DOE PAGES title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Reverse engineering nuclear properties from rare earth abundances in the r process

Abstract

The bulk of the rare earth elements are believed to be synthesized in the rapid neutron capture process or r process of nucleosynthesis. The solar r-process residuals show a small peak in the rare earths around $$A\sim 160$$, which is proposed to be formed dynamically during the end phase of the r process by a pileup of material. This abundance feature is of particular importance as it is sensitive to both the nuclear physics inputs and the astrophysical conditions of the main r process. We explore the formation of the rare earth peak from the perspective of an inverse problem, using Monte Carlo studies of nuclear masses to investigate the unknown nuclear properties required to best match rare earth abundance sector of the solar isotopic residuals. When nuclear masses are changed, we recalculate the relevant β-decay properties and neutron capture rates in the rare earth region. The feedback provided by this observational constraint allows for the reverse engineering of nuclear properties far from stability where no experimental information exists. We investigate a range of astrophysical conditions with this method and show how these lead to different predictions in the nuclear properties influential to the formation of the rare earth peak. We conclude that targeted experimental campaigns in this region will help to resolve the type of conditions responsible for the production of the rare earth nuclei, and will provide new insights into the longstanding problem of the astrophysical site(s) of the r process.

Authors:
ORCiD logo [1];  [2];  [3]; ORCiD logo [4]
  1. Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
  2. North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC (United States). Dept. of Physics
  3. Univ. of Notre Dame, IN (United States). Dept. of Physics
  4. Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States). Dept. of Physics and Astronomy; Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Physics Division
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Nuclear Physics (NP); National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
OSTI Identifier:
1419747
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1460177
Report Number(s):
LA-UR-16-27225
Journal ID: ISSN 0954-3899; TRN: US1801383
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC52-06NA25396; SC0013039; FG02-02ER41216; PHY1554876; PHY0822648; PHY1419765
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Journal of Physics. G, Nuclear and Particle Physics
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 44; Journal Issue: 3; Journal ID: ISSN 0954-3899
Publisher:
IOP Publishing
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS; 74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS; 79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS; Atomic and Nuclear Physics; Astronomy and Astrophysics; nuclear masses; r-process

Citation Formats

Mumpower, Matthew Ryan, McLaughlin, G. C., Surman, R., and Steiner, A. W. Reverse engineering nuclear properties from rare earth abundances in the r process. United States: N. p., 2017. Web. doi:10.1088/1361-6471/44/3/034003.
Mumpower, Matthew Ryan, McLaughlin, G. C., Surman, R., & Steiner, A. W. Reverse engineering nuclear properties from rare earth abundances in the r process. United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6471/44/3/034003
Mumpower, Matthew Ryan, McLaughlin, G. C., Surman, R., and Steiner, A. W. Wed . "Reverse engineering nuclear properties from rare earth abundances in the r process". United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6471/44/3/034003. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1419747.
@article{osti_1419747,
title = {Reverse engineering nuclear properties from rare earth abundances in the r process},
author = {Mumpower, Matthew Ryan and McLaughlin, G. C. and Surman, R. and Steiner, A. W.},
abstractNote = {The bulk of the rare earth elements are believed to be synthesized in the rapid neutron capture process or r process of nucleosynthesis. The solar r-process residuals show a small peak in the rare earths around $A\sim 160$, which is proposed to be formed dynamically during the end phase of the r process by a pileup of material. This abundance feature is of particular importance as it is sensitive to both the nuclear physics inputs and the astrophysical conditions of the main r process. We explore the formation of the rare earth peak from the perspective of an inverse problem, using Monte Carlo studies of nuclear masses to investigate the unknown nuclear properties required to best match rare earth abundance sector of the solar isotopic residuals. When nuclear masses are changed, we recalculate the relevant β-decay properties and neutron capture rates in the rare earth region. The feedback provided by this observational constraint allows for the reverse engineering of nuclear properties far from stability where no experimental information exists. We investigate a range of astrophysical conditions with this method and show how these lead to different predictions in the nuclear properties influential to the formation of the rare earth peak. We conclude that targeted experimental campaigns in this region will help to resolve the type of conditions responsible for the production of the rare earth nuclei, and will provide new insights into the longstanding problem of the astrophysical site(s) of the r process.},
doi = {10.1088/1361-6471/44/3/034003},
journal = {Journal of Physics. G, Nuclear and Particle Physics},
number = 3,
volume = 44,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 2017},
month = {Wed Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 2017}
}

Journal Article:
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record

Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 28 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

Save / Share:

Works referenced in this record:

Where, oh where has the r-process gone?
journal, April 2007


Low-energy magnetic radiation: Deviations from GOE
conference, January 2014

  • Frauendorf, S.; Schwengner, R.; Wimmer, K.
  • LIGHT AND ITS INTERACTIONS WITH MATTER, AIP Conference Proceedings
  • DOI: 10.1063/1.4899221

Abundances of Actinides and Short-lived Nonactinides in the Interstellar Medium: Diverse Supernova Sources for the [ITAL]r[/ITAL]-Processes
journal, August 1996

  • Wasserburg, G. J.; Busso, M.; Gallino, R.
  • The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 466, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1086/310177

Synthesis of Superheavy Elements in the r-Process
journal, May 1971

  • Schramm, David N.; Fowler, William A.
  • Nature, Vol. 231, Issue 5298
  • DOI: 10.1038/231103a0

Evidence of heavy element nucleosynthesis early in the history of the galaxy: The ultra-metal-poor star CS 22892-052
journal, February 1995

  • Cowan, John J.; Burris, Debra L.; Sneden, Christopher
  • The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 439
  • DOI: 10.1086/187742

Supernova neutrinos and nucleosynthesis
journal, February 2014

  • Martínez-Pinedo, G.; Fischer, T.; Huther, L.
  • Journal of Physics G: Nuclear and Particle Physics, Vol. 41, Issue 4
  • DOI: 10.1088/0954-3899/41/4/044008

The impact of individual nuclear properties on r -process nucleosynthesis
journal, January 2016

  • Mumpower, M. R.; Surman, R.; McLaughlin, G. C.
  • Progress in Particle and Nuclear Physics, Vol. 86
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.ppnp.2015.09.001

Toward precision mass measurements of neutron-rich nuclei relevant to r-process nucleosynthesis
journal, August 2015


A Composite Nuclear-Level Density Formula with Shell Corrections
journal, August 1965

  • Gilbert, A.; Cameron, A. G. W.
  • Canadian Journal of Physics, Vol. 43, Issue 8
  • DOI: 10.1139/p65-139

THE LINK BETWEEN RARE-EARTH PEAK FORMATION AND THE ASTROPHYSICAL SITE OF THE R PROCESS
journal, December 2016

  • Mumpower, Matthew R.; McLaughlin, Gail C.; Surman, Rebecca
  • The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 833, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/833/2/282

Low-Energy Magnetic Radiation
journal, January 2015


Monte Carlo Simulation for Particle and γ-Ray Emissions in Statistical Hauser-Feshbach Model
journal, May 2010

  • Kawano, Toshihiko; Talou, Patrick; Chadwick, Mark B.
  • Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, Vol. 47, Issue 5
  • DOI: 10.1080/18811248.2010.9711637

Spectroscopic Studies of Very Metal‐poor Stars with the Subaru High Dispersion Spectrograph. III. Light Neutron‐Capture Elements
journal, October 2005

  • Aoki, Wako; Honda, Satoshi; Beers, Timothy C.
  • The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 632, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1086/432862

On the dynamics of proto-neutron star winds and r-process nucleosynthesis
journal, December 2008


Galactic Evolution of Sr, Y, and Zr: A Multiplicity of Nucleosynthetic Processes
journal, February 2004

  • Travaglio, Claudia; Gallino, Roberto; Arnone, Enrico
  • The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 601, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1086/380507

Nuclear Properties for Astrophysical and Radioactive-Ion-Beam Applications
journal, July 1997

  • MÖLler, P.; Nix, J. R.; Kratz, K. -L.
  • Atomic Data and Nuclear Data Tables, Vol. 66, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1006/adnd.1997.0746

Improved predictions of nuclear reaction rates with the TALYS reaction code for astrophysical applications
journal, June 2008


What are the astrophysical sites for the r-process and the production of heavy elements?
journal, April 2011

  • Thielemann, F. -K.; Arcones, A.; Käppeli, R.
  • Progress in Particle and Nuclear Physics, Vol. 66, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.ppnp.2011.01.032

Phenomenological Nuclear Level Densities using the KTUY05 Nuclear Mass Formula for Applications Off-Stability
journal, January 2006

  • Kawano, Toshihiko; Chiba, Satoshi; Koura, Hiroyuki
  • Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, Vol. 43, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1080/18811248.2006.9711062

Astrophysical Reaction Rates From Statistical Model Calculations
journal, May 2000

  • Rauscher, Thomas; Thielemann, Friedrich-Karl
  • Atomic Data and Nuclear Data Tables, Vol. 75, Issue 1-2
  • DOI: 10.1006/adnd.2000.0834

The impact of uncertain nuclear masses near closed shells on the r -process abundance pattern
journal, February 2015


Nucleosynthesis-relevant conditions in neutrino-driven supernova outflows: I. Spherically symmetric hydrodynamic simulations
journal, March 2007


Nuclear Ground-State Masses and Deformations
journal, March 1995

  • Moller, P.; Nix, J. R.; Myers, W. D.
  • Atomic Data and Nuclear Data Tables, Vol. 59, Issue 2, p. 185-381
  • DOI: 10.1006/adnd.1995.1002

Cold r -Process in Neutrino-driven Winds
journal, August 2007

  • Wanajo, Shinya
  • The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 666, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1086/521724

Equation of State Calculations by Fast Computing Machines
journal, June 1953

  • Metropolis, Nicholas; Rosenbluth, Arianna W.; Rosenbluth, Marshall N.
  • The Journal of Chemical Physics, Vol. 21, Issue 6
  • DOI: 10.1063/1.1699114

Beta-decay half-lives of new neutron-rich isotopes of Re, Os and Ir approaching the r-process path near N = 126
journal, September 2014

  • Kurtukian-Nieto, T.; Benlliure, J.; Schmidt, K. -H.
  • The European Physical Journal A, Vol. 50, Issue 9
  • DOI: 10.1140/epja/i2014-14135-5

Neutron Capture in Low‐Mass Asymptotic Giant Branch Stars: Cross Sections and Abundance Signatures
journal, November 1999

  • Arlandini, Claudio; Kappeler, Franz; Wisshak, Klaus
  • The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 525, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1086/307938

First operation and mass separation with the CARIBU MR-TOF
journal, June 2016

  • Hirsh, Tsviki Y.; Paul, Nancy; Burkey, Mary
  • Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms, Vol. 376
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.nimb.2015.12.037

Neutron-Capture Elements in the Early Galaxy
journal, September 2008


Approaching the precursor nuclei of the third r-process peak with RIBs
journal, January 2016


A Model for Abundances in Metal‐poor Stars
journal, October 2001

  • Qian, Y. ‐Z.; Wasserburg, G. J.
  • The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 559, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1086/322367

Comprehensive nucleosynthesis analysis for ejecta of compact binary mergers
journal, February 2015

  • Just, O.; Bauswein, A.; Pulpillo, R. Ardevol
  • Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 448, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stv009

β-decay and β-delayed Neutron Emission Measurements at GSI-FRS Beyond N = 126 , for r-process Nucleosynthesis
journal, June 2014


Improvements to TITAN’s mass measurement and decay spectroscopy capabilities
journal, June 2016

  • Lascar, D.; Kwiatkowski, A. A.; Alanssari, M.
  • Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms, Vol. 376
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.nimb.2015.12.026

Nucleosynthesis in the Early Galaxy
journal, December 2007

  • Montes, F.; Beers, T. C.; Cowan, J.
  • The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 671, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1086/523084

Bayesian computation: a statistical revolution
journal, November 2003

  • Brooks, Stephen P.
  • Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, Vol. 361, Issue 1813
  • DOI: 10.1098/rsta.2003.1263

The r-process of stellar nucleosynthesis: Astrophysics and nuclear physics achievements and mysteries
journal, September 2007


How many Nucleosynthesis Processes Exist at low Metallicity?
journal, December 2014


RELATIVE CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE WEAK, MAIN, AND FISSION-RECYCLING r -PROCESS
journal, January 2016


Spectroscopic Analysis of Metal-Poor Stars from Lamost: Early Results
journal, January 2015


DETECTION OF THE SECOND r -PROCESS PEAK ELEMENT TELLURIUM IN METAL-POOR STARS,
journal, February 2012


Neutron-Capture Nucleosynthesis in the First Stars
journal, March 2014


Synthesis of the Elements in Stars
journal, October 1957

  • Burbidge, E. Margaret; Burbidge, G. R.; Fowler, William A.
  • Reviews of Modern Physics, Vol. 29, Issue 4
  • DOI: 10.1103/RevModPhys.29.547

Nuclear energy density optimization: Large deformations
journal, February 2012


Energy density functional for nuclei and neutron stars
journal, April 2013


Impact of individual nuclear masses on r -process abundances
journal, September 2015


Experimental Neutron Capture Rate Constraint Far from Stability
journal, June 2016


Impact of Nuclear Mass Uncertainties on the r Process
journal, March 2016


The s process: Nuclear physics, stellar models, and observations
journal, April 2011


Source of the Rare-Earth Element Peak in r -Process Nucleosynthesis
journal, September 1997


Formation of the rare-earth peak: Gaining insight into late-time r -process dynamics
journal, April 2012


New Fission Fragment Distributions and r -Process Origin of the Rare-Earth Elements
journal, December 2013


Bayesian inference in physics
journal, September 2011


Dynamical r -process studies within the neutrino-driven wind scenario and its sensitivity to the nuclear physics input
journal, April 2011


Influence of neutron capture rates in the rare earth region on the r -process abundance pattern
journal, September 2012


THE RARE EARTH PEAK: AN OVERLOOKED r -PROCESS DIAGNOSTIC
journal, June 2012

  • Mumpower, Matthew R.; McLaughlin, G. C.; Surman, Rebecca
  • The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 752, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/752/2/117

Further explorations of Skyrme-Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov mass formulas. XII. Stiffness and stability of neutron-star matter
journal, September 2010


Further improvements on a global nuclear mass model
journal, July 2011


Nuclidic Mass Formula on a Spherical Basis with an Improved Even-Odd Term
journal, February 2005

  • Koura, H.; Tachibana, T.; Uno, M.
  • Progress of Theoretical Physics, Vol. 113, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1143/PTP.113.305

Microscopic mass formulas
journal, July 1995


New calculations of gross β -decay properties for astrophysical applications: Speeding-up the classical r process
journal, May 2003


Calculation of delayed-neutron energy spectra in a quasiparticle random-phase approximation–Hauser-Feshbach model
journal, November 2008


Comparison of statistical model calculations for stable isotope neutron capture
journal, September 2014


Test of gamma-ray strength functions in nuclear reaction model calculations
journal, May 1990


Local and global nucleon optical models from 1 keV to 200 MeV
journal, January 2003


Large-scale evaluation of β -decay rates of r -process nuclei with the inclusion of first-forbidden transitions
journal, February 2016


Neutron- γ competition for β -delayed neutron emission
journal, December 2016


THE ROLE OF FISSION IN NEUTRON STAR MERGERS AND ITS IMPACT ON THE r -PROCESS PEAKS
journal, July 2015


Fission barriers at the end of the chart of the nuclides
journal, February 2015


Computational methods for nucleosynthesis and nuclear energy generation
journal, September 1999

  • Hix, W. Raphael; Thielemann, Friedrich-Karl
  • Journal of Computational and Applied Mathematics, Vol. 109, Issue 1-2
  • DOI: 10.1016/S0377-0427(99)00163-6

r -PROCESS NUCLEOSYNTHESIS IN DYNAMICALLY EJECTED MATTER OF NEUTRON STAR MERGERS
journal, August 2011

  • Goriely, Stephane; Bauswein, Andreas; Janka, Hans-Thomas
  • The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 738, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1088/2041-8205/738/2/L32

Active-sterile neutrino transformation solution for r -process nucleosynthesis
journal, May 1999


Low-Energy Enhancement of Magnetic Dipole Radiation
journal, December 2013


Precision Mass Measurements beyond Sn 132 : Anomalous Behavior of Odd-Even Staggering of Binding Energies
journal, July 2012


New Half-lives of r -process Zn and Ga Isotopes Measured with Electromagnetic Separation
journal, September 2012


First Results from the CARIBU Facility: Mass Measurements on the r -Process Path
journal, August 2013


Novel technique for Constraining r -Process ( n , γ ) Reaction Rates
journal, December 2014


Precision Mass Measurements of Cd 129 131 and Their Impact on Stellar Nucleosynthesis via the Rapid Neutron Capture Process
journal, December 2015


Mass measurements of neutron-rich Rb and Sr isotopes
journal, April 2016


Theoretical and Experimental Perspectives of Nuclear Reaction Studies with Radioactive Ion Beams
journal, January 2015


β -decay properties of the very neutron-rich isotopes Ge 86 and As 86
journal, November 2015


Recent Direct Reaction Experimental Studies with Radioactive Tin Beams
journal, January 2015


Half-lives of neutron-rich Cd 128 130
journal, June 2016


Reexamining Gamow-Teller decays near Ni 78
journal, April 2016


β -decay study of Kr 94
journal, August 2016


First Measurement of Several β -Delayed Neutron Emitting Isotopes Beyond N = 126
journal, June 2016


Cold r-Process in Neutrino-Driven Winds
text, January 2007


Nucleosynthesis in the Early Galaxy
text, January 2007


R-Process Nucleosynthesis in Dynamically Ejected Matter of Neutron Star Mergers
text, January 2011


Formation Of The Rare Earth Peak: Gaining Insight Into Late-Time r-Process Dynamics
text, January 2011


The Influence Of Neutron Capture Rates On The Rare Earth Region Of The r-Process Abundance Pattern
text, January 2012


Energy density functional for nuclei and neutron stars
text, January 2012


First Results from the CARIBU Facility: Mass Measurements on the r-Process Path
text, January 2013


Approaching the precursor nuclei of the third r-process peak with RIBs
preprint, January 2013


Supernova neutrinos and nucleosynthesis
text, January 2013


New fission fragment distributions and r-process origin of the rare-earth elements
text, January 2013


Neutron-Capture Nucleosynthesis in the First Stars
text, January 2014


Comprehensive nucleosynthesis analysis for ejecta of compact binary mergers
text, January 2014


Low-energy magnetic radiation: deviations from GOE
text, January 2014


Spectroscopic analysis of metal-poor stars from LAMOST: early results
text, January 2015


The impact of individual nuclear masses on $r$-process abundances
text, January 2015


Recent direct reaction experimental studies with radioactive tin beams
text, January 2015


Impact of nuclear mass uncertainties on the $r$-process
text, January 2015


The link between rare earth peak formation and the astrophysical site of the $r$ process
text, January 2016


A Model for Abundances in Metal-Poor Stars
text, January 2001


Galactic Evolution of Sr, Y, Zr: A Multiplicity of Nucleosynthetic Processes
text, January 2003


Computational Methods for Nucleosynthesis and Nuclear Energy Generation
preprint, January 1999


Nuclear Ground-State Masses and Deformations
text, January 1993


Microscopic mass formulae
text, January 1994


Toward precision mass measurements of neutron-rich nuclei relevant to r-process nucleosynthesis
journal, August 2015


Where, oh where has the r-process gone?
journal, April 2007


Low-Energy Magnetic Radiation
journal, January 2015


A Model for Abundances in Metal‐poor Stars
journal, October 2001

  • Qian, Y. ‐Z.; Wasserburg, G. J.
  • The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 559, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1086/322367

Galactic Evolution of Sr, Y, and Zr: A Multiplicity of Nucleosynthetic Processes
journal, February 2004

  • Travaglio, Claudia; Gallino, Roberto; Arnone, Enrico
  • The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 601, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1086/380507

Comprehensive nucleosynthesis analysis for ejecta of compact binary mergers
journal, February 2015

  • Just, O.; Bauswein, A.; Pulpillo, R. Ardevol
  • Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 448, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stv009

Relation between Wigner energy and proton-neutron pairing
text, January 2012


The Influence Of Neutron Capture Rates On The Rare Earth Region Of The r-Process Abundance Pattern
text, January 2012


Low-energy magnetic radiation: deviations from GOE
text, January 2014


An Active-Sterile Neutrino Transformation Solution for r-Process Nucleosynthesis
text, January 1999


Works referencing / citing this record:

Exploring the mass surface near the rare-earth abundance peak via precision mass measurements at JYFLTRAP
journal, March 2020


Masses and β -Decay Spectroscopy of Neutron-Rich Odd-Odd Eu 160 , 162 Nuclei: Evidence for a Subshell Gap with Large Deformation at N = 98
journal, May 2018


r -process nucleosynthesis: connecting rare-isotope beam facilities with the cosmos
journal, July 2019

  • Horowitz, C. J.; Arcones, A.; Côté, B.
  • Journal of Physics G: Nuclear and Particle Physics, Vol. 46, Issue 8
  • DOI: 10.1088/1361-6471/ab0849

β -delayed Fission in r -process Nucleosynthesis
journal, December 2018

  • Mumpower, M. R.; Kawano, T.; Sprouse, T. M.
  • The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 869, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/aaeaca

Influence of nuclear mass uncertainties on radiative neutron-capture rates
journal, August 2019


Precision Mass Measurements of Neutron-Rich Neodymium and Samarium Isotopes and Their Role in Understanding Rare-Earth Peak Formation
journal, June 2018