Using Cosmic Explorer to measure merger contributions to heavy-element production

Neutron-star mergers are sites of r-process element production in our universe. With gravitational-wave observatories, we are able to measure the rates of these events within the detector network’s sensitive volume, as well as the characteristic conditions per event such as the masses and spins of the components. These ingredients can be used to constrain the contribution of mergers to heavy-element production. Next-generation gravitational-wave observatories like Cosmic Explorer and Einstein Telescope will be able to observe neutron-star mergers out to the era of peak star formation, yielding a much clearer picture of neutron-star merger characteristics and rates over cosmic time. Here, we estimate the accuracy to which these population properties will be measured, and explore what that will mean for our understanding of heavy-element production in the Cosmic Explorer era.