1,973 research outputs found
Nuclear Structure Studies at ISOLDE and their Impact on the Astrophysical r-Process
The focus of the present review is the production of the heaviest elements in
nature via the r-process. A correct understanding and modeling requires the
knowledge of nuclear properties far from stability and a detailed prescription
of the astrophysical environment. Experiments at CERN/ISOLDE have played a
pioneering role in exploring the characteristics of nuclear structure in terms
of masses and beta-decay properties. Initial examinations paid attention to far
unstable nuclei with magic neutron numbers related to r-process peaks, while
present activities are centered on the evolution of shell effects with the
distance from the valley of stability. We first show in site-independent
applications the effect of both types of nuclear properties on r-process
abundances. Then, we explore the results of calculations related to two
different `realistic' astrophysical sites, (i) the supernova neutrino wind and
(ii) neutron star mergers. We close with a list of remaining theoretical and
experimental challenges needed to overcome for a full understanding of the
nature of the r-process, and the role CERN/ISOLDE can play in this process.Comment: LATEX, 38 pages, 16 figures, submitted to Hyperfine Interaction
Charged-Particle and Neutron-Capture Processes in the High-Entropy Wind of Core-Collapse Supernovae
The astrophysical site of the r-process is still uncertain, and a full
exploration of the systematics of this process in terms of its dependence on
nuclear properties from stability to the neutron drip-line within realistic
stellar environments has still to be undertaken. Sufficiently high neutron to
seed ratios can only be obtained either in very neutron-rich low-entropy
environments or moderately neutron-rich high-entropy environments, related to
neutron star mergers (or jets of neutron star matter) and the high-entropy wind
of core-collapse supernova explosions. As chemical evolution models seem to
disfavor neutron star mergers, we focus here on high-entropy environments
characterized by entropy , electron abundance and expansion velocity
. We investigate the termination point of charged-particle reactions,
and we define a maximum entropy for a given and ,
beyond which the seed production of heavy elements fails due to the very small
matter density. We then investigate whether an r-process subsequent to the
charged-particle freeze-out can in principle be understood on the basis of the
classical approach, which assumes a chemical equilibrium between neutron
captures and photodisintegrations, possibly followed by a -flow
equilibrium. In particular, we illustrate how long such a chemical equilibrium
approximation holds, how the freeze-out from such conditions affects the
abundance pattern, and which role the late capture of neutrons originating from
-delayed neutron emission can play.Comment: 52 pages, 31 figure
Closed shells at drip-line nuclei
The shell structure of magic nuclei far from stability is discussed in terms
of the self-consistent spherical Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov theory. In particular,
the sensitivity of the shell-gap sizes and the two-neutron separation energies
to the choice of particle-hole and particle-particle components of the
effective interaction is investigated.Comment: 19 pages, LaTeX, 8 uuencoded figures available upon reques
Nucleosynthesis Modes in the High-Entropy-Wind of Type II Supernovae: Comparison of Calculations with Halo-Star Observations
While the high-entropy wind (HEW) of Type II supernovae remains one of the
more promising sites for the rapid neutron-capture (r-) process, hydrodynamic
simulations have yet to reproduce the astrophysical conditions under which the
latter occurs. We have performed large-scale network calculations within an
extended parameter range of the HEW, seeking to identify or to constrain the
necessary conditions for a full reproduction of all r-process residuals
N_{r,\odot}=N_{\odot}-N_{s,\odot} by comparing the results with recent
astronomical observations. A superposition of weighted entropy trajectories
results in an excellent reproduction of the overall N_{r,\odot}-pattern beyond
Sn. For the lighter elements, from the Fe-group via Sr-Y-Zr to Ag, our HEW
calculations indicate a transition from the need for clearly different sources
(conditions/sites) to a possible co-production with r-process elements,
provided that a range of entropies are contributing. This explains recent
halo-star observations of a clear non-correlation of Zn and Ge and a weak
correlation of Sr - Zr with heavier r-process elements. Moreover, new
observational data on Ru and Pd seem to confirm also a partial correlation with
Sr as well as the main r-process elements (e.g. Eu).Comment: 15 pages, 1 table, 4 figures; To be published in the Astrophysical
Journal Letter
On three topical aspects of the N=28 isotonic chain
The evolution of single-particle orbits along the N=28 isotonic chain is
studied within the framework of a relativistic mean-field approximation. We
focus on three topical aspects of the N=28 chain: (a) the emergence of a new
magic number at Z=14; (b) the possible erosion of the N=28 shell; and (c) the
weakening of the spin-orbit splitting among low-j neutron orbits. The present
model supports the emergence of a robust Z=14 subshell gap in 48Ca, that
persists as one reaches the neutron-rich isotone 42Si. Yet the proton removal
from 48Ca results in a significant erosion of the N=28 shell in 42Si. Finally,
the removal of s1/2 protons from 48Ca causes a ~50% reduction of the spin-orbit
splitting among neutron p-orbitals in 42Si.Comment: 12 pages with 5 color figure
- …