Gamma-Ray Bursts Black hole accretion disks as a site for the vp-process

TL;DR

This paper investigates whether gamma-ray burst accretion disk outflows can host the vp-process, affecting nucleosynthesis and light p-nuclei production, with neutrino interactions playing a significant role.

Contribution

It explores the conditions under which the vp-process occurs in GRB accretion disk outflows and highlights the impact of neutrino interactions on nucleosynthesis.

Findings

vp-process can produce nuclei up to A~100 in some conditions

Neutrino interactions significantly alter abundance patterns

Outflow entropy and accretion rate are critical factors

Abstract

We study proton rich nucleosynthesis in windlike outflows from gamma-ray bursts accretion disks with the aim to determine if such outflows are a site of the vp-process. The efficacy of this vp-process depends on thermodynamic and hydrodynamic factors. We discuss the importance of the entropy of the material, the outflow rate, the initial ejection point and accretion rate of the disk. In some cases the vp-process pushes the nucleosynthesis out to A~100 and produces light p-nuclei. However, even when these nuclei are not produced, neutrino induced interactions can significantly alter the abundance pattern and cannot be neglected.