Conveners
W1-7 Nuclei & Astrophysics III (DNP) / Noyaux et astrophysique III (DPN)
- Gregory Christian (Saint Mary's University)
The 12C+12C fusion reaction is one of the key reactions governing the evolution of massive stars as well as being critical to the physics underpinning various explosive astrophysical scenarios. Our understanding of the 12C+12C reaction rate in the Gamow window – the energy range relevant to the different astrophysical scenarios – is presently confused. This is due to the large number of...
s-process nucleosynthesis can be influenced by so-called 'light element neutron poisons', which absorb free neutrons before they can capture onto iron-peak seed nuclei. The 16O(n,gamma) reaction is one such neutron poison reaction. However, free neutrons can then be released back into the star via 17O(alpha,n)20Ne. The ratio of the neutron and gamma outgoing channels in 17O + alpha reactions...
Nucleosynthesis in the neutrino-driven wind of core-collapse supernovae has gained in popularity in recent years and it is thought to produce light neutron-deficient nuclei with $A\leq110$ via the $\nu p$-process. However, this scenario exhibits uncertainties related to the explosion dynamics and the underlying nuclear physics input. The $^7$Be($\alpha,\gamma$)$^{11}$C reaction has been shown...
