Properties and effects on stellar burning of fractionally charged nuclei
The consequences of unconfined quarks which may have been left over from the big bang, especially as to how they might participate in nucleosynthesis, are examined. Possible properties of the fractionally charged nuclei (Q-nuclei) thus produced, including ..beta..-decay half-lives, binding energies, energy level densities, and thermonnuclear reaction rates, are studied. Stellar burning cycles are suggested by these considerations in which the Q-nuclei could contribute significantly to stellar nucleosynthesis, even at an extremely low abundance level, provided that they satisfy some constraints. A model is suggested which accommodates all the constraints thus imposed. Possible implications of the existence of Q-nuclei for stellar evolution are considered, adn the results of a calculation are presented which confirm that no obvious conflicts with the known parameters of the Sun are encountered. The significance of the possible existence of Q-nuclei for future searches for free fractionally charged entities is discussed. Finally, it is noted that any particle which, when added to a nucleus, increases the nucleon binding energy somewhat could perform stellar burning cycles similar to those described in this paper. Subject headings: elementary particles-neutrinos-nuclear reactions:nucleosynthesis-stars: interiors
- Research Organization:
- Department of Physics, The Ohio State University
- OSTI ID:
- 5903616
- Journal Information:
- Astrophys. J.; (United States), Vol. 289:1
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
GENERAL PHYSICS
STAR BURNING
QUARK MODEL
SUN
NEUTRINOS
BETA DECAY
BINDING ENERGY
HYDROGEN BURNING
NUCLEAR REACTIONS
NUCLEI
NUCLEOSYNTHESIS
QUARKS
STAR EVOLUTION
STAR MODELS
THERMONUCLEAR REACTIONS
COMPOSITE MODELS
DECAY
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
ENERGY
FERMIONS
LEPTONS
MAIN SEQUENCE STARS
MASSLESS PARTICLES
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
PARTICLE MODELS
POSTULATED PARTICLES
STARS
SYNTHESIS
640102* - Astrophysics & Cosmology- Stars & Quasi-Stellar
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