Neutrinos, supernovae, and the origin of the heavy elements

TL;DR

This paper reviews how core-collapse supernovae emit neutrinos, produce diverse elements, and potentially contribute to the r process for heavy element formation, highlighting the complex links between supernova mechanisms and nucleosynthesis.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of current understanding of neutrino emission, explosion dynamics, and nucleosynthesis in supernovae, emphasizing their role in heavy element creation.

Findings

Diverse neutrino signals from different supernova progenitors

Supernova explosions contribute to heavy element nucleosynthesis

Potential connection between supernovae and the r process

Abstract

Stars of ~8-100 solar masses end their lives as core-collapse supernovae (SNe). In the process they emit a powerful burst of neutrinos, produce a variety of elements, and leave behind either a neutron star or a black hole. The wide mass range for SN progenitors results in diverse neutrino signals, explosion energies, and nucleosynthesis products. A major mechanism to produce nuclei heavier than iron is rapid neutron capture, or the r process. This process may be connected to SNe in several ways. A brief review is presented on current understanding of neutrino emission, explosion, and nucleosynthesis of SNe.