Microscopically-based energy density functionals and r-process nucleosynthesis

Masses are crucial inputs into calculations of r-process nucleosynthesis, the rapid neutron capture process responsible for about half of the elements heavier than iron in the solar system. Here we examine the nucleosynthetic impact of masses generated in a density functional theory approach, where the functional is microscopically constrained and based on local chiral potentials. This approach to nuclear masses has been found to outperform more phenomenological Skyrme functionals in reproducing known data. Here we test their performance for species far from stability in calculations of the r-process in a variety of astrophysical conditions.