Recent Progress in Understanding Nucleosynthesis via Rapid Neutron Capture

Abstract

I discuss the recent progress in our understanding of nucleosynthesis via rapid neutron capture, the r-process, based on meteoritic data for the early solar system and observations of stars at low metallicities. At present, all data require that there be two distinct kinds of r-process events and suggest that supernovae are associated with these events. The diversity of supernova sources for the r-process may depend on whether a neutron star or black hole is formed in an individual supernova. This dependence, if substantiated by future observations discussed here, has important implications for properties of nuclear matter.