Related papers: Underground nuclear astrophysics: why and how
Nuclear physics has a long and productive history of application to astrophysics which continues today. Advances in the accuracy and breadth of astrophysical data and theory drive the need for better experimental and theoretical…
Astronomical observations from small galaxies to the largest scales in the universe can be consistently explained by the simple idea of dark matter. The nature of dark matter is however still unknown. Empirically it cannot be any of the…
LUNA, Laboratory for Underground Nuclear Astrophysics at Gran Sasso, is measuring fusion cross sections down to the energy of the nucleosynthesis inside stars. Outstanding results obtained up to now are the cross-section measurements within…
Nuclear astrophysics is an interdisciplinary research field of nuclear physics and astrophysics, seeking for the answer to a question, how to understand the evolution of the Universe with the nuclear processes which we learn. We review the…
The majority of nuclear reactions in astrophysics involve unstable nuclei which are not fully accessible by experiments yet. Therefore, there is high demand for reliable predictions of cross sections and reaction rates by theoretical means.…
A revolution in nuclear physics is underway. If you know hadron physics you also know that it will last long, as most past developments in nuclear physics have shown. It will take many decades of dedicated efforts of theorists and…
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…
Background induced by neutrons in deep underground laboratories is a critical issue for all experiments looking for rare events, such as dark matter interactions or neutrinoless 2-beta decay. Neutrons can be produced either by natural…
Explosive nuclear burning in astrophysical environments produces unstable nuclei which again can be targets for subsequent reactions. In addition, it involves a large number of stable nuclides which are not fully explored by experiments,…
The problem of determining the effects of the surrounding plasma on nuclear reaction rates in stars is formulated ab initio, using the techniques of quantum statistical mechanics. We derive a result that expresses the complete effects of…
Ambient radiation background contributed by the penetrating cosmic ray particles and the radionuclides present in the rock materials have been measured at an underground laboratory located inside a mine at 555 m depth. The laboratory is…
The manuscript reviews progress achieved in recent years in various aspects of nuclear astrophysics, including stellar nucleosynthesis, nuclear aspects of supernova collapse and explosion, neutrino-induced reactions and their possible role…
Nuclear astrophysics is a multi-disciplinary field with a huge demand for nuclear data. Among its various fields, stellar evolution and nucleosynthesis are clearly the most closely related to nuclear physics. The need for nuclear data for…
Accurate nuclear reaction rates are needed for primordial nucleosynthesis and hydrostatic burning in stars. The relevant reactions are extremely difficult to measure directly in the laboratory at the small astrophysical energies. In recent…
How does subatomic matter organize itself? Neutron stars are cosmic laboratories uniquely poised to answer this fundamental question that lies at the heart of nuclear science. Newly commissioned rare isotope facilities, telescopes operating…
Despite numerous achievements and recent progress, nuclear physics is often (wrongly) considered an old field of research nowadays. However, developments in theoretical frameworks and reliable experimental techniques have made the field…
The 13C(a,n)16O reaction is the main neutron source of the s-process taking place in thermally pulsing AGB stars and it is one of the main candidate sources of neutrons for the i-process in the astrophysical sites proposed so far.…
Nuclear physics offers us a powerful tool: using nuclear resonance absorption lines to infer the physical conditions in astrophysical settings which are otherwise difficult to deduce. Present-day technology provides an increase in…
Neutron capture cross sections of unstable isotopes are important for neutron-induced nucleosynthesis as well as for technological applications. A combination of a radioactive beam facility, an ion storage ring and a high flux reactor would…
In order to facilitate the identification of possible new physics signatures in neutrino telescopes, such as neutrinos from the annihilation of neutralinos or decaying relics, it is essential to gain full control over the astrophysical…