The many faces of astrophysical heavy element production

The rapid neutron capture process (r-process) is a key mechanism for synthesizing elements heavier than iron, and is entirely responsible for the natural production of the actinides. Around 50 years ago, it was proposed that the r-process could occur in the unbinding of material during the inspiral and merger of a neutron star with either a black hole or another neutron star. Multimessenger observations of the binary neutron star merger event, GW170817, provided the first confirmation of lanthanide production in the merger ejecta. Despite this breakthrough in observational evidence of site-specific r-process production, constraining the full nucleosynthetic potential for binary neutron star mergers, and the role they play in chemically enriching the galaxy, remains a challenge. One of the major difficulties in addressing these challenges lies in reconciling models, measurements, and observations that operate on vastly different physical and temporal scales. In this talk, I will discuss the interplay between different disciplines and their effects on predicting nucleosynthesis-related observables, including kilonova light curves and abundances of metal-poor stars.