Köln 2025 – wissenschaftliches Programm

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HK: Fachverband Physik der Hadronen und Kerne

HK 13: Focus Session I: Neutron capture reactions in the cosmos and the lab (joint session HK/SYMM)

HK 13.1: Hauptvortrag

Dienstag, 11. März 2025, 14:00–14:25, HS 1 Physik

Neutron-induced reactions and open questions in the s-process — •Alberto Mengoni — INFN, Bologna and CERN, Geneva

Despite the enormous progress made in the investigation of the nucleosynthesis of the s-process, there are several open issues that need additional investigations, both experimentally as well as with the help of theoretical modeling. Among these, one of the most critical is the determination of the neutron capture rate for unstable branching points in the s-process path. While difficult to be measured (because of their radioactivity), the neutron capture cross section of branching points nuclei are useful for the determination of the astrophysical conditions in which the s-process is taking place (neutron densities, temperature).

Considerable progress has been made recently in the possibility to measure neutron capture cross section of unstable nuclei. Examples are recent measurements performed at experimental facilities such as n_TOF at CERN, LANSCE at Los Alamos and LiLIT at SARAF. Further developments of these activities will be presented.

Additional aspects of the nuclear physics developments, including those related to the determination of the stellar neutron capture rates and their theoretical modeling, as well as their corresponding beta-decay rates in plasma conditions will be reviewed.

Keywords: neutron-induced reactions; nucleosynthesis of the heavy elements; measurements on radiactive samples; nucleare reaction modeling; stellar reaction rates