Atomic Data to Decipher the Cosmic Production of Heavy Elements

The aim of our project on Atomic data to decipher the cosmic origin of heavy elements is to provide the astronomical community with complete and accurate atomic data for the heavy elements to decipher the cosmic origin of neutron capture elements.

We in particular target the s-process elements Y, Zr, La, Ce and the r-process elements Ag, Eu and Ho.A major production site for the heavy elements is the neutron star merger and its subsequent ejecta. Atomic data are needed to model the merger and its light curve, as well as the kilonova afterglow spectra.

We target the data need for both these stages as well as for stellar spectroscopy probing additional production sites.Our research method is a combination of experimental and computational atomic spectroscopy. We provide parameters, such as wavelengths, oscillator strengths and hyperfine structures.

Techniques used are high-resolution Fourier Transform Spectroscopy in combination with state of-the-art quantum mechanical atomic structure calculations.

The novelty lies in the use of newly developed methods to fine-tune the calculations with recorded data, which is key to produce complete and accurate data for complex heavy elements needed for the kilonova analysis and stellar spectroscopy.The new method is based on our succesful combinations of experiments and calculations.

With relatively small resources, a granted proposal and successful project has a large impact on many astronomical areas.