Models for how heavy elements are produced within stars have become more accurate thanks to measurements by RIKEN nuclear physicists of the probabilities that 20 neutron-rich nuclei will shed neutrons ...

Neutron star collisions do not create the quantity of chemical elements previously assumed, a new analysis of galaxy evolution finds. The research also reveals that current models can't explain the ...

An artist’s impression of strontium emerging from a neutron star merger. ESO/L. Calçada/M. Kornmesser When massive neutron stars collide, they don’t only produce dazzling light, bursts of gamma rays, ...

For the first time, a freshly made heavy element, strontium, has been detected in space, in the aftermath of a merger of two neutron stars. This finding was observed by ESO’s X-shooter spectrograph on ...

Scientists know that elements lighter than iron are typically forged deep in the core of stars. The extremely high temperature in the core of stars can fuse protons allowing them to be smashed ...

Heavy duty: artist’s impression of a kilonova releasing r-process elements into the cosmos. (Courtesy: ESO/L Calçada/M Kornmesser) The mystery of where heavy elements such as gold and silver come from ...

Bits of the stars are all around us, and in us, too. About half of the abundance of elements heavier than iron originates in some of the most violent explosions in the cosmos. As the universe churns ...