%0 Journal Article
%A Ricigliano, Giacomo
%A Hotokezaka, Kenta
%A Arcones Segovia, Almudena
%T Modelling the emission lines from r-process elements in supernova nebulae
%J Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
%V 543
%N 3
%@ 0035-8711
%C Oxford
%I Oxford Univ. Press
%M GSI-2026-00338
%P 2534 - 2552
%D 2025
%Z This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
%X The origin of heavy r-process elements in the Universe is still a matter   of great debate, with a confirmed scenario being neutron star (NS)   mergers. Additional relevant sites could be specific classes of events,   such as gamma-ray burst (GRB) supernova, short-plural form = SNe,   long-plural form = supernovae (SNs), where a central engine could push   neutron-rich material outwards, contributing to the ejecta of the   massive exploding star. Here, we investigate our ability to infer the   production of heavy elements in such scenarios, on the basis of the   observed nebular emission. We solve the steady-state ionization, level   population, and thermal balance, for optically thin ejecta in non-local   thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE), in order to explore the role of heavy   elements in cooling the gas, and their imprint in the emergent spectrum   a few hundreds days post-explosion. We find that heavy elements would be   relevant in the cooling process of the nebula only if they account for   at least similar to 1 per cent of the total ejected mass, at the typical   kinetic temperatures of a few thousands K. However, even in the absence   of such amount, a few 0 . 1 per cent of the total ejected mass could be   instead sufficient to leave a detectable imprint around similar to 1-10   mu m . This wavelength range, which would be relatively clean from   features due to light elements, would be instead robustly populated by   lines from heavy elements arising from forbidden transitions in their   atomic fine structures. Hence, the new generation of telescopes,   represented by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), will most likely   allow for their detection.
%F PUB:(DE-HGF)16
%9 Journal Article
%U <Go to ISI:>//WOS:001591043600001
%R 10.1093/mnras/staf1577
%U https://repository.gsi.de/record/364985