Physics Colloquium - Neutrinos and element synthesis in merging neutron stars

The merging of two neutron stars is a true multimessenger event that includes gravitational waves, an electromagnetic signal, and the emission of enormous numbers of neutrinos. To understand these signals we need a careful accounting of the microphysics that occurs during and after the merger. I will focus on the elements produced in these objects and the effect of two aspects of this microphysics; neutrino flavor transformation physics and nuclear models/reactions. In particular, I will discuss the importance of new developments in these areas to predictions of r-process observables and the astrophysical origin of the r-process.