Speaker
Dr
Ian Roederer
(University of Michigan)
Description
The r-process is one of the fundamental ways that stars produce heavy elements. For decades, a major challenge has been an inability to produce compelling observations that directly link the r-process with an astrophysical site. In early 2016, two groups independently confirmed the existence of a dwarf galaxy, called Reticulum II, where most of the stars are highly enhanced in r-process material. This find was without precedent, and it enables us to address a new question for the first time: what effect did the thing at the site of the r-process have on its environment? I will summarize the current state of observations of the r-process material in Reticulum II, highlight theoretical attempts to apply the constraints from Reticulum II to our understanding of the r-process, and preview some of the ways to move forward.
Primary author
Dr
Ian Roederer
(University of Michigan)