Electron capture rates on titanium isotopes in stellar matter

Abstract

Electron captures are amongst the most important weak interaction rates related to the dynamics of stellar core collapse. They play a key role in the gravitational collapse of the core of a massive star triggering the supernova explosion. Titanium isotopes are believed to have significant impact on controlling the lepton-to-baryon fraction in the late phases of evolution of core of massive stars. This work consists of the calculation of electron capture rates on titanium isotopes. The pn-QRPA theory is used to calculate electron capture rates in stellar matter. The electron capture rates are calculated over a wide range of densities (10 \leq ρYe (g cm-3) \leq 1011) and temperatures (107 \leq T (K) \leq 30 \times 109). Here we also report the differences in electron capture rates with the earlier calculations including those using large scale shell model.

24 pages, 5 figures