THE RARE EARTH PEAK: AN OVERLOOKED r-PROCESS DIAGNOSTIC

Journal Article · Wed Jun 20 00:00:00 EDT 2012 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/752/2/117· OSTI ID:22037023

Mumpower, Matthew R; McLaughlin, G C ^[1]; Surman, Rebecca ^[2]

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1. Department of Physics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-8202 (United States)
2. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Union College, Schenectady, NY 12308 (United States)

The astrophysical site or sites responsible for the r-process of nucleosynthesis still remains an enigma. Since the rare earth region is formed in the latter stages of the r-process, it provides a unique probe of the astrophysical conditions during which the r-process takes place. We use features of a successful rare earth region in the context of a high-entropy r-process (S {approx}> 100k{sub B} ) and discuss the types of astrophysical conditions that produce abundance patterns that best match meteoritic and observational data. Despite uncertainties in nuclear physics input, this method effectively constrains astrophysical conditions.

• OSTI ID: 22037023
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 752, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS
79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
ASTRONOMY
ASTROPHYSICS
ELEMENT ABUNDANCE
ENTROPY
METEORITES
NUCLEAR REACTIONS
NUCLEOSYNTHESIS
PROBES
R PROCESS
RARE EARTHS