The rapid neutron capture process (r process) is believed to be responsible for about half of the production of the elements heavier than iron and contributes to abundances of some lighter nuclides as well. A universal pattern of r-process element abundances is observed in some metal-poor stars of the Galactic halo. This suggests that a well-regulated combination of astrophysical conditions and nuclear physics conspires to produce such a universal abundance pattern. The search for the astrophysical site for r-process nucleosynthesis has stimulated interdisciplinary research for more than six decades. There is currently much enthusiasm surrounding evidence for r-process nucleosynthesis in binary neutron star mergers in the multi-wavelength follow-up observations of kilonova/gravitational-wave GRB170807A/GW170817. Nevertheless, there remain questions as to the contribution over the history of the Galaxy to the current solar-system r-process abundances from other sites such as neutrino-driven winds or magnetohydrodynamical ejection of material from core-collapse supernovae. In this review we highlight some current issues surrounding the nuclear physics input, astronomical observations, galactic chemical evolution, and theoretical simulations of r-process astrophysical environments with the goal of outlining a path toward resolving the remaining mysteries of the r process.

中文翻译：

---

r-过程核合成的现状

快速中子俘获过程（r 过程）被认为是产生比铁重的元素的一半左右的原因，并且也有助于一些较轻的核素的丰度。在银河晕的一些贫金属恒星中观察到了 r 过程元素丰度的普遍模式。这表明天体物理条件和核物理的良好结合共同产生了这种普遍的丰度模式。为 r 过程核合成寻找天体物理站点已经刺激了跨学科研究超过 60 年。目前，在千新星/引力波 GRB170807A/GW170817 的多波长后续观测中，人们对双中子星合并中 r 过程核合成的证据充满热情。尽管如此，关于银河系的历史对当前太阳系 r 过程丰度的贡献仍存在疑问，例如中微子驱动的风或核心坍缩超新星物质的磁流体动力学喷射。在这篇综述中，我们重点介绍了围绕核物理输入、天文观测、星系化学演化和 r 过程天体物理环境的理论模拟的一些当前问题，目的是概述解决 r 过程剩余奥秘的途径。