Related papers: Resolving conclusions about the early Universe req…
The primary aim of experimental nuclear astrophysics is to determine the rates of nuclear reactions taking place in stars in various astrophysical conditions. These reaction rates are important ingredient for understanding the elemental…
There is a deep cosmological mystery: although dependent on very different underlying physics, the timescales of structure formation, of galaxy cooling (both radiatively and against the CMB), and of vacuum domination do not differ by many…
The dramatic confrontation between new observations and theories of the early and recent universe makes cosmology one of the most rapidly advancing fields in the physical sciences. The universe is a unique laboratory in which to probe…
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 status of experiments on determination of level density and partial widths of the nuclear reaction products emission in diapason of nucleon binding energy is presented. There are analyzed the sources and magnitude of probable…
In the primordial Universe, neutrino decoupling occurs only slightly before electron-positron annihilations. This leads notably to an increased neutrino energy density compared to the standard instantaneous decoupling approximation,…
The connection between cosmological observations and neutrino physics is discussed in detail. Neutrinos decouple from thermal contact in the early Universe at a temperature of order 1 MeV which coincides with the temperature where light…
This chapter will go through the important nuclear reactions in stellar evolution and explosions, passing through the individual stellar burning stages and also explosive burning conditions. To follow the changes in the composition of…
Recent Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) measurements have determined the baryon density of the Universe $\Omega_b$ with a precision of about 4%. With $\Omega_b$ tightly constrained, comparisons of Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN)…
No doubt, among the most exciting discoveries of the third millennium thus far are {\bf Oscillations of Massive Neutrinos} and {\bf Dark Energy} that leads to an accelerated expansion of the Universe. Accordingly, Nuclear Physics is…
During its early evolution the Universe provided a laboratory to probe fundamental physics at high energies. Relics from those early epochs, such as the light elements synthesized during primordial nucleosynthesis when the Universe was only…
Among all nuclear ground-state properties, atomic masses are highly specific for each particular combination of N and Z and the data obtained apply to a variety of physics topics. One of the most crucial questions to be addressed in mass…
An important ingredient for applications of nuclear physics to e.g. astrophysics or nuclear energy are the cross sections for reactions of neutrons with rare isotopes. Since direct measurements are often not possible, indirect methods like…
The accelerating expansion of the universe presents an exciting, fundamental challenge to the standard models of particle physics and cosmology. I highlight some of the outstanding challenges in both developing theoretical models and…
Recent advances in cosmic observations have brought us to the verge of discovery of the absolute scale of neutrino masses. Nonzero neutrino masses are known evidence of new physics beyond the Standard Model. Our understanding of the…
A huge amount of good quality data converges towards the picture of a spatially flat universe undergoing the today observed phase of accelerated expansion. This new observational trend is commonly addressed as Precision Cosmology. Despite…
The answers to fundamental science questions in astrophysics, ranging from the history of the expansion of the universe to the sizes of nearby stars, hinge on our ability to make precise measurements of diverse astronomical objects. As our…
In the framework of the standard, hot big bang cosmological model the dynamics of the early evolution of the universe is controlled by the energy density of relativistic particles, among which neutrinos play an important role. In…
Quantum physics holds the promise of enabling certain tasks with better performance than possible when only classical resources are employed. The quantum phenomena present in many experiments signify nonclassical behavior, but do not always…
The synthesis of nuclei in diverse cosmic scenarios is reviewed, with a summary of the basic concepts involved before a discussion of the current status in each case is made. We review the physics of the early universe, the proton to…