Neutron Reactions in Astrophysics

Abstract

The quest for the origin of matter in the Universe had been the subject of philosophical and theological debates over the history of mankind, but quantitative answers could be found only by the scientific achievements of the last century. A first important step on this way was the development of spectral analysis by Kirchhoff and Bunsen in the middle of the 19${}^{\mathrm{th}}$ century, which provided first insight in the chemical composition of the sun and the stars. The energy source of the stars and the related processes of nucleosynthesis, however, could be revealed only with the discoveries of nuclear physics. A final breakthrough came eventually with the compilation of elemental and isotopic abundances in the solar system, which are reflecting the various nucleosynthetic processes in detail. This review is focusing on the mass region above iron, where the formation of the elements is dominated by neutron capture, mainly in the slow ($s$) and rapid ($r$) processes. Following a brief historic account and a sketch of the relevant astrophysical models, emphasis is put on the nuclear physics input, where status and perspectives of experimental approaches are presented in some detail, complemented by the indispensable role of theory.

58 pages, 13 figures

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• r-Process Nucleosynthesis: Connecting Rare-Isotope Beam Facilities with the Cosmos
• New insights in laser-generated ultra-intense gamma-ray and neutron sources for nuclear applications and science
• The Branchings of the Main s-process: Their Sensitivity to alpha-induced Reactions on 13C and 22Ne and to the Uncertainties of the Nuclear Network
• The production of proton-rich isotopes beyond iron: The $\gamma$ process in stars
• The Soreq Applied Research Accelerator Facility (SARAF) - Overview, Research Programs and Future Plans
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• Novel Techniques for Constraining Neutron-Capture Rates Relevant for r-Process Heavy-Element Nucleosynthesis
• The activation method for cross section measurements in nuclear astrophysics
• The s Process and Beyond
• Neutron-induced cross sections -- from raw data to astrophysical rates
• Ground state octupole correlation energies with effective forces
• A spallation-based neutron target for direct studies of neutron-induced reactions in inverse kinematics
• The ${}^{63}$Ni(n,$\gamma$) cross section measured with DANCE
• Treatment of isomers in nucleosynthesis codes
• The Status and Future of Direct Nuclear Reaction Measurements for Stellar Burning
• Sensitivity study for s process nucleosynthesis in AGB stars
• Measurement of the ${}^{70}$Ge($n,\gamma$) cross section up to 300~keV at the CERN n_TOF facility
• Precise measurement of the thermal and stellar ${}^{54}$Fe($n,\gamma$)${}^{55}$Fe cross sections via AMS
• Recent results in nuclear astrophysics
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• The 106Cd(alpha,alpha)106Cd elastic scattering in a wide energy range for gamma-process studies
• Coulomb dissociation of ${}^{20,21}$N
• Measurement of the ${}^{159}$Tb(n, $\gamma$) cross section at the CSNS Back-n facility
• Photonuclear Reactions in Astrophysics
• Stellar neutron capture reactions at low and high temperature
• The thermal neutron capture cross section of the radioactive isotope ${}^{60}$Fe
• Thermonuclear 17O(n,gamma)18O reaction rate and its astrophysical implications
• Combined few-body and mean-field model for nuclei
• Stellar $s$-process neutron capture cross sections of ${}^{69,71}$Ga
• Two-proton capture on the ${}^{68}$Se nucleus with a new self-consistent cluster model
• From dripline to dripline: Nuclear astrophysics in the laboratory
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• Nuclear astrophysics
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