Weak Interactions and Transport in Neutron Star Mergers featuring Alexander Haber (Wu Tien, Austria)

Hosted by: Miquel Miravet Tenes (University of Southhampton)

Abstract: Neutron star mergers are among the most extreme events in the Universe, providing a unique laboratory to study matter at densities and temperatures inaccessible on earth. While much of our understanding of these events relies on the properties of matter in equilibrium, the rapid dynamics of a merger can drive matter far from equilibrium.

In this talk, I will discuss how weak interactions govern the restoration of chemical equilibrium and how transport processes influence the evolution of neutron star mergers and their observable signals. I will also introduce the nucleon width approximation (NWA), a new approach to calculating weak interaction rates in dense nuclear matter, and its advantages compared to old methods.