Nucleosynthesis inside common envelope accretion

Accretion of material onto the surface of a neutron star is a process that we know occurs in our universe, however the key nuclear reactions that are taking place are not fully understood. One way this accretion may occur is inside a common envelope between a neutron star and its companion. Such a scenario could be a precursor to a neutron star merger and is an interesting mechanism that proposes a new method of synthesising material that could help understand observed abundances in our universe. A study into simulating these regions and reaction processes is ongoing using two different nucleosynthesis simulation codes, to provide information as to which reactions are influential during this mass transfer process. These can then be further investigated with sensitivity studies to deduce which reactions inside the simulations are the most influential. Once these codes are verified they can then be applied to different scenarios. This talk will cover what common envelope accretion is and discuss updates to the current model.