DECAY OF THE r-PROCESS NUCLIDES 137,138,139Sb AND THE A=130 SOLAR r-PROCESS ABUNDANCE PEAK

Arndt, O.; Kratz, K. L.; Farouqi, K.; Pfeiffer, B.; Hennrich, S.; Jost, C.; Walters, W. B.; Stoyer, M. A.; Köster, U.; Fedosseev, Valentin; Hecht, A. A.; Shergur, J.; Hoteling, N.; Wöhr, A.

doi:10.1142/9789814383646_0042

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“…Recently nuclear masses of interest for the r-process have been measured with Penning traps at the ISOLDE facility at CERN [92], JYFLTRAP at Jyväskylä [93,94], and the CPT at CARIBU [95,96]; via time-of-flight (TOF) at the NSCL [97]; and with the Fragment Separator (FRS) [98] and via Isochronous Mass Spectrometry (IMS) at GSI [99]. New β-decay halflives that impact weak and main r-process simulations have been measured at RIKEN [100,101,102], the NSCL [103,104,105], HRIBF [106,107,108], GSI [109,110,111,112] and CERN/ISOLDE [113]. Neutron capture rates are inaccessible to direct measurements, however innovative indirect techniques are under development and show considerable promise [114,115,116].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of individual nuclear properties on r-process nucleosynthesis

Mumpower¹,

Surman²,

McLaughlin³

et al. 2016

Progress in Particle and Nuclear Physics

385

246

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The astrophysical rapid neutron capture process or 'r process' of nucleosynthesis is believed to be responsible for the production of approximately half the heavy element abundances found in nature. This multifaceted problem remains one of the greatest open challenges in all of physics. Knowledge of nuclear physics properties such as masses, β-decay and neutron capture rates, as well as β-delayed neutron emission probabilities are critical inputs that go into calculations of r-process nucleosynthesis. While properties of nuclei near stability have been established, much still remains unknown regarding neutron-rich nuclei far from stability that may participate in the r process. Sensitivity studies gauge the astrophysical response of a change in nuclear physics input(s) which allows for the isolation of the most important nuclear properties that shape the final abundances observed in nature. This review summarizes the extent of recent sensitivity studies and highlights how these studies play a key role in facilitating new insight into the r process. The development of these tools promotes a focused effort for state-of-the-art measurements, motivates construction of new facilities and will ultimately move the community towards addressing the grand challenge of 'How were the elements from iron to uranium made?'. IntroductionOne of the major open questions in all of physics is the identification of the sites responsible for the production of the heaviest elements [1,2]. It has been understood since the 1950s that the solar system abundances of nuclei heavier than iron can be divided roughly in half based on the nucleosynthesis processes that create them. Slow neutron capture process, or s-process, nuclei lie along the middle of the valley of stability, and rapid neutron capture process, or r-process, nuclei are found on the neutron-rich side, with a third process, the p process, responsible for the significantly less abundant nuclei on the proton-rich side of stability [3,4]. Since that time much progress has been made, e.g. [5], and the basic mechanisms of and astrophysical sites for the creation of the s-process [6] and heavy p-process [7,8] nuclei are on a firm footing. The site or sites of the r process still evade definitive determination [9,10,11].The r-process pattern is extracted from the solar system abundances by subtracting the s-process and p-process contributions [12,13]. The residual pattern consists of three main abundance peaks at A ∼ 80, 130, and 195, associated with the N = 50, 82, and 126 closed shells. Building up to the heaviest r-process elements requires on the order of 100 neutrons per seed nucleus. Additional constraints come from meteoritic data, e.g. [14], and observations of r-process elements in old stars in the galactic halo, e.g. [15,16]. This data points to distinct origins for the light A < 120 ('weak') and heavy A > 120 ('main') r-process nuclei. The pattern of main r-process elements is remarkably similar among r-process enhanced halo stars and is a match to the solar residuals. Thi...

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