Abstract: The r-process, or rapid neutron capture process, of nucleosynthesis is responsible for about half the elements with mass number greater than 100. The astrophysical site of the production of the r-process elements remains a mystery. I will discuss two approaches to this problem. The first is to look at certain aspects of the abundance pattern and associate these with combinations of specific astrophysical conditions and patterns of nuclear data. The second is to examine a particular environment, black hole accretion disks, and to see how a special type of neutrino oscillation phenomenon produces very neutron rich conditions.
Neutrino oscillations, the rare earth peak, and the site of the r-process
Gail McLaughlin (North Carolina State University) // May 14, 2015
Abstract: The r-process, or rapid neutron capture process, of nucleosynthesis is responsible for about half the elements with mass number greater than 100. The astrophysical site of the production of the r-process elements remains a mystery. I will discuss two approaches to this problem. The first is to look at certain aspects of the abundance pattern and associate these with combinations of specific astrophysical conditions and patterns of nuclear data. The second is to examine a particular environment, black hole accretion disks, and to see how a special type of neutrino oscillation phenomenon produces very neutron rich conditions.