A Library of Post-Neutron-Star-Merger GRνMHD Disk Simulations: Ejecta, Nucleosynthesis, and Kilonova Implications

ORAL

Abstract

The majority of the mass ejected by neutron star mergers comes from secular outflow from the post-merger remnant, such as an accretion disk. Over timescales of seconds, the thermodynamic evolution of a post-merger disk and its resultant outflows set the stage for the ejecta properties which manifest in kilonova observations at later times (hours/days). Key quantities relating these outflows to kilonovae, including mass ejection, the ejecta velocity distribution, and nucleosynthetic yields, require a detailed treatment of microphysical interactions including neutrino and general relativistic effects. In this talk, we present a grid of ~25 general-relativistic, magnetohydrodynamic accretion disks with neutrino transport for a broad range of black hole and accretion disk combinations. We identify trends in the ejecta consistent across the different disks and report spatially-dependent nucleosynthetic yields for a variety of initial disk conditions. While our work primarily focuses on neutron star mergers, a subset of our disks are applicable to other kilonova-adjacent scenarios such as collapsars.

*M. R. acknowledges support from the Information Science & Technology Institute (ISTI) at LANL as an ISTI Postdoctoral Fellow and acknowledges PECASE award funds.

Presenters

  • Marko Ristić

    • LANL

Authors

  • Marko Ristić

    • LANL
  • Jonah M Miller

    • Los Alamos National Laboratory
  • Chris L Fryer

    • Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)
  • Ryan T Wollaeger

    • Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)
  • Oleg Korobkin

    • Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)
  • Christopher J Fontes

    • Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)
  • Matthew R Mumpower

    • Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)
  • Richard O’Shaughnessy

    • Rochester Institute of Technology