Nuclear Physics of Stars E-Book

Christian Iliadis

• Herausgeber: Wiley-VCH
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2015

Seitenzahl: 1280

Beschreibung

Most elements are synthesized, or "cooked", by thermonuclear reactions in stars. The newly formed elements are released into the interstellar medium during a star's lifetime, and are subsequently incorporated into a new generation of stars, into the planets that form around the stars, and into the life forms that originate on the planets. Moreover, the energy we depend on for life originates from nuclear reactions that occur at the center of the Sun. Synthesis of the elements and nuclear energy production in stars are the topics of nuclear astrophysics, which is the subject of this book. It presents nuclear structure and reactions, thermonuclear reaction rates, experimental nuclear methods, and nucleosynthesis in detail. These topics are discussed in a coherent way, enabling the reader to grasp their interconnections intuitively. The book serves both as a textbook for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, with worked examples and end-of-chapter excercises, but also as a reference book for use by researchers working in the field of nuclear astrophysics.

Leseprobe

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Christian Iliadis

Nuclear Physics of Stars

Second, Revised and Enlarged Edition

The Author

Prof. Dr. Christian Iliadis

The University of North Carolina at

Chapel Hill

Department of Physics and Astronomy

232 Phillips Hall

Chapel Hill, NC 27599

United States

All books published by Wiley-VCH are carefully produced. Nevertheless, authors, editors, and publisher do not warrant the information contained in these books, including this book, to be free of errors. Readers are advised to keep in mind that statements, data, illustrations, procedural details or other items may inadvertently be inaccurate.

Library of Congress Card No.: applied for

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A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek

The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available on the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de.

© 2015 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Boschstr. 12, 69469 Weinheim, Germany

All rights reserved (including those of translation into other languages). No part of this book may be reproduced in any form — by photoprinting, microfilm, or any other means — nor transmitted or translated into a machine language without written permission from the publishers. Registered names, trademarks, etc. used in this book, even when not specifically marked as such, are not to be considered unprotected by law.

Print ISBN: 978-3-527-33648-7

ePDF ISBN: 978-3-527-33649-4

ePub ISBN: 978-3-527-33651-7

Mobi ISBN: 978-3-527-33650-0

oBook ISBN: 978-3-527-69266-8

Cover Design Adam Design, Weinheim, Germany

Printing and Binding Markono Print Media Pte Ltd., Singapore

Printed on acid-free paper

Preface to the Second Edition

The publisher’s suggestion of a second edition of “Nuclear Physics of Stars,” only seven years after the first edition appeared, came as a surprise. However, I was easily convinced to undertake this endeavor because of the enthusiastic response to the first edition from students and colleagues at many universities and laboratories. This provided the opportunity to include several topics that were missing in the first edition. The following sections have been added:

explosive nucleosynthesis in core-collapse supernovae,

explosive nucleosynthesis in thermonuclear supernovae,

neutrino-induced nucleosynthesis,

big bang nucleosynthesis,

galactic cosmic ray nucleosynthesis.

Several sections have been revised, including the discussion of stellar enhancement factors and the extraction of cross sections from measured yields. All of the tables have been updated with the most recent information available. Many figures have been improved, some have been omitted, while others have been added. References have been updated and several new end-of-chapter problems have been included. Some of the material was rearranged for a more coherent discussion.

I would like to thank the following people for their suggestions and valuable comments: Art Champagne, Alessandro Chieffi, Alain Coc, Jack Dermigny, Lori Downen, Mounib El Eid, Peter Hoeflich, Sean Hunt, Jordi José, Keegan Kelly, Karl-Ludwig Kratz, Marco Limongi, Richard Longland, Maria Lugaro, Brad Meyer, Peter Mohr, Anuj Parikh, Nikos Prantzos, Ivo Seitenzahl, Frank Timmes, and John Wilkerson. This book is dedicated to my parents, for all that they have done.

Christian Iliadis

Carrboro, August 2014

Preface to the First Edition

Nuclear processes generate the energy that makes stars shine. The same nuclear processes in stars are responsible for the synthesis of the elements. When stars eject part of their matter through various means, they enrich the interstellar medium with the nuclear ashes and thereby provide the building blocks for the birth of new stars, of planets, and of life itself. The theory of this building of elements is called nucleosynthesis and it is remarkably successful in describing the nuclear processes in stars that are located so far away from us in space and time. It is equally remarkable how the theory predicts these processes based on the quantum mechanical properties of atomic nuclei. Nucleosynthesis, nuclear energy generation in stars, and other topics at the intersection of nuclear physics and astrophysics make up the science of nuclear astrophysics. Like most fields of physics, it involves both theoretical and experimental activities. The purpose of this book is to explain these concepts with special emphasis on nuclear processes and their interplay in stars.

Work on the manuscript for this book started when I was invited to teach a two-week long, graduate-level course on “Nuclear Physics of Stars” at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain, in June 2003. During the preparations for the course, it became quite obvious that it would be useful to have an up-to-date textbook available. The encouragement I received from many colleagues and students to write such a book was instrumental for my decision to begin work on a manuscript.

After a decade of teaching at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill I learned from my students to take no “well-established” fact for granted. They wanted to see derivations of equations when I attempted to state “the obvious.” They insisted on more fundamental explanations when I just tried to “wave my hands.” The style of the present book is certainly influenced by my teaching experience. Indeed, most equations are derived in the text and special emphasis has been placed on the art work. My main intention is to explain complicated con¬cepts in the simplest and most intuitive manner. In some instances, more elegant formulations of concepts have been presented in the literature. For the manuscript these were considered onlyifI found it impossible to come up with a simpler explanation. Colleagues frequently wanted to know “which review paper” I used in the preparation of a specific section. My strategy was to consult review articles only after I wrote a complete first draft of the section. That way I was forced to comprehend the subject myself from the beginning and to come up with a coherent presentation.

The present book is directed toward advanced undergraduate students, graduate students, and researchers in the fields of nuclear physics and astrophysics. Chapter 1 starts with the basic concepts in nuclear physics and stellar evolution. Chapter 2 develops the theory of nuclear reactions starting from basic quantum mechanical ideas. Nuclear processes in a stellar plasma are discussed in Chapter 3. Chapter 4 contains the most important experimental information needed in order to perform measurements in nuclear astrophysics. Chapter 5 provides a discussion of the theory of stellar nucleosynthesis. The appendices contain sections on basic solutions of the Schrodinger equation, angular momentum selection rules, kinematics, and the theory of angular correlations. At the end of the text, physical constants, mathematical symbols, and physical quantities are listed as an aid for the reader. As a prerequisite, the student should have taken an undergraduate course in modern physics with elementary coverage of wave functions. An undergraduate course in quantum mechanics or nuclear physics would also be helpful, but is not required.

The present book goes into considerable depth and, consequently, restrictions in time and space made it unavoidable for me to omit a number of important topics. The instructor who is using this book may wish to supplement the material presented here with information on primordial nucleosynthesis (J. Rich, Fundamentals of Cosmology, Berlin: Springer, 2001), cosmic-ray spallation reactions (E. Vangioni-Flam, M. Cassé and J. Audouze, Phys. Rep., Vol. 333, p. 365, 2000), nucleochronology (J. J. Cowan, F.-K. Thielemann and J. W. Truran, Ann. Rev. Astron. Astrophys., Vol. 29, p. 447, 1991), neutrino astrophysics (J. N. Bahcall, Neutrino Astrophysics, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989), v-process (Woosley et al., Astrophys. J., Vol. 356, p. 272, 1990), presolar grains (M. Lugaro, Stardust from Meteorites, Singapore: World Scientific, 2005) and indirect measurements of astrophysically important nuclear reactions. It is utterly impossible to recommend one, or even a few, references for the last topic, which represents a vast field in its own right.

I would certainly not have written this book without the influence of two of my colleagues. I am indebted to Jordi José, who invited me to Barcelona in 2003 and who organized my lectures and my wonderful stay there. I also wish to express my appreciation to Art Champagne, who supported me professionally through all stages during the preparation of the manuscript. A number of people have read through parts of the manuscript and have provided many valuable suggestions and comments. The book benefited substantially from their input. It is my pleasure to thank Carmen Angulo, Dick Azuma, Bruce Carney, Gerald Cecil, Art Champagne, Alan Chen, Alessandro Chieffi, Alain Coc, Pierre Descouvemont, Ryan Fitzgerald, Uwe Greife, Raph Hix, Jordi José, Franz Kappeler, Karl-Ludwig Kratz, Alison Laird, John Lattanzio, Marco Limongi, Richard Longland, Alex Murphy, Joe Newton, Anuj Parikh, Helmut Paul, Tommy Rauscher, Paddy Regan, Hendrik Schatz, Sumner Starrfield, and Claudio Ugalde. I would like to thank Daniel Aarhus for typing the manuscript, and John Kelley for helping with the preparation of some figures. I would like to acknowledge support from a University Research Council publication grant from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and I am also grateful for the support I received from the Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory. The book is dedicated to my daughter Alina, my son Kimon, and my wife Andrea, who certainly felt the significant investment of my private time in this project during the past four years.

Christian Iliadis

Carrboro, September 2006

Contents

Cover

Related Titles

Title Page

Copyright

Preface to the Second Edition

Preface to the First Edition

Chapter 1: Aspects of Nuclear Physics and Astrophysics

1.1 History

1.2 Nomenclature

1.3 Solar System Abundances

1.4 Astrophysical Aspects

1.5 Masses, Binding Energies, Nuclear Reactions, and Related Topics

1.6 Nuclear Shell Model

1.7 Nuclear Excited States and Electromagnetic Transitions

1.8 Weak Interaction

Problems

Chapter 2: Nuclear Reactions

2.1 Cross Sections

2.2 Reciprocity Theorem

2.3 Elastic Scattering and Method of Partial Waves

2.4 Scattering by Simple Potentials

2.5 Theory of Resonances

2.6 Continuum Theory

2.7 Hauser-Feshbach Theory

Problems

Chapter 3: Thermonuclear Reactions

3.1 Cross Sections and Reaction Rates

3.2 Nonresonant and Resonant Thermonuclear Reaction Rates

Problems

Chapter 4: Nuclear Physics Experiments

4.1 General Aspects

4.2 Interaction of Radiation with Matter

4.3 Targets and Related Equipment

4.4 Radiation Detectors

4.5 Nuclear Spectroscopy

4.6 Miscellaneous Experimental Techniques

4.7 Background Radiation

4.8 Yields and Cross Sections for Charged-Particle-Induced Reactions

4.9 Transmissions, Yields, and Cross Sections for Neutron-Induced Reactions

Problems

Chapter 5: Nuclear Burning Stages and Processes

5.1 Hydrostatic Hydrogen Burning

5.2 Hydrostatic Helium Burning

5.3 Advanced Burning Stages

5.4 Explosive Burning in Core-Collapse Supernovae (Type II, Ib, Ic)

5.5 Explosive Burning Involving Binary Stars

5.6 Nucleosynthesis Beyond the Iron Peak

5.7 Non-stellar Processes

5.8 Origin of the Nuclides

Appendix A Solutions of the Schrodinger Equation in Three Dimensions

A.1 Zero Orbital Angular Momentum and Constant Potential

A.2 Arbitrary Orbital Angular Momentum and Zero Potential

A.3 Arbitrary Orbital Angular Momentum and Coulomb Potential

Appendix B Quantum Mechanical Selection Rules

Appendix C Kinematics

C.1 Relationship ofKinematic Quantities in the Laboratory Coordinate System

C.2 Transformation Between Laboratory and Center-of-Mass Coordinate System

Appendix D Angular Correlations

D.1 General Aspects

D.2 Pure Radiations in a Two-Step Process

D.3 Mixed Radiations in a Two-Step Process

D.4 Three-Step Process with Unobserved Intermediate Radiation

D.5 Experimental Considerations

D.6 Concluding Remarks

Appendix E

E.1 Physical Constants and Data

E.2 Mathematical Expressions

E.3 Prefixes and Units

E.4 Physical Quantities

Color Plates

References

Index