Münster 2002 – scientific programme

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HK: Physik der Hadronen und Kerne

HK 49: Plenary Session

HK 49.3: Plenary Talk

Friday, March 15, 2002, 09:30–10:00, Plenarsaal

Nuclear quests in astrophysics — •Karlheinz Langanke — University of Aarhus (DEnmark)

Willy Fowler once jokingly refered to astrophysics as applied nuclear physics. Indeed nuclear physics plays a keyrole in many astrophysical models and observations ranging from big bang to supernovae and the astrophysical simulations cannot be better than their nuclear inputs. Very often this involves radioactive short-lived nuclei matching optimally recent experimental and theoretical developments in nuclear physics.

The nuclear input required to model astrophysical processes should ultimatively come from experiment. In reality, however, data have to be supplemented by theoretical models which in turn must be constrained and guided by experiment. There has been significant progress in modelling nuclei, as they, for example, are important in supernovae. Much of this is due to recent advances in modern shell model techniques. The talk will highlight some of this progress, but also future needs in selected important astrophysical processes. These include core-collapse supernovae, r-process nucleosynthesis and neutron stars in binary systems.