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Symmetry
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Nucleosynthesis in the Era of Multi-Messenger Astronomy
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Nucleosynthesis in the Era of Multi-Messenger Astronomy

A special issue of Symmetry (ISSN 2073-8994). This special issue belongs to the section "Physics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2021) | Viewed by 4873

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Michael A. Famiano

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Western Michigan University
Interests: nuclear astrophysics; astrobiology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nuclear astrophysics has seen improvements and advances on at least five major fronts in the past two decades. Perhaps the most prominent advance has been the recent discovery of gravitational wave signals from neutron star mergers, combined with astronomical observations which may provide quantifiable evidence of element formation in these events, thus ushering in a new stage of astronomical observation with multiple modalities.

Closely related to this are improvements in astronomical observations. Improved techniques with more sensitive equipment will allow observational astronomers to gauge elemental abundances at increasingly finer resolutions. Additionally, but not limited to this, there are the advances in gamma ray astronomy, which can provide signatures of radioactive isotopes formed in nucleosynthetic events.

Theory continues to advance, with new capabilities in understanding nuclear and particle properties. New nuclear models are better equipped to predict behaviour in stellar environments. Similarly, theories of neutrino properties, interactions, and (for example) mass hierarchy allow us to predict the behaviour and outcomes of events, as well as to provide possibilities for new observables. Additionally, nuclear equation-of-state models can be constrained by recent observations of neutron star and neutron star merger observations, while also providing predictions of these observations.

New theories are tested with greater precision and speed as computational power and techniques become available. Computational astrophysicists now routinely model explosive events in three dimensions. Astrophysical libraries and routines are also readily available to the community for testing hypotheses and for educational purposes.

Finally, experimental physics can provide significant input to astronomers and astrophysicists with a variety of measurements. In particular, nuclear experimentalists can provide information on fundamental nuclear properties, such as masses, lifetimes, and energy levels, all of which are useful to observational, computational, and theoretical physicists. Nuclear matter experiments continue to push the frontier to constrain the nuclear equation-of-state at increasingly higher densities and asymmetry. Such experiments are improving in capabilities as new facilities come online. Neutrino astrophysics continues to thrive as well, through cosmic and reactor experiment, with multiple devices in existence worldwide.

Prof. Michael Famiano
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Symmetry is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Neutron stars
  • Nuclear astrophysics
  • Nucleosynthesis
  • Nuclear equation-of-state
  • Astronomy
  • Neutron star mergers
  • Supernovae
  • R-process
  • Computational astrophysics
  • Nuclear theory

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

50 pages, 1395 KiB  
Article
Sensitivity of Neutron-Rich Nuclear Isomer Behavior to Uncertainties in Direct Transitions
by G. Wendell Misch, Trevor M. Sprouse, Matthew R. Mumpower, Aaron J. Couture, Chris L. Fryer, Bradley S. Meyer and Yang Sun
Symmetry 2021, 13(10), 1831; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym13101831 - 1 Oct 2021
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 2201
Abstract
Nuclear isomers are populated in the rapid neutron capture process (r process) of nucleosynthesis. The r process may cover a wide range of temperatures, potentially starting from several tens of GK (several MeV) and then cooling as material is ejected from the [...] Read more.
Nuclear isomers are populated in the rapid neutron capture process (r process) of nucleosynthesis. The r process may cover a wide range of temperatures, potentially starting from several tens of GK (several MeV) and then cooling as material is ejected from the event. As the r-process environment cools, isomers can freeze out of thermal equilibrium or be directly populated as astrophysically metastable isomers (astromers). Astromers can undergo reactions and decays at rates very different from the ground state, so they may need to be treated independently in nucleosythesis simulations. Two key behaviors of astromers—ground state ↔ isomer transition rates and thermalization temperatures—are determined by direct transition rates between pairs of nuclear states. We perform a sensitivity study to constrain the effects of unknown transitions on astromer behavior. Detailed balance ensures that ground → isomer and isomer → ground transitions are symmetric, so unknown transitions are equally impactful in both directions. We also introduce a categorization of astromers that describes their potential effects in hot environments. We provide a table of neutron-rich isomers that includes the astromer type, thermalization temperature, and key unmeasured transition rates. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nucleosynthesis in the Era of Multi-Messenger Astronomy)
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12 pages, 800 KiB  
Article
Probing Time-Dependent Fundamental Constants with Nucleosynthesis in Population III Stars
by Kanji Mori and Ken’ichi Nomoto
Symmetry 2020, 12(3), 404; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym12030404 - 4 Mar 2020
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2166
Abstract
Variations of fundamental physical constants have been sought for many years using various astronomical objects because their discovery can be key to developing beyond-standard physics. In particular, nuclear reaction rates are sensitive to fundamental constants, so nucleosynthetic processes can be used as a [...] Read more.
Variations of fundamental physical constants have been sought for many years using various astronomical objects because their discovery can be key to developing beyond-standard physics. In particular, nuclear reaction rates are sensitive to fundamental constants, so nucleosynthetic processes can be used as a probe. We calculate the evolution and nucleosynthesis of massive Population III stars with the time-dependent nucleon–nucleon interaction δ NN , which may have left traces in elemental abundances in extremely metal-poor stars. The results are compared with the abundances in the most iron-poor star that has ever been discovered, namely, SMSS J031300.36-670839.3. It is found that calcium production in Population III stars is very sensitive to variations of the triple- α reaction rate and hence δ NN . We conclude that variations of the nucleon–nucleon interaction are constrained as − 0.002 < δ NN < 0.002 at the redshift z ∼ 20 , assuming that calcium in SMSS J031300.36-670839.3 originates from hydrogen burning in a massive Population III star. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nucleosynthesis in the Era of Multi-Messenger Astronomy)
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