Investigations of Nuclear Decay Half-Lives Relevant to Nuclear Astrophysics
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Nuclear Physics
Nuclear Physics Overview One of the enduring mysteries of the universe is the nature of matter—what are its basic constituents and how do they interact to form the properties we observe? The largest contribution by far to the mass of the visible matter we are familiar with comes from protons and heavier nuclei. The mission of the Nuclear Physics (NP) program is to discover, explore, and understand all forms of nuclear matter. Although the fundamental particles that compose nuclear matter—quarks and gluons—are themselves relatively well understood, exactly how they interact and combine to form the different types of matter observed in the universe today and during its evolution remains largely unknown. Nuclear physicists seek to understand not just the familiar forms of matter we see around us, but also exotic forms such as those that existed in the first moments after the Big Bang and that exist today inside neutron stars, and to understand why matter takes on the specific forms now observed in nature. Nuclear physics addresses three broad, yet tightly interrelated, scientific thrusts: Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD); Nuclei and Nuclear Astrophysics; and Fundamental Symmetries: . QCD seeks to develop a complete understanding of how the fundamental particles that compose nuclear matter, the quarks and gluons, assemble themselves into composite nuclear particles such as protons and neutrons, how nuclear forces arise between these composite particles that lead to nuclei, and how novel forms of bulk, strongly interacting matter behave, such as the quark-gluon plasma that formed in the early universe. Nuclei and Nuclear Astrophysics seeks to understand how protons and neutrons combine to form atomic nuclei, including some now being observed for the first time, and how these nuclei have arisen during the 13.8 billion years since the birth of the cosmos. -
The R-Process Nucleosynthesis and Related Challenges
EPJ Web of Conferences 165, 01025 (2017) DOI: 10.1051/epjconf/201716501025 NPA8 2017 The r-process nucleosynthesis and related challenges Stephane Goriely1,, Andreas Bauswein2, Hans-Thomas Janka3, Oliver Just4, and Else Pllumbi3 1Institut d’Astronomie et d’Astrophysique, Université Libre de Bruxelles, CP 226, 1050 Brussels, Belgium 2Heidelberger Institut fr¨ Theoretische Studien, Schloss-Wolfsbrunnenweg 35, 69118 Heidelberg, Germany 3Max-Planck-Institut für Astrophysik, Postfach 1317, 85741 Garching, Germany 4Astrophysical Big Bang Laboratory, RIKEN, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama, 351-0198, Japan Abstract. The rapid neutron-capture process, or r-process, is known to be of fundamental importance for explaining the origin of approximately half of the A > 60 stable nuclei observed in nature. Recently, special attention has been paid to neutron star (NS) mergers following the confirmation by hydrodynamic simulations that a non-negligible amount of matter can be ejected and by nucleosynthesis calculations combined with the predicted astrophysical event rate that such a site can account for the majority of r-material in our Galaxy. We show here that the combined contribution of both the dynamical (prompt) ejecta expelled during binary NS or NS-black hole (BH) mergers and the neutrino and viscously driven outflows generated during the post-merger remnant evolution of relic BH-torus systems can lead to the production of r-process elements from mass number A > 90 up to actinides. The corresponding abundance distribution is found to reproduce the∼ solar distribution extremely well. It can also account for the elemental distributions observed in low-metallicity stars. However, major uncertainties still affect our under- standing of the composition of the ejected matter. -
Status and Perspectives of the Neutron Time-Of-Flight Facility N TOF at CERN
Status and perspectives of the neutron time-of-flight facility n_TOF at CERN E. Chiaveri on behalf of the n_TOF Collaboration ([email protected]) Since the start of its operation in 2001, based on an idea of Prof. Carlo Rubbia[1], the neutron time-of-flight facility of CERN, n_TOF, has become one of the most forefront neutron facilities in the world for wide-energy spectrum neutron cross section measurements. Thanks to the combination of excellent neutron energy resolution and high instantaneous neutron flux available in the two experimental areas, the second of which has been constructed in 2014, n_TOF is providing a wealth of new data on neutron-induced reactions of interest for nuclear astrophysics, advanced nuclear technologies and medical applications. The unique features of the facility will continue to be exploited in the future, to perform challenging new measurements addressing the still open issues and long-standing quests in the field of neutron physics. In this document the main characteristics of the n_TOF facility and their relevance for neutron studies in the different areas of research will be outlined, addressing the possible future contribution of n_TOF in the fields of nuclear astrophysics, nuclear technologies and medical applications. In addition, the future perspectives of the facility will be described including the upgrade of the spallation target. 1 Introduction Neutron-induced reactions play a fundamental role for a number of research fields, from the origin of chemical elements in stars, to basic nuclear physics, to applications in advanced nuclear technology for energy, dosimetry, medicine and space science [1]. Thanks to the time-of-flight technique coupled with the characteristics of the CERN n_TOF beam-lines and neutron source, reaction cross-sections can be measured with a very high energy-resolution and in a broad neutron energy range from thermal up to GeV. -
White Paper on Nuclear Astrophysics and Low Energy Nuclear Physics
WHITE PAPER ON NUCLEAR ASTROPHYSICS AND LOW ENERGY NUCLEAR PHYSICS PART 1: NUCLEAR ASTROPHYSICS FEBRUARY 2016 NUCLEAR ASTROPHYSICS & LOW ENERGY NUCLEAR PHYSICS 1 Edited by: Hendrik Schatz and Michael Wiescher Layout and design: Erin O’Donnell, NSCL, Michigan State University Individual sections have been edited by the section conveners: Almudena Arcones, Dan Bardayan, Lee Bernstein, Jeffrey Blackmon, Edward Brown, Carl Brune, Art Champagne, Alessandro Chieffi, Aaron Couture, Roland Diehl, Jutta Escher, Brian Fields, Carla Froehlich, Falk Herwig, Raphael Hix, Christian Iliadis, Bill Lynch, Gail McLaughlin, Bronson Messer, Bradley Meyer, Filomena Nunes, Brian O'Shea, Madappa Prakash, Boris Pritychenko, Sanjay Reddy, Ernst Rehm, Grisha Rogachev, Bob Ruthledge, Michael Smith, Andrew Steiner, Tod Strohmayer, Frank Timmes, Remco Zegers, Mike Zingale NUCLEAR ASTROPHYSICS & LOW ENERGY NUCLEAR PHYSICS 2 ABSTRACT This white paper informs the nuclear astrophysics community and funding agencies about the scientific directions and priorities of the field and provides input from this community for the 2015 Nuclear Science Long Range Plan. It summarizes the outcome of the nuclear astrophysics town meeting that was held on August 21-23, 2014 in College Station at the campus of Texas A&M University in preparation of the NSAC Nuclear Science Long Range Plan. It also reflects the outcome of an earlier town meeting of the nuclear astrophysics community organized by the Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics (JINA) on October 9- 10, 2012 Detroit, Michigan, with the purpose of developing a vision for nuclear astrophysics in light of the recent NRC decadal surveys in nuclear physics (NP2010) and astronomy (ASTRO2010). The white paper is furthermore informed by the town meeting of the Association of Research at University Nuclear Accelerators (ARUNA) that took place at the University of Notre Dame on June 12-13, 2014. -
R-Process: Observations, Theory, Experiment
r-process: observations, theory, experiment H. Schatz Michigan State University National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics 1. Observations: do we need s,r,p-process and LEPP? 2. r-process (and LEPP?) models 3. r-process experiments SNR 0103-72.6 Credit: NASA/CXC/PSU/S.Park et al. Origin of the heavy elements in the solar system s-process: secondary • nuclei can be studied Æ reliable calculations • site identified • understood? Not quite … r-process: primary • most nuclei out of reach • site unknown p-process: secondary (except for νp-process) Æ Look for metal poor`stars (Pagel, Fig 6.8) To learn about the r-process Heavy elements in Metal Poor Halo Stars CS22892-052 (Sneden et al. 2003, Cowan) 2 1 + solar r CS 22892-052 ) H / X CS22892-052 ( g o red (K) giant oldl stars - formed before e located in halo Galaxyc was mixed n distance: 4.7 kpc theya preserve local d mass ~0.8 M_sol n pollutionu from individual b [Fe/H]= −3.0 nucleosynthesisa events [Dy/Fe]= +1.7 recall: element number[X/Y]=log(X/Y)-log(X/Y)solar What does it mean: for heavy r-process? For light r-process? • stellar abundances show r-process • process is not universal • process is universal • or second process exists (not visible in this star) Conclusions depend on s-process Look at residuals: Star – solar r Solar – s-process – p-process s-processSimmerer from Simmerer (Cowan et etal.) al. /Lodders (Cowan et al.) s-processTravaglio/Lodders from Travaglio et al. -0.50 -0.50 -1.00 -1.00 -1.50 -1.50 log e log e -2.00 -2.00 -2.50 -2.50 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 Element number Element number ÆÆNeedNeed reliable reliable s-process s-process (models (models and and nu nuclearclear data, data, incl. -
Arxiv:1901.01410V3 [Astro-Ph.HE] 1 Feb 2021 Mental Information Is Available, and One Has to Rely Strongly on Theoretical Predictions for Nuclear Properties
Origin of the heaviest elements: The rapid neutron-capture process John J. Cowan∗ HLD Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Oklahoma, 440 W. Brooks St., Norman, OK 73019, USA Christopher Snedeny Department of Astronomy, University of Texas, 2515 Speedway, Austin, TX 78712-1205, USA James E. Lawlerz Physics Department, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1150 University Avenue, Madison, WI 53706-1390, USA Ani Aprahamianx and Michael Wiescher{ Department of Physics and Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics, University of Notre Dame, 225 Nieuwland Science Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA Karlheinz Langanke∗∗ GSI Helmholtzzentrum f¨urSchwerionenforschung, Planckstraße 1, 64291 Darmstadt, Germany and Institut f¨urKernphysik (Theoriezentrum), Fachbereich Physik, Technische Universit¨atDarmstadt, Schlossgartenstraße 2, 64298 Darmstadt, Germany Gabriel Mart´ınez-Pinedoyy GSI Helmholtzzentrum f¨urSchwerionenforschung, Planckstraße 1, 64291 Darmstadt, Germany; Institut f¨urKernphysik (Theoriezentrum), Fachbereich Physik, Technische Universit¨atDarmstadt, Schlossgartenstraße 2, 64298 Darmstadt, Germany; and Helmholtz Forschungsakademie Hessen f¨urFAIR, GSI Helmholtzzentrum f¨urSchwerionenforschung, Planckstraße 1, 64291 Darmstadt, Germany Friedrich-Karl Thielemannzz Department of Physics, University of Basel, Klingelbergstrasse 82, 4056 Basel, Switzerland and GSI Helmholtzzentrum f¨urSchwerionenforschung, Planckstraße 1, 64291 Darmstadt, Germany (Dated: February 2, 2021) The production of about half of the heavy elements found in nature is assigned to a spe- cific astrophysical nucleosynthesis process: the rapid neutron capture process (r-process). Although this idea has been postulated more than six decades ago, the full understand- ing faces two types of uncertainties/open questions: (a) The nucleosynthesis path in the nuclear chart runs close to the neutron-drip line, where presently only limited experi- arXiv:1901.01410v3 [astro-ph.HE] 1 Feb 2021 mental information is available, and one has to rely strongly on theoretical predictions for nuclear properties. -