Search Menu
DOE PAGES title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information
Search Scholarly Publications

Title: Sensitivity of carbon and oxygen yields to the triple-alpha resonance in massive stars

Abstract

Motivated by the possible existence of other universes, this study considers the evolution of massive stars with different values for the fundamental constants. We focus on variations in the triple alpha resonance energy and study its effects on the resulting abundances of 12C, 16O, and larger nuclei. In our universe, the 0 + energy level of carbon supports a resonant nuclear reaction that dominates carbon synthesis in stellar cores and accounts for the observed cosmic abundances. Here we define ΔER to be the change in this resonant energy level, and show how different values affect the cosmic abundances of the intermediate alpha elements. Using the state of the art computational package MESA, we carry out stellar evolution calculations for massive stars in the range M* = 15 - 40 M ⊙ , and for a wide range of resonance energies. We also include both solar and low metallicity initial conditions. For negative ΔER, carbon yields are increased relative to standard stellar models, and such universes remain viable as long as the production of carbon nuclei remains energetically favorable, and stars remain stable, down to Δ E R ≈ - 300 keV. For positive ΔER, carbon yields decrease, but significant abundances can be produced for resonance energy increments up to Δ E R ≈ + 500 keV. Oxygen yields tend to be anti-correlated with those of carbon, and the allowed range in ΔER is somewhat smaller. We also present yields for neon, magnesium, and silicon. Finally, with updated stellar evolution models and a more comprehensive survey of parameter space, these results indicate that the range of viable universes is larger than suggested by earlier studies.

Authors:
 [1];  [2];  [3]
+ Show Author Affiliations
  1. Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States). Physics Dept.
  2. Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States). Physics Dept. Astronomy Dept.
  3. Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Physics; Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE; National Science Foundation (NSF); Univ. of Michigan (United States); John Templeton Foundation (United States); Heising-Simons Foundation (United States)
OSTI Identifier:
1477672
Report Number(s):
LA-UR-18-27626
Journal ID: ISSN 0927-6505
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC52-06NA25396; PHY-1630782; ID55112; 2017-228
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Astroparticle Physics
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 105; Journal ID: ISSN 0927-6505
Publisher:
Elsevier
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS; Fine-Tuning; Multiverse; Stellar Nucleosynthesis; Triple Alpha

Citation Formats

Huang, Lillian, Adams, Fred C., and Grohs, Evan. Sensitivity of carbon and oxygen yields to the triple-alpha resonance in massive stars. United States: N. p., 2018. Web. doi:10.1016/j.astropartphys.2018.09.005.
Copy to clipboard
Huang, Lillian, Adams, Fred C., & Grohs, Evan. Sensitivity of carbon and oxygen yields to the triple-alpha resonance in massive stars. United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.astropartphys.2018.09.005
Copy to clipboard
Huang, Lillian, Adams, Fred C., and Grohs, Evan. Mon . "Sensitivity of carbon and oxygen yields to the triple-alpha resonance in massive stars". United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.astropartphys.2018.09.005. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1477672.
Copy to clipboard
@article{osti_1477672,
title = {Sensitivity of carbon and oxygen yields to the triple-alpha resonance in massive stars},
author = {Huang, Lillian and Adams, Fred C. and Grohs, Evan},
abstractNote = {Motivated by the possible existence of other universes, this study considers the evolution of massive stars with different values for the fundamental constants. We focus on variations in the triple alpha resonance energy and study its effects on the resulting abundances of 12C, 16O, and larger nuclei. In our universe, the 0+ energy level of carbon supports a resonant nuclear reaction that dominates carbon synthesis in stellar cores and accounts for the observed cosmic abundances. Here we define ΔER to be the change in this resonant energy level, and show how different values affect the cosmic abundances of the intermediate alpha elements. Using the state of the art computational package MESA, we carry out stellar evolution calculations for massive stars in the range M* = 15-40M⊙, and for a wide range of resonance energies. We also include both solar and low metallicity initial conditions. For negative ΔER, carbon yields are increased relative to standard stellar models, and such universes remain viable as long as the production of carbon nuclei remains energetically favorable, and stars remain stable, down to ΔER≈-300 keV. For positive ΔER, carbon yields decrease, but significant abundances can be produced for resonance energy increments up to ΔER≈+500 keV. Oxygen yields tend to be anti-correlated with those of carbon, and the allowed range in ΔER is somewhat smaller. We also present yields for neon, magnesium, and silicon. Finally, with updated stellar evolution models and a more comprehensive survey of parameter space, these results indicate that the range of viable universes is larger than suggested by earlier studies.},
doi = {10.1016/j.astropartphys.2018.09.005},
journal = {Astroparticle Physics},
number = ,
volume = 105,
place = {United States},
year = {2018},
month = {9}
}
Copy to clipboard
Journal Article:
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.astropartphys.2018.09.005
Copyright Statement
Other availability
Search WorldCat Search WorldCat to find libraries that may hold this journal
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 1 work
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

Figures / Tables:

Figure 1 Figure 1: Heavy element abundances a function of time for a massive star with $M$$\star$ = 15 $M$⊙ , metallicity $\mathcal{Z}$ = 10−4, and the triple alpha resonance properties of our universe. The yields are given as mass fractions $X$i. The time variable is a logarithmic measure of the timemore » remaining before the end of the simulation at $t$end when an iron core develops. As time elapses, progressively heavier nuclei are synthesized and their abundances grow, including carbon (blue), oxygen (orange), neon (green), magnesium (red), silicon (purple), sulfur (brown), iron (pink), and all other metals (gray). The abundances of the alpha elements increase, reach a maximum, and subsequently decline back down to an essentially constant value.« less
All figures and tables (9 total)
Save / Share:
Export Metadata
Save to My Library
You must Sign In or Create an Account in order to save documents to your library.

Works referenced in this record:

Universe or multiverse?
journal, April 2008

Multiverse Cosmological Models
journal, March 2004

The structure of the multiverse
journal, December 2002

  • Deutsch, David
  • Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, Vol. 458, Issue 2028
  • DOI: 10.1098/rspa.2002.1015

The Multiverse and Particle Physics
journal, October 2016

Multiverses and physical cosmology
journal, January 2004

A brief history of the multiverse
journal, January 2017

The Cosmological Constants
journal, February 1937

Dimensionless constants, cosmology, and other dark matters
journal, January 2006

Life at the interface of particle physics and string theory
journal, October 2013

The anthropic principle and the structure of the physical world
journal, April 1979

Why the universe is just so
journal, October 2000

Multiple universes, cosmic coincidences, and other dark matters
journal, January 2005

The Fine-Tuning of the Universe for Intelligent Life
journal, January 2012

  • Barnes, L. A.
  • Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia, Vol. 29, Issue 4
  • DOI: 10.1071/AS12015

The fundamental constants and their variation: observational and theoretical status
journal, April 2003

The anthropic significance of the existence of an excited state of 12C
journal, July 1989

  • Livio, M.; Hollowell, D.; Weiss, A.
  • Nature, Vol. 340, Issue 6231
  • DOI: 10.1038/340281a0

Stellar Production Rates of Carbon and Its Abundance in the Universe
journal, July 2000

Sensitivity of the C and O production on the 3α rate
journal, January 2004

Effects of the variation of fundamental constants on Population III stellar evolution
journal, May 2010

Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics (Mesa)
journal, December 2010

  • Paxton, Bill; Bildsten, Lars; Dotter, Aaron
  • The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, Vol. 192, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1088/0067-0049/192/1/3

Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics (Mesa): Planets, Oscillations, Rotation, and Massive Stars
journal, August 2013

  • Paxton, Bill; Cantiello, Matteo; Arras, Phil
  • The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, Vol. 208, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1088/0067-0049/208/1/4

Dependence of the triple-alpha process on the fundamental constants of nature
journal, July 2013

  • Epelbaum, Evgeny; Krebs, Hermann; Lähde, Timo A.
  • The European Physical Journal A, Vol. 49, Issue 7
  • DOI: 10.1140/epja/i2013-13082-y

Ab Initio Calculation of the Hoyle State
journal, May 2011

Structure and Rotations of the Hoyle State
journal, December 2012

Anthropic considerations in nuclear physics
journal, January 2015

Abundances of the elements in the solar system
journal, September 1973

The origin and abundances of the chemical elements
journal, October 1975

Nuclear Reactions in Stars Without Hydrogen.
journal, March 1952

  • Salpeter, E. E.
  • The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 115
  • DOI: 10.1086/145546

On Nuclear Reactions Occuring in Very Hot STARS.I. the Synthesis of Elements from Carbon to Nickel.
journal, September 1954

  • Hoyle, F.
  • The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, Vol. 1
  • DOI: 10.1086/190005

The 7.68-Mev State in C 12
journal, November 1953

  • Dunbar, D. N. F.; Pixley, R. E.; Wenzel, W. A.
  • Physical Review, Vol. 92, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1103/PhysRev.92.649

Experimental and theoretical nuclear astrophysics: the quest for the origin of the elements
journal, April 1984

Synthesis of the elements in stars: forty years of progress
journal, October 1997

ADVANCED BURNING STAGES AND FATE OF 8-10 M ☉ STARS
journal, July 2013

The Luminosity Function and Stellar Evolution.
journal, January 1955

  • Salpeter, Edwin E.
  • The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 121
  • DOI: 10.1086/145971

Experimental, computational, and observational analysis of primordial nucleosynthesis
journal, March 1993

  • Smith, Michael S.; Kawano, Lawrence H.; Malaney, Robert A.
  • The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, Vol. 85
  • DOI: 10.1086/191763

Primordial nucleosynthesis redux
journal, July 1991

  • Walker, Terry P.; Steigman, Gary; Kang, Ho-Shik
  • The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 376
  • DOI: 10.1086/170255

Precision big bang nucleosynthesis with improved Helium-4 predictions
journal, September 2018

The evolution and explosion of massive stars
journal, November 2002

Solar System Abundances and Condensation Temperatures of the Elements
journal, July 2003

  • Lodders, Katharina
  • The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 591, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1086/375492

Chemical composition of the Earth and the volatility control on planetary genetics
journal, February 2001

The origins and concentrations of water, carbon, nitrogen and noble gases on Earth
journal, January 2012

Chemical composition of Earth, Venus, and Mercury
journal, December 1980

  • Morgan, J. W.; Anders, E.
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 77, Issue 12
  • DOI: 10.1073/pnas.77.12.6973

Stellar helium burning in other universes: A solution to the triple alpha fine-tuning problem
journal, January 2017

αα scattering in halo effective field theory
journal, September 2008

The long and winding road from chiral effective Lagrangians to nuclear structure
journal, February 2016

Alpha clustering and the stellar nucleosynthesis of carbon
journal, September 1994

  • Oberhummer, H.; Krauss, H.; Gr�n, K.
  • Zeitschrift f�r Physik A: Hadrons and Nuclei, Vol. 349, Issue 3-4
  • DOI: 10.1007/BF01288967

The shell model as a unified view of nuclear structure
journal, June 2005

Energy levels of light nuclei A = 11−12
journal, January 1990

Stars in other universes: stellar structure with different fundamental constants
journal, August 2008

Constraints on alternate universes: stars and habitable planets with different fundamental constants
journal, February 2016

On the habitability of universes without stable deuterium
journal, May 2017

Producing the deuteron in stars: anthropic limits on fundamental constants
journal, July 2017

Constraints on the variability of quark masses from nuclear binding
journal, July 2008

Nucleosynthesis in Asymptotic Giant Branch Stars: Relevance for Galactic Enrichment and Solar System Formation
journal, September 1999

    Sort by:
    [ × clear filter / sort ]

    Figures / Tables found in this record:

    Figure 1 (p. 12)figure
    Figure 2 (p. 13)figure
    Figure 3 (p. 15)figure
    Figure 4 (p. 16)figure
    Figure 5 (p. 18)figure
    Figure 6 (p. 20)figure
    Figure 7 (p. 21)figure
    Figure 8 (p. 22)figure
    Figure 9 (p. 23)figure
      [ × clear filter / sort ]
      Figures/Tables have been extracted from DOE-funded journal article accepted manuscripts.

      Similar Records in DOE PAGES and OSTI.GOV collections: