Speaker
James Gillanders
(University of Oxford)
Description
Kilonovae are the only confirmed site of the r-process, the production pathway responsible for synthesising ~half of all elements heavier than iron. They are rare, and as such there are just two confirmed events. Here I will present my analysis of these objects, focusing on my best guesses for species identifications in their spectra. I will also present highlights from ongoing searches for new objects, which, while not uncovering any new kilonovae (yet!), have borne other interesting phenomena.