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Universe
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Advances in Nuclear Astrophysics
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Advances in Nuclear Astrophysics

A special issue of Universe (ISSN 2218-1997). This special issue belongs to the section "High Energy Nuclear and Particle Physics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 1895

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Ragandeep Singh Sidhu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FD, UK
Interests: experimental nuclear astrophysics; fundamental nuclear properties; nuclear masses and half-lives; nuclear reactions
Prof. Dr. Gavin Lotay

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Maths and Physics, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey GU2 7XH, UK
Interests: nuclear astrophysics; gamma-ray spectroscopy; transfer reactions; direct measurements
Dr. Jaspreet Singh Randhawa

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Los Alamos National Laboratory, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA
Interests: experimental nuclear astrophysics; nuclear reactions; nuclear structure

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The research field of Nuclear Astrophysics is relatively young and lies at the intersection of nuclear physics and astrophysics. In recent years, the field has made tremendous progress and has entered a broad multidisciplinary phase. Various new facilities have produced exciting results, and innovative techniques have been developed. These advancements, along with observations and theoretical developments, have greatly enhanced our understanding of several astrophysical scenarios, including stellar evolution and nucleosynthesis.

However, several open questions remain. For instance, how do nuclei at drip lines behave? How and where are elements produced? How did nucleosynthesis occur in the first stars? How are stars born and how do they die? These and many more questions require further investigation and research.

In the current Special Issue, we aim to provide an overview of the present status of nuclear astrophysics and its interplay with other research fields, such as astroparticle physics, gamma-ray astronomy, cosmology, isotopic abundances in meteorites, and the detection of gravitational waves.

Both reviews and original content will be considered for this Special Issue.

Dr. Ragandeep Singh Sidhu
Prof. Dr. Gavin Lotay
Dr. Jaspreet Singh Randhawa
Guest Editors

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. Universe is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. 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

  • nuclear astrophysics
  • observational astronomy
  • nuclear physics
  • stellar evolution
  • experimental techniques
  • fundamental properties

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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19 pages, 694 KB  
Article
Nuclear Matter and Finite Nuclei: Relativistic Thomas–Fermi Approximation Versus Relativistic Mean-Field Approach
by Shuying Li, Hong Shen and Jinniu Hu
Universe 2025, 11(8), 255; https://doi.org/10.3390/universe11080255 - 1 Aug 2025
Viewed by 322
Abstract
The Thomas–Fermi approximation is a powerful method that has been widely used to describe atomic structures, finite nuclei, and nonuniform matter in supernovae and neutron-star crusts. Nonuniform nuclear matter at subnuclear density is assumed to be composed of a lattice of heavy nuclei [...] Read more.
The Thomas–Fermi approximation is a powerful method that has been widely used to describe atomic structures, finite nuclei, and nonuniform matter in supernovae and neutron-star crusts. Nonuniform nuclear matter at subnuclear density is assumed to be composed of a lattice of heavy nuclei surrounded by dripped nucleons, and the Wigner–Seitz cell is commonly introduced to simplify the calculations. The self-consistent Thomas–Fermi approximation can be employed to study both a nucleus surrounded by nucleon gas in the Wigner–Seitz cell and an isolated nucleus in the nuclide chart. A detailed comparison is made between the self-consistent Thomas–Fermi approximation and the relativistic mean-field approach for the description of finite nuclei, based on the same nuclear interaction. These results are then examined using experimental data from the corresponding nuclei. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Nuclear Astrophysics)
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Review

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26 pages, 2204 KB  
Review
Recent Advances in Understanding R-Process Nucleosynthesis in Metal-Poor Stars and Stellar Systems
by Avrajit Bandyopadhyay and Timothy C. Beers
Universe 2025, 11(7), 229; https://doi.org/10.3390/universe11070229 - 11 Jul 2025
Viewed by 910
Abstract
The rapid neutron-capture process (r-process) is responsible for the creation of roughly half of the elements heavier than iron, including precious metals like silver, gold, and platinum, as well as radioactive elements such as thorium and uranium. Despite its importance, the [...] Read more.
The rapid neutron-capture process (r-process) is responsible for the creation of roughly half of the elements heavier than iron, including precious metals like silver, gold, and platinum, as well as radioactive elements such as thorium and uranium. Despite its importance, the nature of the astrophysical sites where the r-process occurs, and the detailed mechanisms of its formation, remain elusive. The key to resolving these mysteries lies in the study of chemical signatures preserved in ancient, metal-poor stars. These stars, which formed in the early Universe, retain the chemical fingerprints of early nucleosynthetic events and offer a unique opportunity to trace the origins of r-process elements in the early Galaxy. In this review, we explore the state-of-the-art understanding of r-process nucleosynthesis, focusing on the sites, progenitors, and formation mechanisms. We discuss the role of potential astrophysical sites such as neutron star mergers, core-collapse supernovae, magneto-rotational supernovae, and collapsars, that can play a key role in producing the heavy elements. We also highlight the importance of studying these signatures through high-resolution spectroscopic surveys, stellar archaeology, and multi-messenger astronomy. Recent advancements, such as the gravitational wave event GW170817 and detection of the r-process in the ejecta of its associated kilonovae, have established neutron star mergers as one of the confirmed sites. However, questions remain regarding whether they are the only sites that could have contributed in early epochs or if additional sources are needed to explain the signatures of r-process found in the oldest stars. Additionally, there are strong indications pointing towards additional sources of r-process-rich nuclei in the context of Galactic evolutionary timescales. These are several of the outstanding questions that led to the formation of collaborative efforts such as the R-Process Alliance, which aims to consolidate observational data, modeling techniques, and theoretical frameworks to derive better constraints on deciphering the astrophysical sites and timescales of r-process enrichment in the Galaxy. This review summarizes what has been learned so far, the challenges that remain, and the exciting prospects for future discoveries. The increasing synergy between observational facilities, computational models, and large-scale surveys is poised to transform our understanding of r-process nucleosynthesis in the coming years. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Nuclear Astrophysics)
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