Contribution of collapsars, supernovae, and neutron star mergers to the evolution of r-process elements in the Galaxy

TL;DR

This study investigates how different astrophysical events like supernovae, collapsars, and neutron star mergers contributed to the formation of r-process elements in the Galaxy, highlighting the timing and dominance of each source.

Contribution

It provides a comparative analysis of the contributions of various astrophysical sites to r-process element evolution, emphasizing the early dominance of CCSNe and collapsars over neutron star mergers.

Findings

CCSNe and collapsars dominated early r-process enrichment.

NSMs contribute significantly but are delayed.

Simulations show different isotopic abundance patterns.

Abstract

We study the evolution of rapid neutron-capture process (r-process) isotopes in the Galaxy. We analyze relative contributions from core collapse supernovae (CCSNe), neutron star mergers (NSMs) and collapsars under a range of astrophysical conditions and nuclear input data. Although the r-process in each of these sites can lead to similar (or differing) isotopic abundances, our simulations reveal that the early contribution of r-process material to the Galaxy was dominated by CCSNe and collapsar r-process nucleosynthesis, while the NSM contribution is unavoidably delayed even under the assumption of the shortest possible minimum merger time.