# # Program information file # PROGRAM_ID 2024B098 PROGRAM_TITLE Searching for r-process Nucleosynthesis in Collapsars PROGRAM_INV1 Natalie LeBaron PROGRAM_INV2 Raffaella Margutti PROGRAM_INV3 Ryan Chornock PROGRAM_INV4 PROGRAM_INV5 PROGRAM_SCICAT extra-galactic PROGRAM_ABSTRACT_BEG Multimessenger analysis of the kilonova [KN] associated with GW170817 established that binary neutron star [BNS] mergers are sites of heavy element production via rapid neutron capture [r-process] nucleosynthesis. Due to similarities between their transient accretion disk, r-process may also occur in collapsars, which are thought to be rare Ic-BL type supernovae [SNe]. The key, still open, question is: Do collapsars produce any r-process elements in our universe, and if so, to what degree? Thus, we propose to obtain monthly cadence NIR photometry of up to 6 Ic-BL's from early times until deep into their nebular phase [at which point signatures of r-process enrichment are theorized to become observable] to support spectroscopic programs on larger facilities during later epochs when r-process enrichment becomes observable. Our overarching goals are to reveal the characteristic properties of the inner ejecta of these SNe and to constrain r-process nucleosynthesis in collapsars. PROGRAM_ABSTRACT_END