Related papers: Presolar Diamond in Meteorites
(Abridged) It is shown that a semi-quantitative agreement with the gross solar r-process abundance pattern near and above mass number A=130 can be obtained by a superposition of two distinctive kinds of supernova r-process events. These…
A small number of naturally occurring, proton-rich nuclides (the p-nuclei) cannot be made in the s- and r-process. Their origin is not well understood. Massive stars can produce p-nuclei through photodisintegration of pre-existing…
We present a nearly complete rapid neutron-capture process (r-process) chemical inventory of the metal-poor ([Fe/H] = -1.46 +/- 0.10) r-process-enhanced ([Eu/Fe] = +1.32 +/- 0.08) halo star HD 222925. This abundance set is the most complete…
Recently acquired evidence shows that extrasolar asteroids exhibit over a factor of 100 variation in the iron to aluminum abundance ratio. This large range likely is a consequence of igneous differentiation that resulted from heating…
The astrophysical origin of the rapid neutron-capture process (r-process), which produces about half of the elements heavier than iron, remains uncertain. The oldest, most metal-poor stars preserve the chemical signatures of early…
The presence or absence of variations in the mass-independent abundances of Si isotopes in bulk meteorites provides important clues concerning the evolution of the early solar system. No Si isotopic anomalies have been found within the…
Isotopic abundances of short-lived radionuclides such as 26Al provide the most precise chronometers of events in the early solar system, provided that they were initially homogeneously distributed. On the other hand, the abundances of the…
We examine the Pb and Th abundances in 27 metal-poor stars (-3.1 < [Fe/H] < -1.4) whose very heavy metal (Z > 56) enrichment was produced only by the rapid (r-) nucleosynthesis process. New abundances are derived from HST/STIS, Keck/HIRES,…
Atmospheric xenon is strongly mass fractionated, the result of a process that apparently continued through the Archean and perhaps beyond. Previous models that explain Xe fractionation by hydrodynamic hydrogen escape cannot gracefully…
The first measurement of the production of pions, kaons, (anti-)protons and $\phi$ mesons at midrapidity in Xe-Xe collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 5.44$ TeV is presented. Transverse momentum ($p_{\rm T}$) spectra and $p_{\rm…
Beyond iron, a small fraction of the total abundances in the Solar System is made of proton-rich isotopes, the p nuclei. The clear understanding of their production is a fundamental challenge for nuclear astrophysics. The p nuclei constrain…
Planetary materials show systematic variations in their nucleosynthetic isotope compositions that resonate with orbital distance. The origin of this pattern remains debated, limiting how these isotopic signatures can be used to trace the…
X-ray emission from about ten protostellar jets has been discovered and it appears as a feature common to the most energetic jets. Although X-ray emission seems to originate from shocks internal to jets, the mechanism forming these shocks…
The nucleosynthesis and ejection of radioactive $^{26}$Al (t$_{1/2} \sim$ 0.72\,Myr) and $^{60}$Fe, (t$_{1/2} \sim$ 2.5\,Myr) into the interstellar medium is dominated by the stellar winds of massive stars and supernova type II explosions.…
X-ray emission in young stellar objects (YSOs) is orders of magnitude more intense than in main sequence stars1,2, suggestive of cosmic ray irradiation of surrounding accretion disks. Protoplanetary disk irradiation has been detected around…
We present a model to explain the wide range of abundances for heavy r-process elements (mass number A > 130) at low [Fe/H]. This model requires rapid star formation and/or an initial population of supermassive stars in the earliest…
Pre-solar meteoritic nanodiamond grains carry an array of isotopically distinct noble gas components and provide information on the history of nucleosynthesis, galactic mixing and the formation of the Solar system. In this paper, we develop…
Observations of metal-poor stars indicate that at least two different nucleosynthesis sites contribute to the production of r-process elements. One site is responsible for the production of light r-process elements Z<~50 while the other…
Cook et al. (2021) found that iron meteorites have an initial abundance ratio of the short-lived isotope $^{60}$Fe to the stable isotope $^{56}$Fe of $^{60}$Fe/$^{56}$Fe $\sim$ $(6.4 \pm 2.0) \times 10^{-7}$. This appears to require the…
The p-process nucleosynthesis can explain proton-rich isotopes that are heavier than iron, which are observed in the Solar System, but discrepancies still persist and important questions concerning the astrophysical site(s) of the p-process…