We present a first exploration of the results of neutron star-black hole
mergers using black hole masses in the most likely range of
$7M_\odot-10M_\odot$, a neutrino leakage scheme, and a modeling of the neutron
star material through a finite-temperature nuclear-theory based equation of
state. In the range of black hole spins in which the neutron star is tidally
disrupted ($\chi_{\rm BH}\gtrsim 0.7$), we show that the merger consistently
produces large amounts of cool ($T\lesssim 1\,{\rm MeV}$), unbound,
neutron-rich material ($M_{\rm ej}\sim 0.05M_\odot-0.20M_\odot$). A comparable
amount of bound matter is initially divided between a hot disk ($T_{\rm
max}\sim 15\,{\rm MeV}$) with typical neutrino luminosity $L_\nu\sim
10^{53}\,{\rm erg/s}$, and a cooler tidal tail. After a short period of rapid
protonization of the disk lasting $\sim 10\,{\rm ms}$, the accretion disk cools
down under the combined effects of the fall-back of cool material from the
tail, continued accretion of the hottest material onto the black hole, and
neutrino emission. As the temperature decreases, the disk progressively becomes
more neutron-rich, with dimmer neutrino emission. This cooling process should
stop once the viscous heating in the disk (not included in our simulations)
balances the cooling. These mergers of neutron star-black hole binaries with
black hole masses $M_{\rm BH}\sim 7M_\odot-10M_\odot$ and black hole spins high
enough for the neutron star to disrupt provide promising candidates for the
production of short gamma-ray bursts, of bright infrared post-merger signals
due to the radioactive decay of unbound material, and of large amounts of
r-process nuclei.
