Effects of a New Triple-α Reaction on the S-process in Massive Stars

Abstract

Effects of a new triple-α reaction rate on the s-process during the evolution of a massive star of 25 M\odot are investigated for the first time. Although the s-process in massive stars has been believed to be established with only minor change, we find that the s-process with use of the new rate during the core He-burning is very inefficient compared to the case with the previous triple-α rate. However, the difference of the overproduction is found to be largely compensated by the subsequent C-burning. Since the s-process in massive stars has been attributed so far to the neutron irradiation during core He-burning, our finding reveals the importance of C-burning for the s-process during the evolution of massive stars.

8 pages, 5 figures. Submitted to Prog. Theor. Phys. Letters on October 2, 2011