Conveners
Session 6: Nuclear Astrophysics
- Angela Bracco (Università di Milano e INFN)
Our understanding of the formation of the heaviest elements via r-process nucleosynthesis is built up through the detection and analysis of a variety of astrophysical observables: isotopic and elemental abundance patterns, electromagnetic signatures, and radioisotopes. The interpretation of each type of observable is complicated by the unknown nuclear physics of the thousands of neutron-rich...
The reaction network in the neutron-deficient part of the nuclear chart around A~100 contains several nuclei of importance to astrophysical processes, such as the p-process. This work reports on the results from recent experimental studies of the radiative proton-capture reactions $^{112,114}$Cd(p,γ)$^{113,115}$In. Isotopically enriched $^{112}$Cd and $^{114}$Cd targets have been used for...
One of the two main nucleosynthesis processes for explaining the formation and abundances of the neutron-rich nuclei in our universe is the slow neutron-capture process (s process). It takes place in environments with neutron densities in the range of 10$^{6}$–10$^{12}$ cm$^{−3}$. Due to these relatively small neutron densities, the β- decay rate usually dominates over the neutron-capture rate...
Globular clusters are key grounds for models of stellar evolution and early stages of the formation of galaxies. Abundance anomalies observed in the globular cluster NGC 2419, such as the enhancement of potassium and depletion of magnesium [1] can be explained in terms of an earlier generation of stars polluting the presently observed stars [2]. However, the nature and the properties of the...
