The decompression of the outer neutron star crust and r-process nucleosynthesis

Context. The rapid neutron-capture process, or r-process, is known to be fundamental for explaining the origin of approximately half of the A > 60 stable nuclei observed in nature. In recent years nuclear astrophysicists have developed more and more sophisticated r-process models, by adding new astrophysical or nuclear physics ingredients to explain the solar system composition in a satisfactory way. Despite these efforts, the astrophysical site of the r-process remains unidentified.