The role of neutrinos in r-process nucleosynthesis in supernovae and gamma-ray bursts

R. Surman, J. Beun, G. C. McLaughlin, S. Kane, W. R. Hix

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8 Scopus citations

Abstract

The exact astrophysical site of the r-process is uncertain, but the likely candidates - supernovae and compact merger events - are environments with high neutrino fluxes. Here we examine the role of neutrinos in r-process nucleosynthesis under two separate scenarios. In the first, we consider the consequences of a reduction in the electron neutrino flux in a core-collapse supernova environment. We show that such a reduction results in a vigorous r-process with a robust abundance signature due to fission cycling. In the second, we examine the production of r-process nuclei in the outflows from a black hole accretion disk as thought to accompany a merger-type gamma-ray burst (GRB). We use a parameterized outflow model and find the neutrino fluxes emitted from the GRB accretion disk facilitate the synthesis of light r-process nuclei over a broad region of the parameter space explored.

Original languageEnglish
Article number014059
JournalJournal of Physics G: Nuclear and Particle Physics
Volume35
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 2008

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