Explosive nucleosynthesis close to the drip lines

Friedrich-Karl Thielemann, C. Freiburghaus, T. Rauscher, F. Rembges, S. Rosswog, B. Pfeiffer, K.L. Kratz, H. Schatz, M. Wiescher

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

We give an overview of explosive burning and the role which neutron and/or proton separation energies play. We focus then on the rapid neutron capture process (r-process) which encounters unstable nuclei with neutron separation energies in the range 1-4 MeV, and the rapid proton capture process (rp-process), operating close to the proton drip-line. The site of the rp-process is related to hydrogen accreting neutron stars in binary stellar systems. Explosive II-burning produces nuclei as heavy as A=100, powering events observable as X-ray bursts. The r-process abundances witness nuclear structure far from beta-stability as well as the conditions in the appropriate astrophysical environment. But there is a remaining lack in the full understanding of its astrophysical origin, ranging from the high entropy neutrino wind, blown from hot neutron star surfaces after a supernova explosion, to low entropy "cold decompresssion" of neutron star matter ejected in mergers of binary neutron star systems.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3503-3513
Number of pages11
JournalActa Physica Polonica B
Volume29
Issue number11
Publication statusPublished - Nov 1998
EventMESON'98 Conference on the Structure of Mesons, Baryons and Nuclei - KRAKOW, Poland
Duration: 26 May 19982 Jun 1998

Keywords

  • STAR MATTER
  • APPROXIMATION
  • NOVAE
  • QUASI-EQUILIBRIUM
  • R-PROCESS
  • GAMMA-RAY BURSTS
  • DECOMPRESSION
  • MODELS
  • NUCLEAR-MASS FORMULA
  • NEUTRINO-DRIVEN WINDS

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