Discovering the Unknown Sky

How the chemical elements populating our Universe and making life possible were forged remains puzzling. This is especially true for what concerns the elements heavier than iron, such as gold and platinum. Core-collapse supernova explosions and neutron star mergers are thought to be the main factories of these heavy elements. The former mark the end of the life of massive stars, and the latter occur when two neutron stars or a neutron star and a black hole collide and merge (with neutron stars and black holes being the remnants of supernova explosions). However, a growing number of recent observational discoveries challenges long-standing theories on how these sources work. This project will provide a novel theoretical framework to account for currently neglected fundamental physics occurring in these sources and identify the observational hallmarks that will allow us to tackle the mysteries associated with the origin of life.