Nuclear Astrophysics with Radioactive Beams

The quest to comprehend how nuclear processes influence astrophysical phenomena is driving experimental and theoretical research programs worldwide. One of the main goals in nuclear astrophysics is to understand how energy is generated in stars, how elements are synthesized in stellar events and what the nature of neutron stars is. New experimental capabilities, the availability of radioactive beams and increased computational power paired with new astronomical observations have advanced the present knowledge. This review summarizes the progress in the field of nuclear astrophysics with a focus on the role of indirect methods and reactions involving beams of rare isotopes.Comment: 121 pages, 27 figures, 510 references, to appear in Physics Reports. Minor typos and references fixe

Toward a Global Dispersive Optical Model for the Driplines

A dispersive-optical-model analysis has been performed for both protons and neutrons on 40,42,44,48Ca isotopes. The fitted potentials describe accurately both scattering and bound quantities and extrapolate well to other stable nuclei. Further experimental information will be gathered to constrain extrapolations toward the driplines.Comment: Invited talk at the "10th International Conference on Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions", Beijing, 16-21 August 200

Pattern Formation on Trees

Networks having the geometry and the connectivity of trees are considered as the spatial support of spatiotemporal dynamical processes. A tree is characterized by two parameters: its ramification and its depth. The local dynamics at the nodes of a tree is described by a nonlinear map, given rise to a coupled map lattice system. The coupling is expressed by a matrix whose eigenvectors constitute a basis on which spatial patterns on trees can be expressed by linear combination. The spectrum of eigenvalues of the coupling matrix exhibit a nonuniform distribution which manifest itself in the bifurcation structure of the spatially synchronized modes. These models may describe reaction-diffusion processes and several other phenomena occurring on heterogeneous media with hierarchical structure.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev. E, 15 pages, 9 fig

Phase ordering induced by defects in chaotic bistable media

The phase ordering dynamics of coupled chaotic bistable maps on lattices with defects is investigated. The statistical properties of the system are characterized by means of the average normalized size of spatial domains of equivalent spin variables that define the phases. It is found that spatial defects can induce the formation of domains in bistable spatiotemporal systems. The minimum distance between defects acts as parameter for a transition from a homogeneous state to a heterogeneous regime where two phases coexist The critical exponent of this transition also exhibits a transition when the coupling is increased, indicating the presence of a new class of domain where both phases coexist forming a chessboard pattern.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figures, Accepted in European Physics Journa

Spectral Properties and Synchronization in Coupled Map Lattices

Spectral properties of Coupled Map Lattices are described. Conditions for the stability of spatially homogeneous chaotic solutions are derived using linear stability analysis. Global stability analysis results are also presented. The analytical results are supplemented with numerical examples. The quadratic map is used for the site dynamics with different coupling schemes such as global coupling, nearest neighbor coupling, intermediate range coupling, random coupling, small world coupling and scale free coupling.Comment: 10 pages with 15 figures (Postscript), REVTEX format. To appear in PR

Anomalous synchronization threshold in coupled logistic maps

We consider regular lattices of coupled chaotic maps. Depending on lattice size, there may exist a window in parameter space where complete synchronization is eventually attained after a transient regime. Close outside this window, an intermittent transition to synchronization occurs. While asymptotic transversal Lyapunov exponents allow to determine the synchronization threshold, the distribution of finite-time Lyapunov exponents, in the vicinity of the critical frontier, is expected to provide relevant information on phenomena such as intermittency. In this work we scrutinize the distribution of finite-time exponents when the local dynamics is ruled by the logistic map $x \mapsto 4x(1-x)$. We obtain a theoretical estimate for the distribution of finite-time exponents, that is markedly non-Gaussian. The existence of correlations, that spoil the central limit approximation, is shown to modify the typical intermittent bursting behavior. The present scenario could apply to a wider class of systems with different local dynamics and coupling schemes.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure

Is the structure of 42Si understood?

A more detailed test of the implementation of nuclear forces that drive shell evolution in the pivotal nucleus \nuc{42}{Si} -- going beyond earlier comparisons of excited-state energies -- is important. The two leading shell-model effective interactions, SDPF-MU and SDPF-U-Si, both of which reproduce the low-lying \nuc{42}{Si}($2^+_1$) energy, but whose predictions for other observables differ significantly, are interrogated by the population of states in neutron-rich \nuc{42}{Si} with a one-proton removal reaction from \nuc{43}{P} projectiles at 81~MeV/nucleon. The measured cross sections to the individual \nuc{42}{Si} final states are compared to calculations that combine eikonal reaction dynamics with these shell-model nuclear structure overlaps. The differences in the two shell-model descriptions are examined and linked to predicted low-lying excited $0^+$ states and shape coexistence. Based on the present data, which are in better agreement with the SDPF-MU calculations, the state observed at 2150(13)~keV in \nuc{42}{Si} is proposed to be the ($0^+_2$) level.Comment: accepted in Physical Review Letter