- Speaker: Erika Holmbeck
- Start Time:
- End Time:
- Location: Zoom
- Type: Lunch Talk
Heavy elements like silver, gold, and uranium can attribute at least some of their origin to nucleosynthesis by rapid neutron-capture (the r-process). The presence of these heavy elements in nature---found not only in the Solar System, but also in very old, chemically simple stars---is evidence that this r-process must occur astrophysically. In the dawn of multi-messenger astronomy, compact object mergers prove to be at least one promising host of the r-process, but it is unclear whether mergers are the dominant source of heavy elements in the Milky Way. Studying the nature and extent of heavy-element production by compact object mergers involves understanding the r-process all the way from the microscopic nuclear physics to the macroscopic astrophysics. In this talk, I will discuss the interplay between multi-messenger signals, nuclear physics, and stellar spectroscopy when it comes to uncovering the origin of the heaviest elements on the periodic table.
