Triangle Nuclear Theory Colloquium - Elements formation in radiation-hydrodynamics simulations of kilonovae

Understanding the details of r-process nucleosynthesis in binary neutron star mergers (BNSM) ejecta is key to interpret kilonovae observations and to identify the role of BNSMs in the origin of heavy elements. For the first time, we are able to simulate a self-consistent 2-dimensional, ray-by-ray radiation-hydrodynamic evolution of BNSM ejecta with an online nuclear network (NN) up to the days timescale. I will present the results obtained from an initial numerical-relativity ejecta profile composed of the dynamical component, spiral-wave and disk winds evolved including detailed r-process reactions and nuclear heating effects. A simple model for the jet energy deposition is also included. Our simulation highlights that the common approach of relating in post-processing the final nucleosynthesis yields to the initial thermodynamic profile of the ejecta can lead to inaccurate predictions. Moreover, we find that neglecting the details of the radiation-hydrodynamic evolution of the ejecta in nuclear calculations can introduce deviations up to one order of magnitude in the final abundances of several elements, including very light and second r-process peak elements. The presence of a jet affects elements production only in the innermost part of the polar ejecta, and it does not alter the global nucleosynthesis results. Overall, our analysis shows that employing an online NN improves the reliability of nucleosynthesis and kilonova light curves predictions.

Light refreshments will be provided.