General relativistic effects in the neutrino-driven wind and r-process nucleosynthesis

We discuss general relativistic effects in the steady state neutrino-driven ''wind'' that may arise from nascent neutron stars. In particular, we generalize previous analytic estimates of the entropy per baryon S, the mass outflow rate (M) over circle, and the dynamical expansion timescale tau(dyn). We show that S increases and tau(dyn) decreases with increasing values of the mass-to-radius ratio describing the supernova core. Both of these trends indicate that a more compact core will lead to a higher number of neutrons per seed nucleus. Such an enhancement in the neutron/seed ratio may be required for successful r-process nucleosynthesis in neutrino-heated supernova ejecta.