Gravitational Waves and Dense Neutron Rich Matter

Dr. Charles J. Horowitz (Indiana University)

In 2017 a titanic collision between two neutron stars in the galaxy NGC4993 was detected with gravitational waves and gamma rays and then observed in extraordinary detail. These historic developments provide crucial insight into the nature of very dense matter and strongly suggest that many of the heavy elements, including gold and uranium, were made in neutron star mergers. After a gentle introduction, I compare the information on dense matter from these astronomical observations with some closely related laboratory experiments and then discuss implications for nucleosynthesis.

Journal reference: Phys. Rev. Lett. 120, 172702 (2018)

See also a Physics Synopsis:
Gravitational Waves Shed Light on Dense Nuclear Matter by Matteo Rini,
https://physics.aps.org/synopsis-for/10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.172702