Speaker
Description
The GW170817 event answered one of the important questions regarding a
potential site of heavy element synthesis in the cosmos. The observations of the
gravitational waves (VIRGO and LIGO) along with signatures from 70
electromagnetic transients indicated that heavy element synthesis was indeed
going on up to the rare-earth region of the chart of nuclides. These series of
connected observations answered an important question but unveiled a number
of new ones. Questions about the extent of the synthesis, did it reach the
actinides? The role of fission was once again explored. Does fission of the very
neutron rich nuclei follow expected distributions? There is ample evidence that
very different fission distributions result from the very neutron rich nuclei. What
is the role of cluster decays and the potential population of the island of stability
or the synthesis of super-heavy elements. Perhaps even more importantly, what
are sources of the neutrons? Stellar evolution from the very first generation of
stars to the explosive astrophysical scenarios that contribute to the solar
abundances of the elements require abundances of neutrons. This talk will
explore questions and answers.
The Nuclear Science Laboratory at the University of Notre Dame is funded by the
National Science Foundation under contract Number PHY-2011890. AANL is
funded via the State Science Committee of the Republic of Armenia.
