Year: 2023
Type: review
Abstract: Neutron captures produce the vast majority of abundances of elements heavier than iron in the Universe. Beyond the classical slow ( s) and rapid ( r) processes, there is observational evidence for neutron-capture processes that operate at neutron densities in between, at different distances from the valley of β stability. Here, we review the main properties of the s process within the general context of neutron-capture processes and the nuclear physics input required to investigate it. We describe massive stars and asymptotic giant branch stars as the s-process astrophysical sites and discuss the related physical uncertainties. We also present current observational evidence for the s process and beyond, which ranges from stellar spectroscopic observations to laboratory analysis of meteorites.
Institutions: Eötvös Loránd University, Konkoly Observatory, HUN-REN Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences, Hungarian Research Network, Monash University, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics, University of Hull, University of Notre Dame, Goethe University Frankfurt
Language: English
Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Awards: JINA Center for the Evolution of the Elements, G1260290601, G2290926408, G3223808969, G3304276644, AccelNet-WOU: International Research Network for Nuclear Astrophysics (IReNA), G3473206869, G4212350643, G425872791, G434337789, G5529945004, G5585190046, G5648669063, G6010405803, G6460784563, G6860984530, Chemical Elements as Tracers of the Evolution of the Cosmos - Infrastructures for Nuclear Astrophysics, G7364015111, G7537772910, G7614736114, Astrophysics at The University of Hull, G7636747755, G7843896931
OpenAlex ID: W4385481271