Do we owe our existence to gravitational waves?

John Ellis, Brian D. Fields, Rebecca Surman

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Two heavy elements essential to human biology are thought to have been produced by the astrophysical r-process, which occurs in neutron-rich environments: iodine is a constituent of thyroid hormones that affect many physiological processes including growth and development, body temperature and heart rate, and bromine is essential for tissue development and architecture. Collisions of neutron stars (kilonovae) have been identified as sources of r-process elements including tellurium, which is adjacent to iodine in the periodic table, and lanthanides. Neutron-star collisions arise from energy loss due to gravitational-wave emission from binary systems, leading us to suggest that gravitational waves have played a key role in enabling human life by producing iodine and bromine. We propose probing this proposal by searching in lunar material for live 129I deposited by a recent nearby kilonova explosion.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number139028
JournalPhysics Letters, Section B: Nuclear, Elementary Particle and High-Energy Physics
Volume858
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 2024
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Human biochemistry
  • Iodine
  • Kilonovae
  • Lunar regolith
  • r-process

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Nuclear and High Energy Physics

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