1,279 research outputs found
The nuclear processes responsible for the CNO synthesis
The abundances of the isotopes of the elements C, N and O are mainly affected
by the cold CNO cycles in non-explosive stellar situations, or by the hot CNO
chains that can develop in certain explosive sites, like classical novae.
Helium burning phases can modify the composition of the ashes of the CNO
transmutations through several -capture reactions, the most famed one
being 12C(a,g)16O. This contribution presents a short review of the purely
nuclear physics limitations imposed on the accuracy of the predicted C, N and O
yields from H-burning in non-explosive stars or novae. This analysis makes
largely use of the NACRE compilation for the rates of the reactions on stable
targets making up the cold CNO cycle. Some more recent rate determinations are
also considered. The analysis of the impact of the rate uncertainties on the
abundance predictions is conducted in the framework of a simple parametric
astrophysical model. These calculations have the virtue of being a guide in the
selection of the nuclear uncertainties that have to be duly analyzed in
detailed model stars, particularly in order to perform meaningful
confrontations between abundance observations and predictions. They are also
hoped to help nuclear astrophysicists pinpointing the rate uncertainties that
have to be reduced most urgently. A limited use of detailed stellar models is
also made for the purpose of some specific illustrations.Comment: 9 pages including 5 figures. Conference proceedings for "CNO in the
Universe", St Luc, Switzerland, 10-14 September 2002 C. Charbonnel, D.
Schaerer & G. Meynet (eds) ASP Conference Seri
Empirical Abundance Scaling Laws and Implications for the Gamma-Process in Core-Collapse Supernovae
Analyzing the solar system abundances, we have found two empirical abundance
scaling laws concerning the p- and s-nuclei with the same atomic number. The
first scaling is s/p ratios are almost constant over a wide range of the atomic
number, where the p-nculei are lighter than the s-nuclei by two or four
neutrons. The second scaling is p/p ratios are almost constant, where the
second -nuclei are lighter than the first p-nucleus by two neutrons. These
scalings are a piece of evidence that most p-nuclei are dominantly synthesized
by the gamma-process in supernova explosions. The scalings lead to a novel
concept of "universality of gamma-process" that the s/p and p/p ratios of
nuclei produced by individual gamma-processes are almost constant,
respectively. We have calculated the ratios by gamma-process based on
core-collapse supernova explosion models under various astrophysical conditions
and found that the scalings hold for materials produced by individual
gamma-processes independent of the astrophysical conditions assumed. The
universality originates from three mechanisms: the shifts of the gamma-process
layers to keep their peak temperature, the weak s-process in pre-supernovae,
and the independence of the s/p ratios of the nuclear reactions. The results
further suggest an extended universality that the s/p ratios in the
gamma-process layers are not only constant but also centered on a specific
value of 3. With this specific value and the first scaling, we estimate that
the ratios of -process abundance contributions from the AGB stars to the
massive stars are almost 6.7 for the -nuclei of A > 90. We find that large
enhancements of s/p ratios for Ce, Er, and W are a piece of evidence that the
weak s-process actually occurred before SNe.Comment: 35 pages, 15 figure
Changes in behaviour drive inter-annual variability in the at-sea distribution of northern gannets
The at-sea distribution of seabirds primarily depends on the distance from their breeding colony, and the abundance, distribution and predictability of their prey, which are subject to strong spatial and temporal variation. Many seabirds have developed flexible foraging strategies to deal with this variation, such as increasing their foraging effort or switching to more predictable, less energy dense, prey, in poor conditions. These responses may vary both within and between individuals, and understanding this variability is vital to predict the population-level impacts of spatially explicit environmental disturbances, such as offshore windfarms. We conducted a multi-year tracking study in order to investigate the inter-annual variation in the foraging behaviour and location of a population of northern gannets breeding on Alderney in the English Channel. To do so, we investigated the link between individual-level behaviour and population-level behaviour. We found that a sample of gannets tracked in 2015 had longer trip durations, travelled further from the colony and had larger core foraging areas and home range areas than gannets tracked in previous years. This inter-annual variation may be associated with oceanographic conditions indexed by the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). Our findings suggest that this inter-annual variation was driven by individuals visiting larger areas in all of their trips rather than individuals diversifying to visit more, distinct areas. These findings suggest that, for gannets at least, if prey becomes less abundant or more widely distributed, more individuals may be required to forage further from the colony, thus increasing their likelihood of encountering pressures from spatially explicit anthropogenic disturbances
Carcinomatous Meningitis from Unknown Primary Carcinoma
Carcinomatous meningitis (CM) occurs in 3 to 8% of cancer patients. Patients present with a focal symptom, and multifocal signs are often found following neurological examination. The gold standard for diagnosis remains the demonstration of carcinomatous cells in the cerebrospinal fluid on cytopathological examination. Despite the poor prognosis, palliative treatment could improve quality of life and, in some cases, overall survival. We report on a patient who presented with vertigo, tinnitus and left-sided hearing loss followed by progressive diffuse facial nerve paralysis. Lumbar cerebrospinal fluid confirmed the diagnosis of CM. However, no primary tumor was discovered, even after multiple invasive investigations. This is the first reported case in the English-language medical literature of CM resulting from a carcinoma of unknown primary origin
Co-production of light p-, s- and r-process isotopes in the high-entropy wind of type II supernovae
We have performed large-scale nucleosynthesis calculations within the
high-entropy-wind (HEW) scenario of type II supernovae. The primary aim was to
constrain the conditions for the production of the classical "p-only" isotopes
of the light trans-Fe elements. We find, however, that for electron fractions
in the range 0.458 Y 0.478, sizeable abundances of p-, s- and
r-process nuclei between Zn and Ru are coproduced in the HEW at
low entropies (S 100) by a primary charged-particle process after an
-rich freezeout. With the above Y -- S correlation, most of the
predicted isotopic abundance ratios within a given element (e.g.
Zn(p)/Zn(r) or Mo(p)/Mo(p)), as well as of
neighboring elements (e.g. Ge(s+p)/Se(p) or
Se(p)/Kr(p)) agree with the observed Solar-System ratios. Taking
the Mo isotopic chain as a particularly challenging example, we show that our
HEW model can account for the production of all 7 stable isotopes, from
"p-only" Mo, via "s-only" Mo up to "r-only" Mo.
Furthermore, our model is able to reproduce the isotopic composition of Mo in
presolar SiC X-grains.}Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure
Mating success and body condition not related to foraging specializations in male fur seals
Individual specialization is widespread among wild populations. While its fitness consequences are central in predicting the ecological and evolutionary trajectories of populations, they remain poorly understood. Long-term individual foraging specializations occur in male Antarctic (Arctocephalus gazella) and Australian (A. pusillus doriferus) fur seals. Strong selective pressure is expected in these highly dimorphic and polygynous species, raising the question of the fitness payoffs associated with different foraging strategies. We investigated the relationship between individual isotopic niche (a proxy of foraging specialization), body size and condition, and an index of reproductive success (harem size) in territorial males. Individuals varied greatly in their skin and fur isotopic values reflecting a range of foraging strategies within the two populations. However, in both species, isotopic niche was not correlated to body size, condition or mating success (R (2)/ρ < 0.06). Furthermore, no foraging niche was predominant in either species, which would have indicated a substantial long-term fitness benefit of a particular strategy via a higher survival rate. These results suggest that the fitness consequences of a foraging strategy depend not only on the quality of prey and feeding habitat but also on an individual\u27s hunting efficiency and skills
The s-process weak component: uncertainties due to convective overshooting
Using a new s-nucleosynthesis code, coupled with the stellar evolution code
Star2003, we performed simulations to study the impact of the convection
treatment on the s-process during core He-burning of a 25 Msun star (ZAMS mass)
with an initial metallicity of Z=0.02. Particular attention was devoted to the
impact of the extent of overshooting on the s-process efficiency. The results
show enhancements of about a factor 2-3 in s-process efficiency (measured as
the average overproduction factor of the 6 s-only nuclear species with
) with overshooting parameter values in the range
0.01-0.035, compared to results obtained with the same model but without
overshooting. The impact of these results on the p-process model based on type
II supernovae is discussed.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy &
Astrophysic
Pulsations of massive ZZ Ceti stars with carbon/oxygen and oxygen/neon cores
We explore the adiabatic pulsational properties of massive white dwarf stars
with hydrogen-rich envelopes and oxygen/neon and carbon/oxygen cores. To this
end, we compute the cooling of massive white dwarf models for both core
compositions taking into account the evolutionary history of the progenitor
stars and the chemical evolution caused by time-dependent element diffusion. In
particular, for the oxygen/neon models, we adopt the chemical profile resulting
from repeated carbon-burning shell flashes expected in very massive white dwarf
progenitors. For carbon/oxygen white dwarfs we consider the chemical profiles
resulting from phase separation upon crystallization. For both compositions we
also take into account the effects of crystallization on the oscillation
eigenmodes. We find that the pulsational properties of oxygen/neon white dwarfs
are notably different from those made of carbon/oxygen, thus making
asteroseismological techniques a promising way to distinguish between both
types of stars and, hence, to obtain valuable information about their
progenitors.Comment: 11 pages, including 11 postscript figures. Accepted for publication
in Astronomy and Astrophysic
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