Neutrino-driven wind simulations and nucleosynthesis of heavy elements

TL;DR

This review discusses the current understanding of neutrino-driven winds following supernovae, focusing on their role in nucleosynthesis of heavy elements, recent simulation advances, and remaining uncertainties about their capacity to produce the r-process elements.

Contribution

It summarizes recent progress in simulations and microphysics of neutrino-driven winds and highlights their potential to explain the origin of lighter heavy elements.

Findings

Simulations have improved but do not yet reach conditions for the r-process.

Neutrino-driven winds likely produce lighter heavy elements like Sr, Y, Zr.

Uncertainties remain in wind proton/neutron richness and r-process capability.

Abstract

Neutrino-driven winds, which follow core-collapse supernova explosions, present a fascinating nuclear astrophysics problem that requires understanding advanced astrophysics simulations, the properties of matter and neutrino interactions under extreme conditions, the structure and reactions of exotic nuclei, and comparisons against forefront astronomical observations. The neutrino-driven wind has attracted vast attention over the last 20 years as it was suggested to be a candidate for the astrophysics site where half of the heavy elements are produced via the r-process. In this review, we summarize our present understanding of neutrino-driven winds from the dynamical and nucleosynthesis perspectives. Rapid progress has been made during recent years in understanding the wind with improved simulations and better micro physics. The current status of the fields is that hydrodynamical simulations do not reach the extreme conditions necessary for the r-process and the proton or neutron richness of the wind remains to be investigated in more detail. However, nucleosynthesis studies and observations point already to neutrino-driven winds to explain the origin of lighter heavy elements, such as Sr, Y, Zr.