Estimates of Stellar Weak Interaction Rates for Nuclei in the Mass Range A=65-80

We estimate lepton capture and emission rates, as well as neutrino energy loss rates, for nuclei in the mass range A=65-80. These rates are calculated on a temperature/density grid appropriate for a wide range of astrophysical applications including simulations of late time stellar evolution and x-ray bursts. The basic inputs in our single particle and empirically inspired model are i) experimentally measured level and weak decay information, ii) estimates of matrix elements for allowed experimentally-unmeasured transitions based on the systematics of experimentally observed allowed transitions, and iii) estimates of the centroids of the GT resonances motivated by shell model calculations in the fp shell as well as by (n,p) and (p,n) experiments. Transitions involving Fermi resonances (isobaric analog states) are also included and dominate the rates for many interesting proton rich nuclei for which an experimentally-determined ground state lifetime is unavailable. To compare our results with more detailed shell model based calculations we also calculate weak rates for nuclei in the mass range A=60-65 for which Langanke and Martinez-Pinedo have provided rates. The typical deviation in the electron capture and B- decay rates for these ~30 nuclei is less than a factor of two or three for a wide range of temperature and density appropriate for pre-supernova stellar evolution. We also discuss some subtleties associated with the partition functions used in calculations of stellar weak rates and show that the proper treatment of the partition functions is essential for estimating high temperature beta decay rates. Partition functions based on un-converged Lanczos calculations can result in estimates of high temperature beta decay rates that are systematically low.Comment: Tables of rates for nuclei in the mass range A=66-110 are available from J. Prue

On the Contribution of Gamma Ray Bursts to the Galactic Inventory of Some Intermediate Mass Nuclei

Light curves from a growing number of Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) indicate that GRBs copiously produce radioactive Ni moving outward at fractions of the speed of light. We calculate nuclear abundances of elements accompanying the outflowing Ni under the assumption that this Ni originates from a wind blown off of a viscous accretion disk. We also show that GRB's likely contribute appreciably to the galactic inventory of 42Ca, 45Sc, 46Ti, 49Ti, 63Cu, and may be a principal site for the production of 64Zn.Comment: 11 pages, 1 figur

Neutrinos from the Propagation of a Relativistic Jet Through a Star

We discuss the neutrino signature of a relativistic jet propagating through a stellar envelope, a scenario realized in the collapsar model for Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs). It is shown that the dramatic slowing of the jet deep within the star is accompanied by inelastic neutron-nucleon collisions and the conversion of a substantial fraction of the jet kinetic energy to neutrinos. These neutrinos have observed energies in the range two to tens of GeV and an estimated detection rate comparable to or larger than the detection rate of GeV neutrinos from other GRB-related processes. The time delay between the arrival of these neutrinos and the GRB photons is tens of seconds. An observation of this delay would provide an indication that the GRB jet originated in a massive star.Comment: To appear in Ap

Light Element Synthesis in High Entropy Relativistic Flows Associated with Gamma Ray Bursts

We calculate and discuss the light element freeze-out nucleosynthesis in high entropy winds and fireballs for broad ranges of entropy-per-baryon, dynamic timescales characterizing relativistic expansion, and neutron-to-proton ratios. With conditions characteristic of Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) we find that deuterium production can be prodigious, with final abundance values 2H/H approximately 2%, depending on the fireball isospin, late time dynamics, and the effects of neutron decoupling- induced high energy non-thermal nuclear reactions. This implies that there potentially could be detectable local enhancements in the deuterium abundance associated with GRB events.Comment: 14 pages 3 figure

On the origin of the lightest Molybdenum isotopes

We discuss implications of recent precision measurements for the Rh93 proton separation energy for the production of the lightest molybdenum isotopes in proton-rich type II supernova ejecta. It has recently been shown that a novel neutrino-induced process makes these ejecta a promising site for the production of the light molybdenum isotopes and other "p-nuclei" with atomic mass near 100. The origin of these isotopes has long been uncertain. A distinguishing feature of nucleosynthesis in neutrino-irradiated outflows is that the relative production of Mo92 and Mo94 is set by a competition governed by the proton separation energy of Rh93. We use detailed nuclear network calculations and the recent experimental results for this proton separation energy to place constraints on the outflow characteristics that produce the lightest molybdenum isotopes in their solar proportions. It is found that for the conditions calculated in recent two-dimensional supernova simulations, and also for a large range of outflow characteristics around these conditions, the solar ratio of Mo92 to Mo94 cannot be achieved. This suggests that either proton-rich winds from type II supernova do not exclusively produce both isotopes, or that these winds are qualitatively different than calculated in today's supernova models.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures (3 color

Nucleosynthesis in Outflows from the Inner Regions of Collapsars

We consider nucleosynthesis in outflows originating from the inner regions of viscous accretion disks formed after the collapse of a rotating massive star. We show that wind-like outflows driven by viscous and neutrino heating can efficiently synthesize Fe-group elements moving at near-relativistic velocities. The mass of 56Ni synthesized and the asymptotic velocities attained in our calculations are in accord with those inferred from observations of SN1998bw and SN2003dh. These steady wind-like outflows are generally proton rich, characterized by only modest entropies, and consequently synthesize essentially nothing heavier than the Fe-group elements. We also discuss bubble-like outflows resulting from rapid energy deposition in localized regions near or in the accretion disk. These intermittent ejecta emerge with low electron fraction and are a promising site for the synthesis of the A=130 r-process peak elements.Comment: 35 pages, 6 figures, added discussion of the influence of nuclear recombination on wind dynamics, to appear in Ap

The difficulty in using orphan afterglows to measure gamma-ray burst beaming

If gamma-ray burst (GRB) emission is strongly collimated then GRBs occur throughout the Universe at a rate much higher than is detected. Since the emission from the optical afterglow is thought to be more isotropic than the gamma-ray emission, it has been hypothesized that a search for orphan afterglows (those without the triggering GRB) would allow strong constraints to be placed on the degree of GRB collimation. We show here that, within the context of leading models of GRB jet evolution, measurement of the GRB beaming angle using optical orphan searches is extremely difficult, perhaps impossible in practice. This is because in the leading model of GRB jets, the effective afterglow beaming angle scales with the jet angle for small angles, and so the ratio of detected orphan afterglows to GRBs is independent of the jet opening angle. Thus, the number of expected afterglow detections is the same for moderate jet angles (e.g. 20 deg) as for arbitrarily small jet angles (<< 0.1 deg). For nearly isotropic GRB geometry, or for radio afterglow searches in which the jet has become non-relativistic, the ratio of afterglows to GRBs may give information on collimation. However, using a simple model we estimate the expected number of orphan detections in current supernova surveys, and find this number to be less than one, for all jet opening angles. Even for future supernova surveys, the small detection rate and lack of dependence on collimation angle appear to ruin the prospects of determining GRB beaming by this method. Radio searches may provide the best hope to find the missing orphans.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Ap

On Steady State Neutrino Heated Ultra-Relativistic Winds from Compact Objects

We study steady state winds from compact objects in the regime where the wind velocity at infinity is ultra-relativistic. This may have relevance to some models of Gamma-Ray-Bursts (GRB's). Particular attention is paid to the case where neutrinos provide the heating. Unless the neutrino luminosity is very large, L>10^{54} erg/s, the only allowed steady state solutions are those where energy deposition is dominated by neutrino-antineutrino annihilation at the sonic point. In this case, the matter temperature near the neutron star surface is low, less than 1MeV for typical neutrino luminosities. This is in contrast to the case for sub-relativistic winds discussed in the context of supernovae where the matter temperature near the neutron star approximates the temperature characterizing the neutrinos. We also investigate the setting of the neutron to proton ratio (n/p) in these winds and find that only for large (>10 MeV) electron neutrino or electron anti-neutrino temperatures is n/p entirely determined by neutrino capture. Otherwise, n/p retains an imprint of conditions in the neutron star