Neutron star-black hole binaries are among the strongest sources of
gravitational waves detectable by current observatories. They can also power
bright electromagnetic signals (gamma-ray bursts, kilonovae), and may be a
significant source of production of r-process nuclei. A misalignment of the
black hole spin with respect to the orbital angular momentum leads to
precession of that spin and of the orbital plane, and has a significant effect
on the properties of the post-merger remnant and of the material ejected by the
merger. We present a first set of simulations of precessing neutron star-black
hole mergers using a hot, composition dependent, nuclear-theory based equation
of state (DD2). We show that the mass of the remnant and of the dynamical
ejecta are broadly consistent with the result of simulations using simpler
equations of state, while differences arise when considering the dynamics of
the merger and the velocity of the ejecta. We show that the latter can easily
be understood from assumptions about the composition of low-density, cold
material in the different equations of state, and propose an updated estimate
for the ejecta velocity which takes those effects into account. We also present
an updated mesh-refinement algorithm which allows us to improve the numerical
resolution used to evolve neutron star-black hole mergers.
