Nuclear astrophysics is a field at the intersection of nuclear physics and astrophysics, which seeks to understand the nuclear engines of astronomical objects and the origin of the chemical elements. This white paper summarizes progress and status of the field, the new open questions that have emerged, and the tremendous scientific opportunities that have opened up with major advances in capabilities across an ever growing number of disciplines and subfields that need to be integrated. We take a holistic view of the field discussing the unique challenges and opportunities in nuclear astrophysics in regards to science, diversity, education, and the interdisciplinarity and breadth of the field. Clearly nuclear astrophysics is a dynamic field with a bright future that is entering a new era of discovery opportunities.

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New half-lives for exotic isotopes approaching the neutron drip-line in the vicinity of N ∼ 28 for Z = 12 − 15 were measured at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams with the FRIB Decay Station initiator. The first experimental results are compared to the latest quasi-particle random phase approximation (QRPA) and shell model (SM) calculations. Overall, the measured half-lives are consistent with the available theoretical descriptions and suggest a well-developed region of deformation below 48 Ca in the N =28 isotones. The erosion of the Z=14 sub-shell closure in Si is experimentally confirmed at N =28, and a reduction in the 38 Mg half-life is observed as compared to its isotopic neighbors, which does not seem to be predicted well based on the decay energy and deformation trends. This highlights the need for both additional data in this very exotic region, and for more advanced theoretical efforts.