Related papers: Cosmic nucleosynthesis: a multi-messenger challeng…
The determination of the injection composition of cosmic ray nuclei within astrophysical sources requires sufficiently accurate descriptions of the source physics and the propagation - apart from controlling astrophysical uncertainties. We…
We demonstrate that nucleosynthesis in rapid, high-entropy expansions of proton-rich matter from high temperature and density can result in a wider variety of abundance patterns than heretofore appreciated. In particular, such expansions…
In the first thousand seconds of its evolution the Universe was a primordial nuclear reactor synthesizing the nuclides D, $^3$He, $^4$He and $^7$Li. These messengers from the Big Bang provide a unique window on the early, hot, dense…
The simulation of heavy element nucleosynthesis requires input from yet-to-be-measured nuclear properties. The uncertainty in the values of these off-stability nuclear properties propagates to uncertainties in the predictions of elemental…
As the early universe expands and cools the rates of the weak interactions that keep neutrinos in thermal equilibrium with the matter and the related rates of the reactions that inter-convert neutrons and protons decrease. Eventually, these…
Neutrino physics in the early Universe is key to our understanding of later cosmological stages, such as primordial nucleosynthesis (BBN) or the formation of large-scale structures. The coming decade promises new experimental results to…
Neutrinos are known to play important roles in many astrophysical scenarios from the early period of the big bang to current stellar evolution being a unique messenger of the fusion reactions occurring in the center of our sun. In…
The production of about half of the heavy elements found in nature is assigned to a specific astrophysical nucleosynthesis process: the rapid neutron capture process (r-process). Although this idea has been postulated more than six decades…
Understanding the origins and distribution of matter in the Universe is one of the most important quests in physics and astronomy. Themes range from astro-particle physics to chemical evolution in the Galaxy to cosmic nucleosynthesis and…
Molecules are ubiquitous in space. They are necessary component in the creation of habitable planetary systems and can provide the basic building blocks of life. Solid-state processes are pivotal in the formation of molecules in space and…
Understanding where elements were formed has been a key goal in astrophysics for nearly a century, with answers involving cosmology, stellar burning, and cosmic explosions. Since 1957, the origin of the heaviest elements (formed via the…
Recent observation of the power spectrum of Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) Radiation has exhibited that the flat cosmology is most likely. This suggests too large universal baryon-density parameter $\Omega_b h^2 \approx 0.022 \sim 0.030$…
The cosmological abundance of nucleons determined from considerations of Big Bang nucleosynthesis allegedly provides compelling evidence for non-nucleonic dark matter. Recent developments in measurements of primordial light element…
Primordial nucleosynthesis is a success story of the standard big bang (SBB) cosmology. We explore nucleosynthesis in possible models very different from SBB in which the cosmological scale factor increases linearly with time right through…
For a brief time in its early evolution the Universe was a cosmic nuclear reactor. The expansion and cooling of the Universe limited this epoch to the first few minutes, allowing time for the synthesis in astrophysically interesting…
Thanks to the long-term collaborations between nuclear and astrophysics, we have good understanding on the origin of elements in the universe, except for the elements around Ti and some neutron-capture elements. From the comparison between…
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…
Our limited understanding of the physical properties of matter at ultra-high density, high proton/neutron number asymmetry, and low temperature is presently one of the major outstanding problems in physics. As matter in this extreme state…
Our Galaxy is the largest nuclear interaction experiment which we know, because of the interaction between cosmic ray particles and the interstellar material. Cosmic rays are particles, which have been accelerated in the Galaxy or in…
Metals form an essential part of the Universe at all scales. Without metals we would not exist, and the Cosmos would look completely different. Metals are primarily born through nuclear processes in stars. They leave their cradles through…