One of the open questions following the discovery of GW170817 is whether neutron star (NS) mergers are the only astrophysical sites capable of producing r-process elements. Simulations have shown that 0.01–0.1 M $_ødot$ of r-process material could be …
Some observations suggest that very massive stars experience extreme mass-loss episodes shortly before they explode as supernovae as do several models. Establishing a causal connection between these mass-loss episodes and the final explosion would …