Laboratory Astrophysics and the State of Astronomy and Astrophysics

Laboratory astrophysics and complementary theoretical calculations are the foundations of astronomy and astrophysics and will remain so into the foreseeable future. The impact of laboratory astrophysics ranges from the scientific conception stage for ground-based, airborne, and space-based observatories, all the way through to the scientific return of these projects and missions. It is our understanding of the under-lying physical processes and the measurements of critical physical parameters that allows us to address fundamental questions in astronomy and astrophysics. In this regard, laboratory astrophysics is much like detector and instrument development at NASA, NSF, and DOE. These efforts are necessary for the success of astronomical research being funded by the agencies. Without concomitant efforts in all three directions (observational facilities, detector/instrument development, and laboratory astrophysics) the future progress of astronomy and astrophysics is imperiled. In addition, new developments in experimental technologies have allowed laboratory studies to take on a new role as some questions which previously could only be studied theoretically can now be addressed directly in the lab. With this in mind we, the members of the AAS Working Group on Laboratory Astrophysics, have prepared this State of the Profession Position Paper on the laboratory astrophysics infrastructure needed to ensure the advancement of astronomy and astrophysics in the next decade.Comment: Position paper submitted by the AAS Working Group on Laboratory Astrophysics (WGLA) to the State of the Profession (Facilities, Funding and Programs Study Group) of the Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey (Astro2010

Nuclear Astrophysics

Nuclear physics has a long and productive history of application to astrophysics which continues today. Advances in the accuracy and breadth of astrophysical data and theory drive the need for better experimental and theoretical understanding of the underlying nuclear physics. This paper will review some of the scenarios where nuclear physics plays an important role, including Big Bang Nucleosynthesis, neutrino production by our sun, nucleosynthesis in novae, the creation of elements heavier than iron, and neutron stars. Big-bang nucleosynthesis is concerned with the formation of elements with A <= 7 in the early Universe; the primary nuclear physics inputs required are few-nucleon reaction cross sections. The nucleosynthesis of heavier elements involves a variety of proton-, alpha-, neutron-, and photon-induced reactions, coupled with radioactive decay. The advent of radioactive ion beam facilities has opened an important new avenue for studying these processes, as many involve radioactive species. Nuclear physics also plays an important role in neutron stars: both the nuclear equation of state and cooling processes involving neutrino emission play a very important role. Recent developments and also the interplay between nuclear physics and astrophysics will be highlighted.Comment: To be published in the Proceedings of 19th Lake Louise Winter Institute (15-21 February 2004). 9 pages, 3 figure

Astrophysics

Historical account of astrophysics development based on photometry and spectroscop

Nuclear Astrophysics

Nuclear astrophysics is that branch of astrophysics which helps understanding some of the many facets of the Universe through the knowledge of the microcosm of the atomic nucleus. In the last decades much advance has been made in nuclear astrophysics thanks to the sometimes spectacular progress in the modelling of the structure and evolution of the stars, in the quality and diversity of the astronomical observations, as well as in the experimental and theoretical understanding of the atomic nucleus and of its spontaneous or induced transformations. Developments in other sub-fields of physics and chemistry have also contributed to that advance. Many long-standing problems remain to be solved, however, and the theoretical understanding of a large variety of observational facts needs to be put on safer grounds. In addition, new questions are continuously emerging, and new facts endanger old ideas. This review shows that astrophysics has been, and still is, highly demanding to nuclear physics in both its experimental and theoretical components. On top of the fact that large varieties of nuclei have to be dealt with, these nuclei are immersed in highly unusual environments which may have a significant impact on their static properties, the diversity of their transmutation modes, and on the probabilities of these modes. In order to have a chance of solving some of the problems nuclear astrophysics is facing, the astrophysicists and nuclear physicists are obviously bound to put their competence in common, and have sometimes to benefit from the help of other fields of physics, like particle physics, plasma physics or solid-state physics.Comment: LaTeX2e with iopart.cls, 84 pages, 19 figures (graphicx package), 374 updated references. Published in Reports on Progress in Physics, vol.62, pp. 395-464 (1999