Related papers: Challenges in nucleosynthesis of trans-iron elemen…
The heavy elements formed by neutron capture processes have an interesting history from which we can extract useful clues to and constraints upon both the characteristics of the processes themselves and the star formation and…
Experimental measurements in terrestrial laboratory, space and astrophysical observations of variation and fluctuation of nuclear decay constants, measurements of large enhancements in fusion reaction rate of deuterons implanted in metals…
Except for 1H, 2H, 3He, 4He, and 7Li, originating from the Big Bang, all heavier elements are made in stellar evolution and stellar explosions. Nuclear physics, and in many cases nuclear structure far from stability, enters in a crucial…
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…
Nuclear reactions proceed differently in stellar plasmas than in the laboratory due to the thermal effects in the plasma. On one hand, a target nucleus is bombarded by projectiles distributed in energy with a distribution defined by the…
Type I X-ray bursts are violent stellar events that take place on the H/He-rich envelopes of accreting neutron stars. We have investigated the role played by uncertainties in nuclear processes on the nucleosynthesis accompanying these…
The rapid neutron capture process (r-process) is thought to be responsible for the creation of more than half of all elements beyond iron. The scientific challenges to understanding the origin of the heavy elements beyond iron lie in both…
We investigated the impact of uncertainties in neutron-capture and weak reactions (on heavy elements) on the s-process nucleosynthesis in low-mass stars and massive stars using a Monte-Carlo based approach. We performed extensive nuclear…
The $\nu p$ process appears in proton-rich, hot matter which is expanding in a neutrino wind and may be realised in explosive environments such as core-collapse supernovae or in outflows from accretion disks. The impact of uncertainties in…
Explosive nucleosynthesis is a combination of the nuclear physics of thermonuclear reactions, and the hydrodynamics of the plasma in which the reactions occur. It depends upon the initial conditions---the stellar evolution up to the…
We present a new nucleosynthesis process that may take place on neutron-rich ejecta experiencing an intensive neutrino flux. The nucleosynthesis proceeds similarly to the standard $r$-process, a sequence of neutron-captures and beta-decays,…
A selected overview of stellar effects and reaction mechanisms with relevance to the prediction of astrophysical reaction rates far off stability is provided.
Astrophysical nucleosynthesis is a family of diverse processes by which atomic nuclei undergo nuclear reactions and decays to form new nuclei. The complex nature of nucleosynthesis, which can involve as many as tens of thousands of…
The r-process involves neutron-rich nuclei far off stability for which no experimental cross sections are known. Therefore, one has to rely on theory. The difficulties in the predictions are briefly addressed. To investigate the impact of…
The origins of the elements and isotopes of cosmic material is a critical aspect of understanding the evolution of the universe. Nucleosynthesis typically requires physical conditions of high temperatures and densities. These are found in…
The s-process in massive stars, producing nuclei up to $A\approx 90$, has a different behaviour at low metallicity if stellar rotation is significant. This enhanced s-process is distinct from the s-process in massive stars around solar…
The continued interest to the study of the radiative neutron capture on atomic nuclei is caused, on the one hand, by the important role of this process in the analysis of many fundamental properties of nuclei and nuclear reactions, and, on…
Nuclear astrophysics aims at unraveling the cosmic origins of chemical elements and the physical processes powering stars. It constitutes a truly multidisciplinary field, that integrates tools, advancements, and accomplishments from…
An overview of the experimental aspects of nucleon transfer reactions with radioactive beams is presented, aimed principally at a researcher who is beginning their work in this area. Whilst the physics motivation and the means of…
Nuclear reaction cross sections are usually very small in typical astrophysical environments. It has been one of the major challenges of experimental nuclear astrophysics to assess the magnitude of these cross sections in the laboratory.…