Related papers: Nuclear Problems in Astrophysics
Core collapse supernovae are unique laboratories to study many aspects of neutrino physics. The vicinity of the proto-neutron star in a core-collapse supernova is characterized by large matter and neutrino densities. A salient feature of…
Neutrinos are elementary particles which are known since many years as fundamental messengers from the interior of the Sun. The Standard Solar Model, which gives a theoretical description of all nuclear processes which happen in our star,…
We examine the potential for a ``natural'' three-neutrino mixing scheme to satisfy available data and astrophysical arguments. By ``natural'' we mean no sterile neutrinos, and a neutrino mass hierarchy similar to that of the charged…
Cross sections are calculated for neutrino scattering off heavy nuclei at energies below 50 MeV. The theory of Fermi liquid is applied to estimate the rate of neutrino-nucleon elastic and inelastic scattering in a nuclear medium in terms of…
In this article we review the current state of the field of solar neutrinos, including flavour oscillations, non-standard effects, solar models, cross section measurements, and the broad experimental program thus motivated and enabled. We…
This review concentrates on nucleosynthesis processes in general and their applications to massive stars and supernovae. A brief initial introduction is given to the physics in astrophysical plasmas which governs composition changes. We…
Core-collapse supernovae are the terminal explosions of massive stars. After successive phases of nuclear fusion proceeding up to silicon burning, these stars form an iron core that is supported by electron degeneracy pressure. The core…
We review neutrino oscillation physics, including the determination of mass splittings and mixings from current solar, atmospheric, reactor and accelerator neutrino data. A brief discussion is given of cosmological and astrophysical…
The ratio of metal abundance to hydrogen abundance of the solar photosphere, $(Z/X)_{s}$, has been revised several times. Standard solar models, based on these revised solar abundances, are in disagreement with seismically inferred results.…
In this report, centered on the activities within the MURST-PRIN project "Fisica teorica del nucleo e dei sistemi a pi\`u corpi" we discuss recent advances on the following items: i)neutrinos as probes of the solar interior and of other…
Neutrinos produced during the collapse of a massive star are trapped in a nuclear medium (the proto-neutron star). Typically, neutrino energies (10-100 MeV) are of the order of nuclear giant resonances energies. Hence, neutrino propagation…
The Standard Model (SM) of Particle Physics was tested to great precision by experiments at the highest energy colliders (LEP, Hera, Tevatron, SLAC). The only missing particle is the Higgs boson, which will be the first particle to be…
The topics discussed in this lecture include: general properties of neutrinos in the SM, the theory of neutrino masses and mixings (Dirac and Majorana), neutrino oscillations both in vacuum and in matter, an overview of the experimental…
There are profound connections between neutrino physics and nuclear experiments. Exceptionally precise measurements of single and double beta-decay spectra illuminate the scale and nature of neutrino mass and may finally answer the question…
The core of a massive star (M > 8 Msun) eventually collapses. This implosion usually triggers a supernova (SN) explosion that ejects most of the stellar envelope and leaves behind a neutron star (NS) with a mass of up to about 2 Msun.…
Very different processes characterize the decoupling of neutrinos to form the cosmic neutrino background (C$\nu$B) and the much later decoupling of photons from thermal equilibrium to form the cosmic microwave background (CMB). The C$\nu$B…
There has never been a more exciting time in the overlapping areas of nuclear physics, particle physics and relativistic astrophysics than today. Orbiting observatories such as the Hubble Space Telescope, Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE),…
We consider the ``standard'' spectrum of the active neutrinos (characterized by strong mass hierarchy and small mixing) with additional sterile neutrino, $\nu_s$. The sterile neutrino mixes strongly with the muon neutrino, so that…
Despite being very successful in explaining the wide range of precision experimental results obtained so far, the Standard Model (SM) of elementary particles fails to address two of the greatest observations of the recent decades: tiny but…
Effects of the dense matter can induce the neutrino decay even if neutrinos are stable in vacuum. This is due to coherent interactions with matter which lead to energy level-splitting between the neutrino and antineutrino states and thereby…