The s process: Nuclear physics, stellar models, and observations

By Franz Kappeler, Roberto Gallino, S. Bisterzo, Wak Aoki. 2010

507 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Nucleosynthesis in the $s$ process takes place in the He-burning layers of low-mass asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars and during the He- and C-burning phases of massive stars. The $s$ process contributes about half of the element abundances between Cu and Bi in solar system material. Depending on stellar mass and metallicity the resulting $s$-abundance patterns exhibit characteristic features, which provide comprehensive information for our understanding of the stellar life cycle and for the chemical evolution of galaxies. The rapidly growing body of detailed abundance observations, in particular, for AGB and post-AGB stars, for objects in binary systems, and for the very faint metal-poor population represents exciting challenges and constraints for stellar model calculations. Based on updated and improved nuclear physics data for the $s$-process reaction network, current models are aiming at an ab initio solution for the stellar physics related to convection and mixing processes. Progress in the intimately related areas of observations, nuclear and atomic physics, and stellar modeling is reviewed and the corresponding interplay is illustrated by the general abundance patterns of the elements beyond iron and by the effect of sensitive branching points along the $s$-process path. The strong variations of the $s$-process efficiency with metallicity bear also interesting consequences for galactic chemical evolution.

Subfields: Astronomy and Astrophysics, Nuclear and High Energy Physics

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/0454bf1e1c4cb5010a130222ca76edba11146e19

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Citations in the corpus

Nucleosynthesis in Stars and the Chemical Enrichment of Galaxies (2013, background): “F or p er so na l u se o nl y. stars have been reviewed by Busso, Gallino & Wasserburg (1999), Herwig (2005), and Käppeler et al. (2011).”
CORE-COLLAPSE SUPERNOVAE FROM 9 TO 120 SOLAR MASSES BASED ON NEUTRINO-POWERED EXPLOSIONS (2015, background): “This is problematic given that the synthesis of sprocess isotopes up to about A= 90 is often attributed to massive stars (Käppeler et al. 2011).”
CH in stellar atmospheres: an extensive linelist (2014, background): “…especially in the context of the Bond-Neff depression (Bond & Neff 1969) observed in barium stars (Bidelman & Keenan 1951), which are G-K giants enriched in carbon and heavy elements predominantly produced in the s-process nucleosynthesis (see Käppeler et al. 2011, for a recent review).”
s-process production in rotating massive stars at solar and low metallicities (2015, background): “The nitrogen production in rotating low-Z stellar models is accompanied by large production of other isotopes like 13C, and especially 22Ne, which is, as recalled above, the neutron source for s-process in massive stars (e.g. Käppeler et al. 2011, and references therein).”
Chemical evolution with rotating massive star yields - I. The solar neighbourhood and the s-process elements (2018, background): “Finally, the role of the strong s-component, introduced by Clayton & Rassbach (1967) in order to reproduce more than 50% of solar 208Pb, has been demonstrated to be played by low metallicity and low mass (≤ 1.5 M ) AGB stars (Gallino et al. 1998, see also Käppeler et al. 2011 for a recent review).”
The Neutron and Its Role in Cosmology and Particle Physics (2011, unknown): “Adapted from Käppeler et al. (2010).”
NUGRID STELLAR DATA SET. I. STELLAR YIELDS FROM H TO BI FOR STARS WITH METALLICITIES Z = 0.02 and Z = 0.01 (2013, background): “This exposure causes local isotopic shifts in the s-process distribution as evident in presolar grains (e.g., Pignatari et al. 2006; Lugaro et al. 2003a; Käppeler et al. 2011).”
The impact of individual nuclear properties on $r$-process nucleosynthesis (2015, background): “undant nuclei on the proton-rich side of stability [3, 4]. Since that time much progress has been made, e.g. [5], and the basic mechanisms of and astrophysical sites for the creation of the s-process [6] and heavy p-process [7, 8] nuclei are on a rm footing. The site or sites of the rprocess still e”
Origin of the heaviest elements: The rapid neutron-capture process (2019, background): “Identifying the rprocess contributions to the solar system neutron-capture abundances is usually accomplished by first determining the s-process fractions, (e.g. Käppeler, 1999; Arlandini et al., 1999; Burris et al., 2000; Käppeler et al., 2011).”