponding (free neutron) density become too small (T < 2*10^8 K), a lower temperature or faster temperature decline during this phase allow for a stronger appearance of the third abundance peak. Since the nuclear photodisintegration rates between ~2*10^8 K and ~10^9 K are more sensitive to the temperature than the n-capture rates are to the free neutron density, a faster cooling in this temperature regime shifts the r-process path closer to the n-drip line. With low (gamma,n)- but high beta-decay rates, the r-processing then does not proceed through a (gamma,n)-(n,gamma) equilibrium but through a quasi-equilibrium of (n,gamma)-reactions and beta-decays, as recently also pointed out by Wanajo., Comment: 18 pages, 14 figures with 25 eps plots; referee comments included; accepted by Astronomy & Astrophysics

This manuscript reviews recent progress in our understanding of the nucleosynthesis of medium and heavy elements in supernovae. Recent hydrodynamical models of core-collapse supernovae show that a large amount of proton rich matter is ejected under strong neutrino fluxes. This matter constitutes the site of the vp-process where antineutrino absorption reactions catalyze the nucleosynthesis of nuclei with A > 64. Supernovae are also associated with the r-process responsible for the synthesis of the heaviest elements in nature. Fission during the r-process can play a major role in determining the final abundance patter and in explaining the almost universal features seen in metal-poor r-process-rich stars., Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, invited talk at NIC-IX, International Symposium on Nuclear Astrophysics - Nuclei in the Cosmos - IX, CERN, Geneva, Switzerland, 25-30 June, 2006

Fission plays an important role in the r-process which is responsible not only for the yields of transuranium isotopes, but may have a strong influence on the formation of the majority of heavy nuclei due to fission recycling. We present calculations of beta-delayed and neutron-induced fission rates, taking into account different fission barriers predictions and mass formulae. It is shown that an increase of fission barriers results naturally in a reduction of fission rates, but that nevertheless fission leads to the termination of the r-process. Furthermore, it is discussed that the probability of triple fission could be high for $A>260$ and have an effect on the formation of the abundances of heavy nuclei. Fission after beta-delayed neutron emission is discussed as well as different aspects of the influence of fission upon r-process calculations., Comment: 28 pages, 10 figures, to be published in Nuclear Physics A

The huge neutrino pulse that occurs during the collapse of a massive stellar core, is expected to contribute to the origination of a number of isotopes both of light chemical elements and heavy ones. It is shown that, in general, the heating of stellar matter due to the neutrino scattering off electrons and the heat released from the neutrino-helium breakup followed by the thermonuclear reactions should be taken into account. On the base of kinetic network, using all the important reactions up to Z=8, the main features and the time-dependent character of the neutrino- driven neutron flux are investigated. The time-dependent densities of free neutrons produced in helium breakup, Y_n(t), were used to calculate the r-process nucleosynthesis with another full kinetic network for 3200 nuclides. It was found that in the case of metal-deficient stars, Z < 0.01 Z(solar), the resulting density of free neutrons seems to be high enough to drive the r-process efficiently under favorable conditions. But it is impossible to obtain a sufficient amount of heavy nuclei in neutrino-induced r-process in a helium shell at radii R > R_cr \approx 10^9 cm. We speculate that to make the neutrino-induced r-process work efficiently in the shell, one has to invoke nonstandard presupernova models in which helium hopefully is closer to the collapsed core owing, for instance, to a large scale mixing or/and rotation and magnetic fields. Apart from this exotic possibility, the neutrino-induced nucleosynthesis in the helium shell is certainly not strong enough to explain the observed solar r-process abundances., Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures