1,266 research outputs found
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
The Hamburg/ESO R-process Enhanced Star survey (HERES) IV. Detailed abundance analysis and age dating of the strongly r-process enhanced stars CS 29491-069 and HE 1219-0312
We report on a detailed abundance analysis of two strongly r-process
enhanced, very metal-poor stars newly discovered in the HERES project, CS
29491-069 ([Fe/H]=-2.51, [r/Fe]=+1.1) and HE 1219-0312 ([Fe/H]=-2.96,
[r/Fe]=+1.5). The analysis is based on high-quality VLT/UVES spectra and MARCS
model atmospheres. We detect lines of 15 heavy elements in the spectrum of CS
29491-069, and 18 in HE 1219-0312; in both cases including the Th II 4019 {\AA}
line. The heavy-element abundance patterns of these two stars are mostly
well-matched to scaled solar residual abundances not formed by the s-process.
We also compare the observed pattern with recent high-entropy wind (HEW)
calculations, which assume core-collapse supernovae of massive stars as the
astrophysical environment for the r-process, and find good agreement for most
lanthanides. The abundance ratios of the lighter elements strontium, yttrium,
and zirconium, which are presumably not formed by the main r-process, are
reproduced well by the model. Radioactive dating for CS 29491-069 with the
observed thorium and rare-earth element abundance pairs results in an average
age of 9.5 Gyr, when based on solar r-process residuals, and 17.6 Gyr, when
using HEW model predictions. Chronometry seems to fail in the case of HE
1219-0312, resulting in a negative age due to its high thorium abundance. HE
1219-0312 could therefore exhibit an overabundance of the heaviest elements,
which is sometimes called an "actinide boost"
Nucleosynthesis in the Early Galaxy
Recent observations of r-process-enriched metal-poor star abundances reveal a
non-uniform abundance pattern for elements . Based on non-correlation
trends between elemental abundances as a function of Eu-richness in a large
sample of metal-poor stars, it is shown that the mixing of a consistent and
robust light element primary process (LEPP) and the r-process pattern found in
r-II metal-poor stars explains such apparent non-uniformity. Furthermore, we
derive the abundance pattern of the LEPP from observation and show that it is
consistent with a missing component in the solar abundances when using a recent
s-process model. As the astrophysical site of the LEPP is not known, we explore
the possibility of a neutron capture process within a site-independent
approach. It is suggested that scenarios with neutron densities
or in the range best
explain the observations.Comment: 28 pages, 7 Postscript figures. To be published in The Astrophysical
Journa
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
Calculations of fission rates for r-process nucleosynthesis
Fission plays an important role in the r-process which is responsible not
only for the yields of transuranium isotopes, but may have a strong influence
on the formation of the majority of heavy nuclei due to fission recycling. We
present calculations of beta-delayed and neutron-induced fission rates, taking
into account different fission barriers predictions and mass formulae.
It is shown that an increase of fission barriers results naturally in a
reduction of fission rates, but that nevertheless fission leads to the
termination of the r-process. Furthermore, it is discussed that the probability
of triple fission could be high for and have an effect on the formation
of the abundances of heavy nuclei. Fission after beta-delayed neutron emission
is discussed as well as different aspects of the influence of fission upon
r-process calculations.Comment: 28 pages, 10 figures, to be published in Nuclear Physics
Two-body correlation functions in nuclear matter with condensate
The density, spin and isospin correlation functions in nuclear matter with a
neutron-proton () condensate are calculated to study the possible
signatures of the BEC-BCS crossover in the low-density region. It is shown that
the criterion of the crossover (Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 95}, 090402 (2005)),
consisting in the change of the sign of the density correlation function at low
momentum transfer, fails to describe correctly the density-driven BEC-BCS
transition at finite isospin asymmetry or finite temperature. As an unambiguous
signature of the BEC-BCS transition, there can be used the presence (BCS
regime) or absence (BEC regime) of the singularity in the momentum distribution
of the quasiparticle density of states.Comment: Prepared with RevTeX4, 5p., 4 figure
Applicability Of The Hauser-Feshbach Approach For The Determination of Astrophysical Reaction Rates
Nuclear Astrophysics requires the knowledge of reaction rates over a wide
range of nuclei and temperatures. In recent calculations the nuclear level
density - as an important ingredient to the statistical model (Hauser-Feshbach)
- has shown the highest uncertainties. In a back-shifted Fermi-gas formalism
utilizing an energy-dependent level density parameter and employing microscopic
corrections from a recent FRDM mass formula, we obtain a highly improved fit to
experimental level densities. The resulting level density is used for
determining criteria for the applicability of the statistical model on
neutron-induced reactions.Comment: 4 pages, uses espcrc1.sty, Proc. Intl. Conf. "Nuclei in the Cosmos
IV", Univ. Notre Dame 1996, Nucl. Phys. A, in press. Postscript is also
available at http://quasar.physik.unibas.ch/research.htm
Neutrino-induced neutron spallation and supernova r-process nucleosynthesis
In order to explore the consequences of the neutrino irradiation for the
supernova r-process nucleosynthesis, we calculate the rates of charged-current
and neutral-current neutrino reactions on neutron-rich heavy nuclei, and
estimate the average number of neutrons emitted in the resulting spallation.
Our results suggest that charged-current captures can be important in
breaking through the waiting-point nuclei at N=50 and 82, while still allowing
the formation of abundance peaks. Furthermore, after the r-process freezes out,
there appear to be distinctive neutral-current and charged-current
postprocessing effects. A subtraction of the neutrino postprocessing effects
from the observed solar r-process abundance distribution shows that two mass
regions, A=124-126 and 183-187, are inordinately sensitive to neutrino
postprocessing effects. This imposes very stringent bounds on the freeze-out
radii and dynamic timescales governing the r-process. Moreover, we find that
the abundance patterns within these mass windows are entirely consistent with
synthesis by neutrino interactions. This provides a strong argument that the
r-process must occur in the intense neutrino flux provided by a core-collapse
supernova.Comment: 34 pages, 4 PostScript figures, RevTe
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