On the sensitivity of uranium opacity with respect to the atomic properties in the context of kilonova emission modeling

In this study, the sensitivity of the opacities with respect to the atomic parameters is investigated in the case of weakly charged uranium ions. In order to do this, atomic data for U II and U III were calculated with the pseudo-relativistic Hartree–Fock method (HFR) and then, used to determine the expansion opacities for conditions characterizing the ejecta of kilonovae that follow neutron star mergers. In particular, we studied the sensitivity of the opacity with respect to the use of atomic data obtained considering several effects as the ionic core polarization and an adjustment procedure. Graphical abstract