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HK: Fachverband Hadronen und Kerne

HK 60: Nuclear Astrophysics

HK 60.1: Invited Group Report

Wednesday, March 18, 2009, 16:30–17:00, H-ZO 60

The r-process nucleosynthesis: a long-standing mystery in astrophysics — •Stephane Goriely — IAA-ULB, Campus de la Plaine CP226, 1050 Brussels, Belgium

The rapid neutron-capture process, or r-process, is known to be of fundamental importance for explaining the origin of approximately half of the A>60 stable nuclei observed in nature. In recent years nuclear astrophysicists have developed more and more sophisticated r-process models, eagerly trying to add new astrophysical or nuclear physics ingredients to explain the solar system composition in a satisfactory way. The r-process remains the most complex nucleosynthetic process to model from the astrophysics as well as nuclear-physics points of view.

The identification of the astrophysical site and the specific conditions in which r-process nucleosynthesis takes place remain unsolved mysteries of astrophysics. The present contribution illustrates the complexity of the r-process nucleosynthesis by describing the nuclear mechanisms taking place during the neutrino-driven wind of supernova explosions and the decompression of neutron star matter, the two most-promising r-process sites. Future challenges faced by nuclear physics in this problem are discussed, particularly in the determination of the radiative neutron capture rates by exotic neutron-rich nuclei, as well as the need for more experimental information and improved global microscopic models for a reliable determination of all nuclear properties of relevance.