1

Nuclear Astrophysics
in a Nutshell

How stars produce heavy elements

Iris Dillmann
[email protected]

accelerated
Discovery,
Research Scientist (TRIUMF)
Adjunct Professor (University of Victoria)

27/05/2020
TRIUMF is located at the South Campus
of the University of British Columbia 2

in Vancouver

accelerated
Discovery,
27/05/2020
Owned and operated by 20 Canadian member universities
 4

You can sign up to (some) TRIUMF mailing list via

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e.g.
• “Triumf-User”: TRIUMF User Group
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accelerated
Discovery,
27/05/2020
“The nitrogen in our DNA,
the calcium in our teeth, 5
the iron in our blood,
the carbon in our apple pies
were made in the interiors of
collapsing stars.
We are made of star stuff.”

Carl Sagan
(1934-1996)
 6

Each atom in our body was

built and processed through
~100-1000 star generations
since the initial Big Bang
event!
 How do we investigate the
star stuff we are made of?
• Multi-messenger Astronomy
• 3D Astrophysical Computer Simulations
Fraunhofer absorption lines of the Sun
• Laboratory Nuclear Astrophysics
(aka. “Multi-messenger Nuclear Physics”)

LIGO Livingston NASA Missions Neutron star merger simulation Advanced Radioactive IsotopE Laboratory
(Stefan Rosswog, U Stockholm) (ARIEL) at TRIUMF
The Sun- A star
8

Tsurface= 6000 K: Atomic absorption lines

Tcore~ 15 million K: Nuclear fusion

Stellar “burning” = Nuclear reactions, fusion into heavier isotopes
9

Steady and sustainable burning

In shells and core Hydrostatic burning ↔ Explosive burning
Steady burning over During Supernova
long timescales explosions, for ≈10s
Only in shells

Core burning ↔ Shell burning

Definition of mass ranges 10

Solar masses
< 0.01 M: Giant Planet (M<13 MJup)
0.01-0.08 M: Brown Dwarf (M=13-75 MJup)
not stars 
0.08 – 0.4 M: Red Dwarf (only core H burning)

"stars"
0.4 – 1.5 M: Low mass star (H burning; T>100 MK: He burn.)
1.5 – 8 M: Intermediate mass star (H burning; T>100 MK: He burn.)
>8 M: Massive star (all burning phases, Core Collapse Supernovae)

M< M> M> M>

M(sun) 0.08 0.08 0.4 - 8 8
H burning x x x
He burning x x
C burning x Advanced
Ne burning x
burning
O burning x
Si burning x phases
“Hertzsprung-Russell diagram” (1910)
11

Luminosity (relative to solar)

Super- Giants
Blue
giants
Giants Red

Yellow Giants
and
Giants Dwarfs

Harvard Spectral Classification:

Oh Be A Fine Girl/Guy Kiss My
White Lips Tonight (Yeah!)
Red
Dwarfs
Dwarfs Brown Dwarfs
Black
Brown Orange Businessman,
Color Dwarfs Dwarfs Awful For Government.
LTY
Keeps Making
Laughable Tweets, Yes?
Surface temperature (Kelvin)
 Betelgeuse
• Red Supergiant (>10 M) 12
Luminosity (relative to solar)

• Will end as supernova within next

~100000 years
• Age ~10 million years
• Distance ~700 light years
• Constellation: Orion
• Size ~3 astronomical units (AU)
• (Was) 11th brightest star in the night
sky
• Semi-regular variable star (varying
Color apparent brightness)
LTY • Dimming observed by factor 2.5
since October 2019
Surface temperature (Kelvin)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Orion_constellation_map.svg
 Lightcurve of Betelgeuse (since 1910)
13

Variable star

Lightcurve generator: www.aavso.org/lcg

Will Betelgeuse go supernova soon?
14
@IsBetelgeuseOK on Twitter 15
 Lightcurve of Betelgeuse (last 6 months)
16

Variable star

Lightcurve generator: www.aavso.org/lcg

 17

How are the heavy elements created?

“Nucleosynthesis”

Can we say when

Betelgeuse will explode?
“Solar isotopic abundances”
Characteristic isotopic abundances for materials within the solar system 18

 also valid outside solar system? („Galactic“ abundances?)

16 orders of How are

magnitude the isotopes
produced?
Hydrogen burning 19

Hans Bethe Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker

(1906-2005) (1912-2007)

4 p → 4He
• p + p → [2He], [2He] + p → [3Li]; …
• Probability for fusion of 4 protons at the same time: very low
• Solution for reaction mechanisms: “pp chain” and “CNO cycle”
R. D’ F. Atkinson, Astrophys. J. 84, 73 (1936)
C.F. von Weizsäcker, Physikalische Zeitschrift 39, 633 (1938)
 The average proton in the core
Start of pp chain of the Sun waits 9 billion years
20
before it successfully reacts

p + p → D + e + + with another proton!

can escape,
H.A. Bethe, C.L. Critchfield, Phys. Rev. 54, 248–254 (1938) E(aver.)~265 keV

• Weak interaction: slow reaction rate  long lifetime of stars

• Reaction rate: not yet measured!
• (Theoretical) experiment: I= 1 A (=6.241*1018 p/s), Ep=1 MeV,
Ntarget=1020 p/cm2  1 reaction in 6 years (p,)

(p,e+)

D( p,  ) He 3 if Tcore>0.4 MK
(distinguishes Brown Dwarfs from Giant Planets)
 C. Iliadis, Nuclear Physics of Stars

pp-I/ II/ III chain 21

3He → 4He

(p,) b+
Be 6 Be 6 Be 8
2p 2p a Be 6 Be 8
EC 2p a

Li 5 Li 5
p (a,) p Li 5
(a,) p
(3He,2p)
(p,a)
Alternative 4He production: “CNO cycles” 22

C+N from previous star generations

CNO 1 CNO 2
• Ratio CNO 1 vs. CNO 2 :
ratio of 15N(p,a)12C vs.
15N(p,)16O ≈ 1000:1

• Important for
production of 16O and 17O

Σ: 4p → 4He + 2e+ + 2 + 26.73 MeV

C.F. von Weizsäcker, Physikalische Zeitschrift 39, 633 (1938)
H.A. Bethe, Physical Review 55 (5), 434 (1939)
Energy generation: pp chain vs. CNO cycle
23

• Sun (T6=15): 98.5% pp chain, 1.5% CNO

• CNO dominates at T6>20
eCNO~T18

epp~T4

Rolfs, Rodney, Cauldrons in the Cosmos

A star at the end of hydrogen burning
24

http://www.pas.rochester.edu/~afrank/A105/LectureX/LectureX.html
Hydrogen → Helium burning 25

Horizontal Branch:
He core burning ignited if
T>100 MK (M>0.5M)
H shell burning (CNO cycle)
continues

Star leaves Main Sequence

and becomes Red Giant
H shell burning (CNO cycle)
continues
 He burning: “Triple-a process” 26

• Simultaneous reaction of 3 a particles energetically

possible, but low probability
Mass-8 gap
• Salpeter (1952): 2-step process:
4
He + He  4
 Be
8 t1/2(8Be)=6.7·10-17 s

• Equilibrium concentration at T= 100 MK, r=105 g/cm3 Be 8

(
N 8 Be
= 
) −10

(
N 4 He
5 . 2
)
10
Mass-5 gap

[8Be ]+ 4He→12C
E.E. Salpeter, Astrophys. J. 115, 326 (1952)
 Are we just lucky or did someone
The “Hoyle state” plan/ create this state?
27

• Conversion into 12C is slow unless enhanced rate via resonance

near threshold
• High solar C abundance → Postulation of a Jp=0+ state at
Ex≈7.6 MeV („Hoyle state“)
• Experimentally confirmed in 1950‘s
Fred Hoyle (1915-2001)
Gamow
window

Rolfs, Rodney, Cauldrons in the Cosmos

Structure of a star after He burning 28

Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB):

similar to Horizontal Branch:
He shell burning continues around a C-O core
Expansion of outer shells (increased luminosity)
Fate of stars 29

M< 8 M

M> 8 M
 Betelgeuse
What is happening with Betelgeuse?
30

• Red Supergiant (>10 M) = massive star

• Advanced burning phases: C burning, Ne
burning, O burning, Si burning

www.noao.edu
Duration of burning phases 31

We don’t know in which

Mass range advanced burning
for Betelgeuse phase Betelgeuse is!

We don’t know when

exactly Betelgeuse
will explode!

Woosley, Heger, Weaver, Revs. Mod. Phys. 74 (2002) 1016

Supernova 32

Core Collapse Supernova (CCSN)

 ~50 kpc
Historical Core Collapse SN Large Magellanic Cloud
33

Crab Nebula (SN 1054)

1 kiloparsec (kpc)
= 3260 light years
1.9 kpc

Cassiopeia A (SN 1667)

Feb. 23, 1987

(Hubble launched in 1990)
2-3h before visible observation:
detection of neutrino burst at
07:35 UT (13 s):
• Kamiokande II (Japan): 12 ’s
3.1 kpc • IMB (USA): 8 ’s
• Baksan (SSSR): 5 ’s
 34

How are the elements heavier

than iron produced?
1956/57: The birth of modern astrophysics
35

1983 (Physics):
„For his theoretical and
experimental studies of the
nuclear reactions of importance
in the formation of the chemical
William A. Fowler elements in the universe“

Nuclei heavier than iron are produced

by 3 different processes Local maxima
connected with
in different astrophysical scenarios: neutron shell
closures!
s process (slow neutron capture) ≈ 50%
r process (rapid neutron capture) ≈ 50%
“p process” (proton-rich isotopes) ≈ 1%
N = Ns + Nr + N p
Solar abundances: Synthesis beyond iron 36

N = Ns + Nr + N p
B2FH (1957)

"slow neutron capture process"

"rapid neutron capture process"
B2FH: Burbidge, Burbidge, Fowler, Hoyle, Revs. Mod. Phys. 29 (1957)
Production of p-rich isotopes
 Reaction pathways 37

PROTONS

Half-life and/or mass known

r process Nucleus identified

NEUTRONS
"Rapid neutron capture process"
“r-process residuals” Nr = N - Ns - Np 38

measured well-known negligible

N=50
Mirror of nuclear structure
far off stability
- neutron shell closures
- deformed regions
(mid-shell nuclei)
Rare Earth
Peak

How are these nuclei

created in stars?
 1980’s: “Canonical” r-process
Conditions and reaction path Site-free, mathematical approach
39

• High neutron densities (nn>> 1020 cm-3)  ≈1 ms per capture Explosive

• “Moderate” temperatures (T=1-2 GK) astrophysical
 56Fe to ≈ Pu (Z=94, A ≈ 260) in few seconds scenario

Fission
recycling
• End point: fission barriers (theory!)
 “fission recycling” (2x A ≈ 130)
UBC527 Lecture 20 39
• Freeze-out: decay back to stability
 Astrophysical scenarios of the r-process 40

Core collapse supernova Neutron star mergers

Layers close to Time-delay: Neutron stars must form first,

forming neutron star then meet...later phases of evolution
Open question: How much does each scenario contribute to the solar abundances?
 • Masses: define reaction path
r-process • Half-lives: define shape
• Shell structure far off stabilty: defines
41

position of abundance peaks

• Neutrons from b-delayed neutron
emission or (,n): smoothing of abundance
curve

Need experimental information

for isotopes between reaction
path and stability!
r-process in Core Collapse Supernovae
42

http://www.jinaweb.org/html/movies.html
r-process in Binary Neutron Star Mergers 43

O. Korobkin, S. Rosswog, A. Arcones and C. Winteler, S. Rosswog

MNRAS 426, 1940 (2012) http://compact-merger.astro.su.se/movies.html#nsbh
27/05/2020
Summary

Discovery,
44

accelerated
 Take Home Message 45

• We create and investigate

isotopes that are produced
in stars
• New radioactive beam
facilities are under
construction and will allow
better access to these
short-lived isotopes
• This is needed for a better
understanding of where the
star stuff we are made of
comes from Engraving from Camille Flammarion: L'Atmosphere - Météorologie Populaire. Paris 1888.
Color: Heikenwaelder Hugo, Wien 1998.
Reading Suggestions 46

Claus E. Rolfs and

William S. Rodney: Christian Iliadis:
“Cauldrons in the Cosmos” “Nuclear Physics of Stars”

University of Chicago Press, 1988 Wiley-VCH, 2008

 47

Thank you
Merci

www.triumf.ca
Follow us @TRIUMFLab

accelerated
Discovery,
 M<8M 48

(7) 10 billion y: End of Main Sequence (H shell burning)

(8) R≈2.5R, Tsurf ≈ 4500K: Gravitational contract of core
(9) R ≈ 200R, Tcore ≈ 200 MK, Tsurf ≈ 3500 K (Red Giant stage): 3a process
ignited
 M<8M 49

(10) Core He burning (Tcore ≈ 200 MK, Tsurf ≈ 9000 K) and shell H burning
(Horizontal branch)
(11) He in core is exhausted, CO core contracts (H and He shell burning
continues); He shell burning: thermal pulse ejects up 10% of mass
(12) 11 billion y: Planetary nebula
(13) White Dwarf/ (14) Black Dwarf: R ≈ Rearth, Tsurf ≈ 30000-5000K
When were the elements created? 50

Heavier elements were created later

in stars and stellar explosions

Element formation starts: H, He, and Li

accelerated
“Big Bang Nucleosynthesis”

Discovery,
27/05/2020
Slow neutron capture process ≈50% of abundances >Fe
51

• Neutron capture slowly compared to

b-decay (1 capture per ≈1000 y)
p • Well defined path along line of
p stability  Well understood from
p astrophysical and nuclear physics side
• End point: 209Bi
Slow neutron capture process ≈50% of abundances >Fe
52

Where do the Massive star

neutrons come from?
p
Core He burning
p
Shell C burning
p

TP-AGB star
(thermally pulsing asymptotic giant branch)

Shell H burning
Shell He burning flashes

www.noao.edu
s-process in a nutshell 53
Weak component Main component
Mass region A<90 (Fe - Zr) A>(56) 90 (Zr - Bi)
Stellar site Massive stars (>8 Msun) TP AGB stars (1-3 Msun)
Stellar burning phase core He shell C Shell H burning He shell flashes
Temperature [MK] 300 (kT= 26 keV) 1000 (kT= 90 keV) 90 (kT= 8 keV) 250 (kT= 23 keV)
Neutron source Ne-22(a,n)Mg-25 Ne-22(a,n)Mg-25 C-13(a,n)O-16 Ne-22(a,n)Mg-25
Av. neutron density [cm-3] 106 1011 107 1011
Duration [y] 106 1-20 104 10
TP-AGB star
Massive star (thermally pulsing asymptotic giant branch)

www.noao.edu
 Important nuclear physics input for the s process
54

1) Neutron capture cross sections (on stable

and long-lived radioactive nuclei (t1/2>50 y);
Neutron energy: En= eV…500 keV
(kT=5-100 keV)
2) Decay half-lives close to stability
3) Low-lying isomeric states