Bliss, Julia Barbara Erika (2018)
Nucleosynthesis of lighter heavy elements in neutrino-driven winds.
Technische Universität Darmstadt
Ph.D. Thesis, Primary publication
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Item Type: | Ph.D. Thesis | ||||
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Type of entry: | Primary publication | ||||
Title: | Nucleosynthesis of lighter heavy elements in neutrino-driven winds | ||||
Language: | English | ||||
Referees: | Arcones Segovia, Prof. Dr. Almudena ; Schatz, Prof. Dr. Hendrik | ||||
Date: | 2018 | ||||
Place of Publication: | Darmstadt | ||||
Date of oral examination: | 16 October 2017 | ||||
Abstract: | Neutrino-driven winds following core-collapse supernova explosions are an exciting astrophysical site for the formation of the lighter heavy elements between strontium up to (possibly) silver. Observations of very old stars, so-called ultra-metal poor stars, show scatter in the abundances of these elements, whereas they exhibit a robust abundance pattern for the elements beyond barium. Therefore, the origin of the lighter heavy elements in the universe is associated to the r-process and at least one additional process. Although it is not clear if neutrino-driven winds are neutron- or proton-rich, the necessary astrophysical conditions to synthesize lighter heavy elements are already found in wind simulations. Here, we assume that the missing component corresponds to the weak r-process occurring in slightly neutron-rich winds. Despite the fast progress in theoretical and experimental nuclear astrophysics in the last years, the astrophysical as well as the nuclear physics uncertainties are still very large. In this thesis, we address the impact of the astrophysics and nuclear physics uncertainties on the wind nucleosynthesis. We present possible astrophysical conditions and key reactions in neutron-rich winds. In the first part of this thesis, we quantify the astrophysical uncertainties in neutrino-driven winds. A systematic study using trajectories from hydrodynamic simulations is from a computational point of view not feasible. In addition, there are still uncertainties in the core-collapse supernova mechanism and the wind evolution. Thus, we calculate steady-state trajectories and investigate the nucleosynthesis. In the final abundances, we identify different nucleosynthesis groups by the different neutron, alpha, and seed abundances. The groups mainly distinguish in the position of the nucleosynthesis path relative to the valley of stability. Each group exhibits characteristic abundance peaks. We show that the abundance patterns are only sensitive to specific reactions if the nucleosynthesis path overcomes the neutron shell closure at $N=50$. In the second part of this thesis, we investigate the impact of nuclear physics uncertainties on the wind nucleosynthesis with our main focus on the $(\alpha,\mathrm{n})$ reactions. The $(\alpha,\mathrm{n})$ reactions are essential to redistribute matter and to reach heavier nuclei in neutron-rich winds. The uncertainties of the $(\alpha,\mathrm{n})$ reaction rates arise from the statistical model and its nuclear physics input, mainly the alpha optical potential. In a first sensitivity study, we vary the $(\alpha,\mathrm{n})$ reaction rates by constant factors, which are within their uncertainties, and find a critical influence on the nucleosynthesis evolution. Therefore, we perform a Monte Carlo sensitivity study within the astrophysical uncertainties studied in the first part of this thesis to identify individual critical $(\alpha,\mathrm{n})$ reactions. The key $(\alpha,\mathrm{n})$ reactions are identified by analyzing the correlations between reaction rate modifications and resulting abundance changes. We find that the uncertainties of the $^{82}\mathrm{Ge}(\alpha,\mathrm{n})$, $^{84}\mathrm{Se}(\alpha,\mathrm{n})$, and $^{85}\mathrm{Se}(\alpha,\mathrm{n})$ reaction rates critically affect the nucleosynthesis, and especially the abundances for nuclei with atomic numbers $Z=36-39$. The reduction of these rate uncertainties will significantly decrease the influence of nuclear physics uncertainties on the wind nucleosynthesis. Since the nucleosynthesis path proceeds close to the valley of stability, these reactions can be measured with new radioactive beam facilities like FRIB or FAIR in the near future. Once the nuclear physics uncertainties are reduced by experiments, observations from very old stars will constrain the astrophysical conditions in neutrino-driven winds and improve our understanding of core-collapse supernovae and neutrino-driven winds. |
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URN: | urn:nbn:de:tuda-tuprints-75691 | ||||
Classification DDC: | 500 Science and mathematics > 530 Physics | ||||
Divisions: | 05 Department of Physics 05 Department of Physics > Institute of Nuclear Physics 05 Department of Physics > Institute of Nuclear Physics > Theoretische Kernphysik 05 Department of Physics > Institute of Nuclear Physics > Theoretische Kernphysik > Kernphysik und Nukleare Astrophysik |
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Date Deposited: | 10 Aug 2018 08:06 | ||||
Last Modified: | 09 Jul 2020 02:09 | ||||
URI: | https://tuprints.ulb.tu-darmstadt.de/id/eprint/7569 | ||||
PPN: | 434877980 | ||||
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