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1. Progress on nuclear reaction rates affecting the stellar production of 26 Al

   https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6471/ac9cf8  

   Laird, A M ; Lugaro, M ; Kankainen, A ; Adsley, P ; Bardayan, D W ; Brinkman, H E ; Côté, B ; Deibel, C M ; Diehl, R ; Hammache, F ; et al ( January 2023 , Journal of Physics G: Nuclear and Particle Physics)

   Abstract The radioisotope 26 Al is a key observable for nucleosynthesis in the Galaxy and the environment of the early Solar System. To properly interpret the large variety of astronomical and meteoritic data, it is crucial to understand both the nuclear reactions involved in the production of 26 Al in the relevant stellar sites and the physics of such sites. These range from the winds of low- and intermediate-mass asymptotic giant branch stars; to massive and very massive stars, both their Wolf–Rayet winds and their final core-collapse supernovae (CCSN); and the ejecta from novae, the explosions that occur on the surface of a white dwarf accreting material from a stellar companion. Several reactions affect the production of 26 Al in these astrophysical objects, including (but not limited to) 25 Mg( p , γ ) 26 Al, 26 Al( p , γ ) 27 Si, and 26 Al( n , p / α ). Extensive experimental effort has been spent during recent years to improve our understanding of such key reactions. Here we present a summary of the astrophysical motivation for the study of 26 Al, a review of its production in the different stellar sites, and a timely evaluation of the currently available nuclear data. We also provide recommendations for the nuclear input into stellar models and suggest relevant, future experimental work. 

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2. Prospects for Surrogate Neutron Capture Measurements with Radioactive Ion Beams and GODDESS

   https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58082-7  

   Jolie A. Cizewski, Andrew Ratkiewicz ( February 2021 , Compound-Nuclear Reactions, Springer Proceedings in Physics 254)

   null (Ed.)

   Neutron capture reactions are responsible for the synthesis of almost all of the elements heavier than iron through the slow s-process, that proceeds close to the line of stability, and the rapid r-process, with very neutron-rich waiting points. Uncertainties in (n,γ) rates in neutron rich nuclei, especially near closed neu- tron shells, can have significant impact [1] on the predictions of final abundances for different astrophysical scenarios for the r process. Understanding (n,γ) rates on neutron-rich fission fragments is also important for nuclear forensics and stockpile stewardship science. Ratkiewicz et al. [2 and references therein] has recently demonstrated that the (d,pγ) reaction is a valid surrogate for (n,γ), where the formation of the compound nu- cleus from the breakup of the deuteron has been calculated in a reaction model and the subsequent measured gamma-decay probabilities are reproduced with standard level density and strength functions in a Bayesian approach. In parallel to the surrogate validation efforts, we have demonstrated that the (d,pγ) reaction can be measured in inverse kinematics with Gammasphere ORRUBA: Dual Detectors for Experimental Structure Studies (GODDESS) [3] where the Gammasphere array of Compton-suppressed HPGe detectors is coupled to the Oak Ridge Rutgers University Barrel Array of position-sensitive silicon strip detectors. During the commis- sioning campaign we measured the (d,pγ) reaction with 134Xe and 95Mo beams, the latter to demonstrate the surrogate method in inverse kinematics. The present talk will present preliminary results from this campaign including γ-decay probabilities and prospects for surrogate (n,γ) measurements with 143Ba fission-fragment beams. 

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3. Stable nickel production in type Ia supernovae: A smoking gun for the progenitor mass?

   https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202142323  

   Blondin, S. ; Bravo, E. ; Timmes, F. X. ; Dessart, L. ; Hillier, D. J. ( April 2022 , Astronomy & Astrophysics)

   Context. At present, there are strong indications that white dwarf (WD) stars with masses well below the Chandrasekhar limit ( M Ch ≈ 1.4 M ⊙ ) contribute a significant fraction of SN Ia progenitors. The relative fraction of stable iron-group elements synthesized in the explosion has been suggested as a possible discriminant between M Ch and sub- M Ch events. In particular, it is thought that the higher-density ejecta of M Ch WDs, which favours the synthesis of stable isotopes of nickel, results in prominent [Ni  II ] lines in late-time spectra (≳150 d past explosion). Aims. We study the explosive nucleosynthesis of stable nickel in SNe Ia resulting from M Ch and sub- M Ch progenitors. We explore the potential for lines of [Ni  II ] in the optical an near-infrared (at 7378 Å and 1.94 μm) in late-time spectra to serve as a diagnostic of the exploding WD mass. Methods. We reviewed stable Ni yields across a large variety of published SN Ia models. Using 1D M Ch delayed-detonation and sub- M Ch detonation models, we studied the synthesis of stable Ni isotopes (in particular, 58 Ni) and investigated the formation of [Ni  II ] lines using non-local thermodynamic equilibrium radiative-transfer simulations with the CMFGEN code. Results. We confirm that stable Ni production is generally more efficient in M Ch explosions at solar metallicity (typically 0.02–0.08 M ⊙ for the 58 Ni isotope), but we note that the 58 Ni yield in sub- M Ch events systematically exceeds 0.01 M ⊙ for WDs that are more massive than one solar mass. We find that the radiative proton-capture reaction 57 Co( p ,  γ ) 58 Ni is the dominant production mode for 58 Ni in both M Ch and sub- M Ch models, while the α -capture reaction on 54 Fe has a negligible impact on the final 58 Ni yield. More importantly, we demonstrate that the lack of [Ni  II ] lines in late-time spectra of sub- M Ch events is not always due to an under-abundance of stable Ni; rather, it results from the higher ionization of Ni in the inner ejecta. Conversely, the strong [Ni  II ] lines predicted in our 1D M Ch models are completely suppressed when 56 Ni is sufficiently mixed with the innermost layers, which are rich in stable iron-group elements. Conclusions. [Ni  II ] lines in late-time SN Ia spectra have a complex dependency on the abundance of stable Ni, which limits their use in distinguishing among M Ch and sub- M Ch progenitors. However, we argue that a low-luminosity SN Ia displaying strong [Ni  II ] lines would most likely result from a Chandrasekhar-mass progenitor. 

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4. The Regulated NiCu Cycles with the New 57 Cu(p,γ) 58 Zn Reaction Rate and Its Influence on Type I X-Ray Bursts: the GS 1826–24 Clocked Burster

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ac4d89  

   Lam, Yi Hua ; Lu, Ning ; Heger, Alexander ; Jacobs, Adam Michael ; Smirnova, Nadezda A. ; Nieto, Teresa Kurtukian ; Johnston, Zac ; Kubono, Shigeru ( April 2022 , The Astrophysical Journal)

   Abstract During the X-ray bursts of GS 1826−24, a “clocked burster”, the nuclear reaction flow that surges through the rapid-proton capture process path has to pass through the NiCu cycles before reaching the ZnGa cycles that moderate further hydrogen burning in the region above the germanium and selenium isotopes. The 57 Cu(p, γ ) 58 Zn reaction that occurs in the NiCu cycles plays an important role in influencing the burst light curves found by Cyburt et al. We deduce the 57 Cu(p, γ ) 58 Zn reaction rate based on the experimentally determined important nuclear structure information, isobaric-multiplet-mass equation, and large-scale shell-model calculations. Based on the isobaric-multiplet-mass equation, we propose a possible order of 1 1 + - and 2 3 + -dominant resonance states and constrain the resonance energy of the 1 2 + state. The latter reduces the contribution of the 1 2 + -dominant resonance state. The new reaction rate is up to a factor of 4 lower than the Forstner et al. rate recommended by JINA REACLIB v2.2 at the temperature regime sensitive to clocked bursts of GS 1826−24. Using the simulation from the one-dimensional implicit hydrodynamic code K epler to model the thermonuclear X-ray bursts of the GS 1826−24 clocked burster, we find that the new 57 Cu(p, γ ) 58 Zn reaction rate, coupled with the latest 56 Ni(p, γ ) 57 Cu and 55 Ni(p, γ ) 56 Cu reaction rates, redistributes the reaction flow in the NiCu cycles and strongly influences the burst ash composition, whereas the 59 Cu(p, α ) 56 Ni and 59 Cu(p, γ ) 60 Zn reactions suppress the influence of the 57 Cu(p, γ ) 58 Zn reaction and diminish the impact of nuclear reaction flow that bypasses the important 56 Ni waiting point induced by the 55 Ni(p, γ ) 56 Cu reaction on the burst light curve. 

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5. Origin of the elements

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s00159-022-00146-x  

   Arcones, Almudena ; Thielemann, Friedrich-Karl ( December 2023 , The Astronomy and Astrophysics Review)

   Abstract What is the origin of the oxygen we breathe, the hydrogen and oxygen (in form of water H 2 O) in rivers and oceans, the carbon in all organic compounds, the silicon in electronic hardware, the calcium in our bones, the iron in steel, silver and gold in jewels, the rare earths utilized, e.g. in magnets or lasers, lead or lithium in batteries, and also of naturally occurring uranium and plutonium? The answer lies in the skies. Astrophysical environments from the Big Bang to stars and stellar explosions are the cauldrons where all these elements are made. The papers by Burbidge (Rev Mod Phys 29:547–650, 1957) and Cameron (Publ Astron Soc Pac 69:201, 1957), as well as precursors by Bethe, von Weizsäcker, Hoyle, Gamow, and Suess and Urey provided a very basic understanding of the nucleosynthesis processes responsible for their production, combined with nuclear physics input and required environment conditions such as temperature, density and the overall neutron/proton ratio in seed material. Since then a steady stream of nuclear experiments and nuclear structure theory, astrophysical models of the early universe as well as stars and stellar explosions in single and binary stellar systems has led to a deeper understanding. This involved improvements in stellar models, the composition of stellar wind ejecta, the mechanism of core-collapse supernovae as final fate of massive stars, and the transition (as a function of initial stellar mass) from core-collapse supernovae to hypernovae and long duration gamma-ray bursts (accompanied by the formation of a black hole) in case of single star progenitors. Binary stellar systems give rise to nova explosions, X-ray bursts, type Ia supernovae, neutron star, and neutron star–black hole mergers. All of these events (possibly with the exception of X-ray bursts) eject material with an abundance composition unique to the specific event and lead over time to the evolution of elemental (and isotopic) abundances in the galactic gas and their imprint on the next generation of stars. In the present review, we want to give a modern overview of the nucleosynthesis processes involved, their astrophysical sites, and their impact on the evolution of galaxies. 

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