Nuclear Reactions For Astrophysics

Describes how the processes in stars which produce the chemical elements for planets and life may be reproduced in laboratories.

TO NUCLEAR ASTROPHYSICS The Formation and the Evolution of Matter in the Universe JEAN AUDOUZE lnstitut d'Astrophysique de Paris, France and SYLVIE VA UCLAI R DAPHE, Ohservatoire de Meudon, France and lnstitut d'Astrophysique, Paris D, REIDEL PUBLISHING COMPANY DORDRECHT: HOLLAND/BOSTON: U. S. A. LONDON: ENGLAND Library of Congre~ Cataloging in Publication Data Audouzc. Jean An introduction to nuclear astrophysics. (Geophysics and astrophysics monographs; v. 18) En!. and updated translation of L'Astrophysique nuclt\aire. Includes bibliographies and index. \. Nuclear astrophysics. I. Vauclair, Sylvie, joint author. II. Title. III. Series. QB464. A9313 1979 523. 01'9'7 79-20752 ISBN-13: 978-90-277-1053-6 e-ISBN-13: 978-94-009-9477-5 DO I: 10. 1007/978-94-009-9477-5 Published by D. Reidel Publishing Company, P. O. Box 17. Dordrecht, Holland Sold and distributed in the U. S. A. , Canada, and Mexico by D. Reidel Publishing Company, Inc. Lincoln Building. 160 Old Derby Street, Hingham, Mass. 02043, U. S. A. All Rights Reserved Copyright © 1980 by D. Reidel Publishing Company, Dordrecht, Holland Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1980 No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any informational storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the copyright owner TABLE OF CONTENTS IX FOREWORD INTRODUCTION xi XXI ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS CHAPTER I / THE OBSERVATIONAL BASIS OF NUCLEAR ASTROPHYSICS 1. 1. The Importance of the Four Fundamental Interactions 1 1. 2.

Originally published in 1982, this collection of essays provides an integrated overview of the application of nuclear science to astronomy. The book discusses, among other topics, the abundances of the nuclear and chemical species on the Earth and the Moon, in meteorites, in the stars, and in interstellar space. The hypothesis that these species are produced by nuclear reactions is then explored and related to laboratory measurements. Other subjects include the dynamics of supernovae and interdisciplinary relationships between elementary particle physics and cosmology. The essays are dedicated to Professor William A. Fowler and pay tribute to his vast influence on the field.

Covers all the phenomenological and experimental data on nuclear physics and demonstrates the latest experimental developments that can be obtained. Introduces modern theories of fundamental processes, in particular the electroweak standard model, without using the sophisticated underlying quantum field theoretical tools. Incorporates all major present applications of nuclear physics at a level that is both understandable by a majority of physicists and scientists of many other fields, and usefull as a first introduction for students who intend to pursue in the domain.

The Compound-Nuclear Reaction and Related Topics (CNR*) international workshop series was initiated in 2007 with a meeting near Yosemite National Park. It has since been held in Bordeaux (2009), Prague (2011), Sao Paulo (2013), Tokyo (2015), and Berkeley, California (2018). The workshop series brings together experts in nuclear theory, experiment, data evaluations, and applications, and fosters interactions among these groups. Topics of interest include: nuclear reaction mechanisms, optical model, direct reactions and the compound nucleus, pre-equilibrium reactions, fusion and fission, cross section measurements (direct and indirect methods), Hauser-Feshbach theory (limits and extensions), compound-nuclear decays, particle and gamma emission, level densities, strength functions, nuclear structure for compound-nuclear reactions, nuclear energy, nuclear astrophysics, and other topics. This peer-reviewed proceedings volume presents papers and poster summaries from the 6th International Workshop on Compound-Nuclear Reactions and Related Topics CNR*18, held on September 24-28, 2018, at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, Berkeley, CA.

Nuclear astrophysics as it stands today is a fascinating science. Even though, compared to other scientific fields, it is a young discipline which has developed only in this century, it has answered many questions concerning the under standing of our cosmos. One of these great achievements was the concept of nucleosynthesis, the creation of the elements in the early universe in interstellar matter and in stars. Nuclear astrophysics has continued, to solve many riddles of the evolution of the myriads of stars in our cosmos. This review volume attempts to provide an overview of the current status of nuclear astrophysics. Special emphasis is given to the interdisciplinary nature of the field: astronomy, nuclear physics, astrophysics and particle physics are equally involved. One basic effort of nuclear astrophysics is the collection of ob servational facts with astronomical methods. Laboratory studies of the nuclear processes involved in various astrophysical scenarios have provided fundamen tal information serving both as input for and test of astrophysical models. The theoretical understanding of nuclear reaction mechanisms is necessary, for example, to extrapolate the experimentally determined reaction rates to the thermonuclear energy range, which is relevant for the nuclear processes in our cosmos. Astrophysical models and calculations allow us to simulate how nuclear processes contribute to driving the evolution of stars, interstellar matter and the whole universe. Finally, elementary particle physics also plays an important role in the field of nuclear astrophysics, for instance through weak interaction processes involving neutrinos.

Most elements are synthesized, or "cooked", by thermonuclear reactions in stars. The newly formed elements are released into the interstellar medium during a star's lifetime, and are subsequently incorporated into a new generation of stars, into the planets that form around the stars, and into the life forms that originate on the planets. Moreover, the energy we depend on for life originates from nuclear reactions that occur at the center of the Sun. Synthesis of the elements and nuclear energy production in stars are the topics of nuclear astrophysics, which is the subject of this book. It presents nuclear structure and reactions, thermonuclear reaction rates, experimental nuclear methods, and nucleosynthesis in detail. These topics are discussed in a coherent way, enabling the reader to grasp their interconnections intuitively. The book serves both as a textbook for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, with worked examples and end-of-chapter excercises, but also as a reference book for use by researchers working in the field of nuclear astrophysics.