Wednesday, July 15, 2026
Science

Heavy-element exotic dust may solve a neutron star merger mystery

When neutron stars merge, they create a powerful explosion called a kilonova that flings out neutron-rich material, some of which decays into heavy elements through a process called the r-process. Recent observations of kilonovae revealed unexpected signatures that could not be explained by existing...

Heavy-element exotic dust may solve a neutron star merger mystery
Image: Phys.org
When neutron stars merge, they create a powerful explosion called a kilonova that flings out neutron-rich material, some of which decays into heavy elements through a process called the r-process. Recent observations of kilonovae revealed unexpected signatures that could not be explained by existing models.

Originally published at Phys.org

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