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"When these two bodies finally merge, the black hole will typically swallow the neutron star whole." Not whole. A small amount of matter will escape, both iro
by chasil 1y ago
"When these two bodies finally merge, the black hole will typically swallow the neutron star whole."
Not whole.
A small amount of matter will escape, both iron nuclei (from the crust) and free neutrons.
The R-process of stellar nucleosynthesis will then take place.
As I understand it, a normal output between three and 13 earth masses of gold is typical.
This total mass is insignificant compared to the final mass of the combined object, but it is also the engine that creates many elements higher than iron on the periodic table.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellar_nucleosynthesis https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellar_nucleosynthesis
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/acba16 https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/acba16
- DFHippie 1y agoThe article says R-process nucleosynthesis (it doesn't use this term) occurs when neutron stars combine but not when a black hole swallows a neutron star. Is this incorrect? > "What this means is that a neutron star-black hole collision, while it might not erupt with material like a neutron star–neutron star collision, could power strong signals that telescopes can detect," Most says.
- chasil 1y agoExamine the second link that I posted. "For these conditions, the detailed properties of the outflow determine whether a full r-process can or cannot occur, implying that a wide range of observable phenomena is possible. We show that on average the disk outflow lanthanide fraction is suppressed relative to the solar isotopic pattern. In combination with the dynamical ejecta, these outflows imply a kilonova with both blue and red components."