3,703 research outputs found
Direct neutron capture cross sections of 62Ni in the s-process energy range
Direct neutron capture on 62Ni is calculated in the DWBA and the cross
sections in the energy range relevant for s-process nucleosynthesis are given.
It is confirmed that the thermal value of the capture cross section contains a
subthreshold resonance contribution. Contrary to previous investigations it is
found that the capture at higher energies is dominated by p-waves, thus leading
to a considerably increased cross section at s-process energies and a modified
energy dependence.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figure, corrected typos in Eq. 6 and subsequent paragrap
The Path to Improved Reaction Rates for Astrophysics
This review focuses on nuclear reactions in astrophysics and, more
specifically, on reactions with light ions (nucleons and alpha particles)
proceeding via the strong interaction. It is intended to present the basic
definitions essential for studies in nuclear astrophysics, to point out the
differences between nuclear reactions taking place in stars and in a
terrestrial laboratory, and to illustrate some of the challenges to be faced in
theoretical and experimental studies of those reactions. The discussion
revolves around the relevant quantities for astrophysics, which are the
astrophysical reaction rates. The sensitivity of the reaction rates to the
uncertainties in the prediction of various nuclear properties is explored and
some guidelines for experimentalists are also provided.Comment: 100 pages, 33 figures, 1 table; accepted for publication in Int. J.
Mod. Phys. E (scheduled for February 2011 issue); the formatting here differs
in that it includes a table of contents and numbered paragraphs
5.4.2.1-5.4.2.10; v2: updated references; v3: typos fixed; v4: final typo
fix, content similar to published version
The Influence of Reaction Rates on the Final p-Abundances
The astrophysical p-process is responsible for the origin of the proton rich
nuclei,which are heavier than iron. A huge network involving thousands of
reaction rates is necessary to calculate the final p-abundances. But not all
rates included in the network have a strong influence on the p-nuclei
abundances. The p-process was investigated using a full nuclear reaction
network for a type II supernovae explosion when the shock front passes through
the O/Ne layer. Calculations were done with a multi-layer model adopting the
seed of a pre-explosion evolution of a 25 mass star. In extensive simulations
we investigated the impact of single reaction rates on the final p-abundances.
The results are important for the strategy of future experiments in this field.Comment: 4 page
Uncertainties In Direct Neutron Capture Calculations Due To Nuclear Structure Models
The prediction of cross sections for nuclei far off stability is crucial in
the field of nuclear astrophysics. For spherical nuclei close to the dripline
the statistical model (Hauser-Feshbach) approach is not applicable and direct
contributions may dominate the cross sections. For neutron-rich, even-even Sn
targets, we compare the resulting neutron capture cross sections when
consistently taking the input for the direct capture calculations from three
different microscopic models. The results underline the sensitivity of cross
sections calculated in the direct model to nuclear structure models which can
lead to high uncertainties when lacking experimental information.Comment: 4 pages, using espcrc1.sty, Proc. Intl. Conf. "Nuclei in the Cosmos
IV", Univ. Notre Dame 1996, Nucl. Phys. A, in press. A postscript version can
also be obtained from http://quasar.physik.unibas.ch/research.htm
Performance of the ATLAS Precision Muon Chambers under LHC Operating Conditions
For the muon spectrometer of the ATLAS detector at the large hadron collider
(LHC), large drift chambers consisting of 6 to 8 layers of pressurized drift
tubes are used for precision tracking covering an active area of 5000 m2 in the
toroidal field of superconducting air core magnets. The chambers have to
provide a spatial resolution of 41 microns with Ar:CO2 (93:7) gas mixture at an
absolute pressure of 3 bar and gas gain of 2?104. The environment in which the
chambers will be operated is characterized by high neutron and background with
counting rates of up to 100 per square cm and second. The resolution and
efficiency of a chamber from the serial production for ATLAS has been
investigated in a 100 GeV muon beam at photon irradiation rates as expected
during LHC operation. A silicon strip detector telescope was used as external
reference in the beam. The spatial resolution of a chamber is degraded by 4 ?m
at the highest background rate. The detection efficiency of the drift tubes is
unchanged under irradiation. A tracking efficiency of 98% at the highest rates
has been demonstrated
Proton capture cross section of Sr isotopes and their importance for nucleosynthesis of proton-rich nuclides
The (p,) cross sections of three stable Sr isotopes have been
measured in the astrophysically relevant energy range. These reactions are
important for the -process in stellar nucleosynthesis and, in addition, the
reaction cross sections in the mass region up to 100 are also of importance
concerning the -process associated with explosive hydrogen and helium
burning. It is speculated that this -process could be responsible for a
certain amount of -nuclei in this mass region. The (p,) cross
sections of Sr isotopes were determined using an activation
technique. The measurements were carried out at the 5 MV Van de Graaff
accelerator of the ATOMKI, Debrecen. The resulting cross sections are compared
with the predictions of statistical model calculations. The predictions are in
good agreement with the experimental results for Sr(p,)Y
whereas the other two reactions exhibit differences that increase with mass
number. The corresponding astrophysical reaction rates have also been computed.Comment: Phys. Rev. C in pres
Dynamical density functional theory for interacting Brownian particles: stochastic or deterministic?
We aim to clarify confusions in the literature as to whether or not dynamical
density functional theories for the one-body density of a classical Brownian
fluid should contain a stochastic noise term. We point out that a stochastic as
well as a deterministic equation of motion for the density distribution can be
justified, depending on how the fluid one-body density is defined -- i.e.
whether it is an ensemble averaged density distribution or a spatially and/or
temporally coarse grained density distribution.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figure, to be submitted to Journal of Physics A:
Mathematical and Genera
An Approximation for the rp-Process
Hot (explosive) hydrogen burning or the Rapid Proton Capture Process
(rp-process) occurs in a number of astrophysical environments. Novae and X-ray
bursts are the most prominent ones, but accretion disks around black holes and
other sites are candidates as well. The expensive and often multidimensional
hydro calculations for such events require an accurate prediction of the
thermonuclear energy generation, while avoiding full nucleosynthesis network
calculations. In the present investigation we present an approximation scheme
applicable in a temperature range which covers the whole range of all presently
known astrophysical sites. It is based on the concept of slowly varying
hydrogen and helium abundances and assumes a kind of local steady flow by
requiring that all reactions entering and leaving a nucleus add up to a zero
flux. This scheme can adapt itself automatically and covers situations at low
temperatures, characterized by a steady flow of reactions, as well as high
temperature regimes where a -equilibrium is established.
In addition to a gain of a factor of 15 in computational speed over a full
network calculation, and an energy generation accurate to more than 15 %, this
scheme also allows to predict correctly individual isotopic abundances. Thus,
it delivers all features of a full network at a highly reduced cost and can
easily be implemented in hydro calculations.Comment: 18 pages, LaTeX using astrobib and aas2pp4, includes PostScript
figures; Astrophysical Journal, in press. PostScript source also available at
http://quasar.physik.unibas.ch/preps.htm
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