Speaker
Mr
Stephane Goriely
(Institut d'Astronomie et d'Astrophysique - Universite Libre de Bruxelles)
Description
The rapid neutron-capture process, or r-process, is known to be
of fundamental importance for explaining the origin of approximately half
of the A>60 stable nuclei observed in nature. In recent years nuclear
astrophysicists have developed more and more sophisticated r-process models,
eagerly trying to add new astrophysical or nuclear physics ingredients to
explain the solar system composition in a satisfactory way.
The r-process remains the most complex nucleosynthetic process to model from
the astrophysics as well as nuclear-physics points of view.
The present contribution emphasizes some important future
challenges faced by nuclear physics in this problem, particularly in the determination
of the radiative neutron capture rates by exotic nuclei close to the neutron drip line
and the fission probabilities of heavy neutron-rich nuclei. These quantities are
particularly relevant to determine the composition of the matter resulting from the
decompression of initially cold neutron star matter. New detailed r-process calculations
are performed and the final composition of ejected inner and outer neutron star
crust material is estimated. We discuss the impact of the many uncertainties in
the astrophysics and nuclear physics on the final composition of the ejected
matter.
Primary author
Mr
Stephane Goriely
(Institut d'Astronomie et d'Astrophysique - Universite Libre de Bruxelles)
