Impact of Nuclear Mass Uncertainties on the<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:mi>r</mml:mi></mml:math>Process

Nuclear masses play a fundamental role in understanding how the heaviest elements in the Universe are created in the rprocess. We predict rprocess nucleosynthesis yields using neutron capture and photodissociation rates that are based on nuclear density functional theory. Using six Skyrme energy density functionals based on different optimization protocols, we determine for the first time systematic uncertainty bands -- related to mass...