25,026 research outputs found
Abundances in the Uranium-Rich Star CS 31082-001
The recent discovery by Cayrel et al. of U in CS 31082-001 along with Os and
Ir at greatly enhanced abundances but with [Fe/H]=-2.9 strongly reinforces the
argument that there are at least two kinds of SNII sources for r-nuclei. One
source is the high-frequency H events responsible for heavy r-nuclei (A>135)
but not Fe. The H-yields calculated from data on other ultra-metal-poor stars
and the sun provide a template for quantitatively predicting the abundances of
all other r-elements. In CS 31082-001 these should show a significant
deficiency at A<135 relative to the solar r-pattern. It is proposed that CS
31082-001 should have had a companion that exploded as an SNII H event. If the
binary survived the explosion, this star should now have a compact companion,
most likely a stellar-mass black hole. Comparison of abundance data with
predicted values and a search for a compact companion should provide a
stringent test of the proposed r-process model. The U-Th age determined by
Cayrel et al. for CS 31082-001 is, to within substantial uncertainties, in
accord with the r-process age determined from solar system data. The time gap
between Big Bang and onset of normal star formation only allows r-process
chronometers to provide a lower limit on the age of the universe.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figur
r-Process Nucleosynthesis in Shocked Surface Layers of O-Ne-Mg Cores
We demonstrate that rapid expansion of the shocked surface layers of an
O-Ne-Mg core following its collapse can result in r-process nucleosynthesis. As
the supernova shock accelerates through these layers, it makes them expand so
rapidly that free nucleons remain in disequilibrium with alpha-particles
throughout most of the expansion. This allows heavy r-process isotopes
including the actinides to form in spite of the very low initial neutron excess
of the matter. We estimate that yields of heavy r-process nuclei from this site
may be sufficient to explain the Galactic inventory of these isotopes.Comment: 11 pages, 1 figure, to appear in the Astrophysical Journal Letter
Reexamining the temperature and neutron density conditions for r-process nucleosynthesis with augmented nuclear mass models
We explore the effects of nuclear masses on the temperature and neutron
density conditions required for r-process nucleosynthesis using four nuclear
mass models augmented by the latest atomic mass evaluation. For each model we
derive the conditions for producing the observed abundance peaks at mass
numbers A ~ 80, 130, and 195 under the waiting-point approximation and further
determine the sets of conditions that can best reproduce the r-process
abundance patterns (r-patterns) inferred for the solar system and observed in
metal-poor stars of the Milky Way halo. In broad agreement with previous
studies, we find that (1) the conditions for producing abundance peaks at A ~
80 and 195 tend to be very different, which suggests that, at least for some
nuclear mass models, these two peaks are not produced simultaneously; (2) the
typical conditions required by the critical waiting-point (CWP) nuclei with the
N = 126 closed neutron shell overlap significantly with those required by the
N=82 CWP nuclei, which enables coproduction of abundance peaks at A ~ 130 and
195 in accordance with observations of many metal-poor stars; and (3) the
typical conditions required by the N = 82 CWP nuclei can reproduce the
r-pattern observed in the metal-poor star HD 122563, which differs greatly from
the solar r-pattern. We also examine how nuclear mass uncertainties affect the
conditions required for the r-process and identify some key nuclei
including76Ni to 78Ni, 82Zn, 131Cd, and 132Cd for precise mass measurements at
rare-isotope beam facilities.Comment: 28 pages,9 figures,1 tabl
Resonant Neutrino Spin-Flavor Precession and Supernova Nucleosynthesis and Dynamics
We discuss the effects of resonant spin-flavor precession (RSFP) of Majorana
neutrinos on heavy element nucleosynthesis in neutrino-heated supernova ejecta
and the dynamics of supernovae. In assessing the effects of RSFP, we explicitly
include matter-enhanced (MSW) resonant neutrino flavor conversion effects where
appropriate. We point out that for plausible ranges of neutrino magnetic
moments and proto-neutron star magnetic fields, spin-flavor conversion of
(or ) with a cosmologically significant mass (1--100 eV)
into a light could lead to an enhanced neutron excess in
neutrino-heated supernova ejecta. This could be beneficial for models of
-process nucleosynthesis associated with late-time neutrino-heated ejecta
from supernovae. Similar spin-flavor conversion of neutrinos at earlier epochs
could lead to an increased shock reheating rate and, concomitantly, a larger
supernova explosion energy. We show, however, that such increased neutrino
heating likely will be accompanied by an enhanced neutron excess which could
exacerbate the problem of the overproduction of the neutron number
nuclei in the supernova ejecta from this stage. In all of these scenarios, the
average energy will be increased over those predicted by supernova
models with no neutrino mixings. This may allow the SN1987a data to constrain
RSFP-based schemes.Comment: Latex file, 33 pages including 11 figures, uses psfig.sty, minor
changes about wording and clarification of the text, to be published in Phys.
Rev.
A Circumbinary Planet in Orbit Around the Short-Period White-Dwarf Eclipsing Binary RR Cae
By using six new determined mid-eclipse times together with those collected
from the literature, we found that the Observed-Calculated (O-C) curve of RR
Cae shows a cyclic change with a period of 11.9 years and an amplitude of
14.3s, while it undergoes an upward parabolic variation (revealing a long-term
period increase at a rate of dP/dt =+4.18(+-0.20)x10^(-12). The cyclic change
was analyzed for the light-travel time effect that arises from the
gravitational influence of a third companion. The mass of the third body was
determined to be M_3*sin i' = 4.2(+-0.4) M_{Jup} suggesting that it is a
circumbinary giant planet when its orbital inclination is larger than 17.6
degree. The orbital separation of the circumbinary planet from the central
eclipsing binary is about 5.3(+-0.6)AU. The period increase is opposite to the
changes caused by angular momentum loss via magnetic braking or/and
gravitational radiation, nor can it be explained by the mass transfer between
both components because of its detached configuration. These indicate that the
observed upward parabolic change is only a part of a long-period (longer than
26.3 years) cyclic variation, which may reveal the presence of another giant
circumbinary planet in a wide orbit.Comment: It will be published in the MNRA
Relation between two measures of entanglement in spin-1/2 and spinless fermion quantum chain systems
The concepts of concurrence and mode concurrence are the measures of
entanglement for spin-1/2 and spinless fermion systems respectively. Based on
the Jordan-Wigner transformation, any spin-1/2 system is always associated with
a fermion system (called counterpart system). The comparison of concurrence and
mode concurrence can be made with the aid of the Marshall's sign rule for the
ground states of spin-1/2 and spinless fermion chain systems. We observe
that there exists an inequality between concurrence and mode concurrence for
the ground states of the two corresponding systems. The spin-1/2 XY chain
system and its spinless fermion counterpart as a realistic example is discussed
to demonstrate the analytical results.Comment: 7 pages, no figures, publication version, to appear in PR
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Polyisoprene Captured Sulfur Nanocomposite Materials for High-Areal-Capacity Lithium Sulfur Battery
A polyisoprene-sulfur (PIPS) copolymer and nano sulfur composite material (90 wt % sulfur) is synthesized through inverse vulcanization of PIP polymer with micrometer-sized sulfur particles for high-areal-capacity lithium sulfur batteries. The polycrystalline structure and nanodomain nature of the copolymer are revealed through high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). PIP polymer is also used as binders for the electrode to further capture the dissovlved polysulfides. A high areal capacity of ca. 7.0 mAh/cm2 and stable cycling are achieved based on the PIPS nanosulfur composite with a PIP binder, crucial to commercialization of lithium sulfur batteries. The chemical confinement both at material and electrode level alleviates the diffusion of polysulfides and the shuttle effect. The sulfur electrodes, both fresh and cycled, are analyzed through scanning electron microscopy (SEM). This approach enables scalable material production and high sulfur utilization at the cell level
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