The impact of turbulent mixing on the galactic r-process enrichment by binary neutron star mergers

Abstract

We study the enrichment of the interstellar medium with rapid neutron capture (r-process) elements produced in binary neutron star (BNS) mergers. We use a semi-analytic model to describe galactic evolution, with merger rates and time delay distributions of BNS mergers consistent with the latest population synthesis models. In order to study the dispersion of the relative abundances of r-process elements and iron, we applied a turbulent mixing scheme, where the freshly synthesized elements are gradually dispersed in the interstellar medium. We show that within our model the abundances observed in Milky-Way stars, in particular the scatter at low metallicities, can be entirely explained by BNS mergers. Our results suggest that binary neutron star mergers could be the dominant source of r-process elements in the Galaxy.

arXiv comment16 pages, 19 figures. Modified to match the version accepted by MNRAS (some changes to main results and conclusions, new section added)

References in corpus (87)

• GW170817: Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Neutron Star Inspiral
• The Structure of Cold Dark Matter Halos
• The Global Schmidt Law in Star Forming Galaxies
• Multi-messenger Observations of a Binary Neutron Star Merger
• The EAGLE project: Simulating the evolution and assembly of galaxies and their environments
• GWTC-1: A Gravitational-Wave Transient Catalog of Compact Binary Mergers Observed by LIGO and Virgo during the First and Second Observing Runs
• Hierarchical Galaxy Formation
• The Galaxy in Context: Structural, Kinematic and Integrated Properties
• GW190425: Observation of a Compact Binary Coalescence with Total Mass $\sim 3.4M_{\odot }$
• First results from the IllustrisTNG simulations: A tale of two elements -- chemical evolution of magnesium and europium
• Transient Events from Neutron Star Mergers
• Origin of the heavy elements in binary neutron-star mergers from a gravitational wave event
• Electromagnetic Counterparts of Compact Object Mergers Powered by the Radioactive Decay of R-process Nuclei
• Swope Supernova Survey 2017a (SSS17a), the Optical Counterpart to a Gravitational Wave Source
• A Semi-Analytic Model for the Co-evolution of Galaxies, Black Holes, and Active Galactic Nuclei
• Compact Remnant Mass Function: Dependence on the Explosion Mechanism and Metallicity
• Spectroscopic identification of r-process nucleosynthesis in a double neutron star merger
• An excursion set model of hierarchical clustering: Ellipsoidal collapse and the moving barrier
• A Comprehensive Study of Binary Compact Objects as Gravitational Wave Sources: Evolutionary Channels, Rates, and Physical Properties
• Cold dark matter haloes in the Planck era: evolution of structural parameters for Einasto and NFW profiles
• The r-process of stellar nucleosynthesis: Astrophysics and nuclear physics achievements and mysteries
• On the properties of massive Population III stars and metal-free stellar populations
• Light Curves of the Neutron Star Merger GW170817/SSS17a: Implications for R-Process Nucleosynthesis
• Double Compact Objects I: The Significance Of The Common Envelope On Merger Rates
• Origin of the Heaviest Elements: the Rapid Neutron-Capture Process
• The RAVE Survey: Constraining the Local Galactic Escape Speed
• Comprehensive nucleosynthesis analysis for ejecta of compact binary mergers
• The Electromagnetic Counterpart of the Binary Neutron Star Merger LIGO/VIRGO GW170817. IV. Detection of Near-infrared Signatures of r-process Nucleosynthesis with Gemini-South
• Systematics of dynamical mass ejection, nucleosynthesis, and radioactively powered electromagnetic signals from neutron-star mergers
• R-Process Nucleosynthesis in Dynamically Ejected Matter of Neutron Star Mergers
• Improved Estimates of the Milky Way's Stellar Mass and Star Formation Rate from Hierarchical Bayesian Meta-Analysis
• The Stellar Abundances for Galactic Archeology (SAGA) Database - Compilation of the Characteristics of Known Extremely Metal-Poor Stars
• Collapsars as a major source of r-process elements
• Neutron star mergers versus core-collapse supernovae as dominant r-process sites in the early Galaxy
• Early Spectra of the Gravitational Wave Source GW170817: Evolution of a Neutron Star Merger
• Generating Dark Matter Halo Merger Trees
• Electromagnetic Evidence that SSS17a is the Result of a Binary Neutron Star Merger
• The evolution of massive black holes and their spins in their galactic hosts
• Merger and Mass Ejection of Neutron-Star Binaries
• Neutron Star Mergers Might not be the Only Source of r-Process Elements in the Milky Way
• The Origin of r-Process Elements in the Milky Way
• Double neutron stars: merger rates revisited
• Black hole and neutron star mergers in galactic nuclei
• Reconstructing the star formation history of the Milky Way disc(s) from chemical abundances
• Complete element abundances of nine stars in the r-process galaxy Reticulum II
• Europium production: neutron star mergers versus core-collapse supernovae
• Galactic r-process enrichment by neutron star mergers in cosmological simulations of a Milky Way-mass galaxy
• The History of R-Process Enrichment in the Milky Way
• On the Rate of Neutron Star Binary Mergers from Globular Clusters
• Short-lived ${}^{244}$Pu Points to Compact Binary Mergers as Sites for Heavy r-process Nucleosynthesis
• Astronuclear Physics: a Tale of the Atomic Nuclei in the Skies
• An R-process enhanced star in the dwarf galaxy Tucana III
• The role of neutron star mergers in the chemical evolution of the Galactic halo
• Implications of PSR J0737-3039B for the Galactic NS-NS Binary Merger Rate
• Modelling Element Abundances in Semi-analytic Models of Galaxy Formation
• The impact of electron-capture supernovae on merging double neutron stars
• The influence of the distribution of cosmic star formation at different metallicities on the properties of merging double compact objects
• Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA): Linking Star Formation Histories and Stellar Mass Growth
• Host galaxies of merging compact objects: mass, star formation rate, metallicity and colours
• Galaxy Formation Spanning Cosmic History
• The AMBRE project: The thick thin disk and thin thick disk of the Milky Way
• The Diversity of Kilonova Emission in Short Gamma-Ray Bursts
• $r$-Process Nucleosynthesis from Three-dimensional Jet-driven Core-Collapse Supernovae with Magnetic Misalignments
• Neutron star mergers and rare core-collapse supernovae as sources of r-process enrichment in simulated galaxies
• A little FABLE: exploring AGN feedback in dwarf galaxies with cosmological simulations
• A new delay time distribution for merging neutron stars tested against Galactic and cosmic data
• Cosmic Star Formation, Reionization, and Constraints on Global Chemical Evolution
• The Pristine survey VIII: The metallicity distribution function of the Milky Way halo down to the extremely metal-poor regime
• Cosmic Neutron Star Merger Rate and Gravitational Waves constrained by the R Process Nucleosynthesis
• Hierarchical Growth and Cosmic Star Formation: Enrichment, Outflows and Supernova Rates
• Contribution of Neutron Star Mergers to the R-process Chemical Evolution in the Hierarchical Galaxy Formation
• Simulating Neutron Star Mergers as r-process Sources in Ultra Faint Dwarf Galaxies
• The Origin of r-process Enhanced Metal-Poor Halo Stars In Now-Destroyed Ultra-Faint Dwarf Galaxies
• Evolutionary Channels for the Formation of Double Neutron Stars
• Double Neutron Star Formation: Merger Times, Systemic Velocities, and Travel Distances
• Retainment of r-process material in dwarf galaxies
• Early chemo-dynamical evolution of dwarf galaxies deduced from enrichment of r-process elements
• Galaxy sizes and the galaxy-halo connection -- I: the remarkable tightness of the size distributions
• Neutron star binary orbits in their host potential: effect on early r-process enrichment
• Turbulent mixing of r-process elements in the Milky Way
• On Neutron Star Mergers as the Source of r-process Enhanced Metal Poor Stars in the Milky Way
• Neutron Star Mergers as the Main Source of R-process: Natal Kicks And Inside-Out Evolution to The Rescue
• Binary neutron star formation and the origin of GW170817
• Metallicity Distribution of Disk Stars and the Formation History of the Milky Way
• An Updated Galactic Double Neutron Star Merger Rate Based on Radio Pulsar Populations
• Probing binary neutron star mergers in dense environments using afterglow counterparts
• Galactic r-process abundance feature shaped by radial migration

Cited by in corpus (8)

• Can neutron star mergers alone explain the r-process enrichment of the Milky Way?
• Neutron star mergers as the astrophysical site of the r-process in the Milky Way and its satellite galaxies
• Impact of systematic nuclear uncertainties on composition and decay heat of dynamical and disk ejecta in compact binary mergers
• Highly r-process enhanced stars in ultra-faint dwarf galaxies
• Common envelope jets supernova r-process yields can reproduce $[Eu/Fe]$ abundance evolution in the Galaxy
• Evidence for r-process delay in very metal-poor stars
• Dust diffusion in SPH simulations of an isolated galaxy
• Very High Energy Afterglow of Structured Jets: GW 170817 and Prospects for Future Detections