Submit to Special Issue Submit Abstract to Special Issue Review for Universe Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser

Recent Outcomes and Future Challenges in Nuclear Astrophysics

Print Special Issue Flyer
Special Issue Editors
Special Issue Information
Keywords
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
Published Papers

A special issue of Universe (ISSN 2218-1997). This special issue belongs to the section "Solar and Stellar Physics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2024 | Viewed by 6164

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Giovanni Francesco Ciani

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Physics Department, University of Bari & INFN BA, 70125 Bari, Italy
Interests: nuclear physics; detectors; rare events physics

Dr. David Rapagnani

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Department of Physics, University of Naples, 80138 Naples, Italy
Interests: nuclear astrophysics; particles detectors; recoil mass separators

Dr. Eliana Masha

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

HZDR - Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, 01328 Dresden, Germany
Interests: nuclear astrophysics; particles detectors

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

As progress in nuclear astrophysics is continuously being achieved, the ﬁeld has entered a broad multi-disciplinary phase.

In recent years, several new facilities have been built on the Earth’s surface and underground, and new experimental techniques have been developed.

All these achievements, together with observations and theory, lead to great improvements in our understanding of several astrophysical scenarios, such as the Big Bang Nucleosythesis, stellar evolution and novae explosions.

Nevertheless, several topics are not yet fully understood: we still do not know the origin of the discrepancy between lithium isotope abundance in old stars, with respect to the values predicted by theory, or how some of the heavy elements are produced. Several crucial nuclear reactions are still unknown in the corresponding stellar energies of interest, or their determination is not precise enough to constrain the models. These, along with several other open questions, require further investigations.

In this Special Issue, we would like to overview the status of nuclear astrophysics and how this subject interfaces with other research ﬁelds, such as astroparticle physics, gamma-ray astronomy, cosmology, isotopic abundances in meteorites or the detection of gravitational waves.

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

Dr. Giovanni Francesco Ciani
Dr. David Rapagnani
Dr. Eliana Masha
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
astroparticle physics
experimental techniques
BBN
stellar evolution
stellar explosion
observational astronomy

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (5 papers)

Download All Papers

Order results

Result details

Show export options Show export options

Select all

Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

14 pages, 409 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Impact of Newly Measured Nuclear Reaction Rates on ²⁶Al Ejected Yields from Massive Stars

by Umberto Battino, Lorenzo Roberti, Thomas V. Lawson, Alison M. Laird and Lewis Todd

Universe 2024, 10(5), 204; https://doi.org/10.3390/universe10050204 - 1 May 2024

Viewed by 1099

Abstract

Over the last three years, the rates of all the main nuclear reactions involving the destruction and production of ²⁶Al in stars (²⁶Al(n, p)²⁶Mg, ²⁶Al(n, α)²³Na, ²⁶Al(p [...] Read more.

Over the last three years, the rates of all the main nuclear reactions involving the destruction and production of ²⁶Al in stars (²⁶Al(n, p)²⁶Mg, ²⁶Al(n, α)²³Na, ²⁶Al(p, γ)²⁷Si and ²⁵Mg(p, γ)²⁶Al) have been re-evaluated thanks to new high-precision experimental measurements of their crosssections at energies of astrophysical interest, considerably reducing the uncertainties in the nuclear physics affecting their nucleosynthesis. We computed the nucleosynthetic yields ejected by the explosion of a high-mass star (20 M_⊙, Z = 0.0134) using the FRANEC stellar code, considering two explosion energies, 1.2 × 10⁵¹ erg and 3 × 10⁵¹ erg. We quantify the change in the ejected amount of ²⁶Al and other key species that is predicted when the new rate selection is adopted instead of the reaction rates from the STARLIB nuclear library. Additionally, the ratio of our ejected yields of ²⁶Al to those of 14 other short-lived radionuclides (³⁶Cl, ⁴¹Ca, ⁵³Mn, ⁶⁰Fe, ⁹²Nb, ⁹⁷Tc, ⁹⁸Tc, ¹⁰⁷Pd, ¹²⁶Sn, ¹²⁹I, ³⁶Cs, ¹⁴⁶Sm, ¹⁸²Hf, ²⁰⁵Pb) are compared to early solar system isotopic ratios, inferred from meteorite measurements. The total ejected ²⁶Al yields vary by a factor of ~3 when adopting the new rates or the STARLIB rates. Additionally, the new nuclear reaction rates also impact the predicted abundances of short-lived radionuclides in the early solar system relative to ²⁶Al. However, it is not possible to reproduce all the short-lived radionuclide isotopic ratios with our massive star model alone, unless a second stellar source could be invoked, which must have been active in polluting the pristine solar nebula at a similar time of a core-collapse supernova. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Outcomes and Future Challenges in Nuclear Astrophysics)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

15 pages, 1888 KiB

Open AccessReview

Direct and Indirect Measurements of the ¹⁹F(p,α)¹⁶O Reaction at Astrophysical Energies Using the LHASA Detector and the Trojan Horse Method

by Giovanni L. Guardo, Giuseppe G. Rapisarda, Dimiter L. Balabanski, Giuseppe D’Agata, Alessia Di Pietro, Pierpaolo Figuera, Marco La Cognata, Marco La Commara, Livio Lamia, Dario Lattuada, Catalin Matei, Marco Mazzocco, Alessandro A. Oliva, Sara Palmerini, Teodora Petruse, Rosario G. Pizzone, Stefano Romano, Maria Letizia Sergi, Roberta Spartá, Xuedou Su, Aurora Tumino and Nikola Vukman Show full author list Hide full author list

Universe 2024, 10(7), 304; https://doi.org/10.3390/universe10070304 - 22 Jul 2024

Viewed by 732

Abstract

Fluorine is one of the most interesting elements in nuclear astrophysics. Its abundance can provide important hints to constrain the stellar models since fluorine production and destruction are strictly connected to the physical conditions inside the stars. The

{}^{19}F

(p,α)¹⁶O [...] Read more.

{}^{19}F

(p,α)¹⁶O reaction is one of the fluorine burning processes and the correction evaluation of its reaction rate is of pivotal importance to evaluate the fluorine abundance. Moreover, the

{}^{19}F

(p,α)¹⁶O reaction rate can have an impact for the production of calcium in the first-generation of Population III stars. Here, we present the AsFiN collaboration efforts to the study of the

{}^{19}F

(p,

α

)¹⁶O reaction by means of direct and indirect measurements. On the direct measurements side, an experimental campaign aimed to the measurement of the

{}^{19}F

(p,

α_{0, π}

)¹⁶O reaction is ongoing, taking advantage of the new versatile arrays of silicon strip detectors, LHASA and ELISSA. Moreover, the Trojan Horse Method (THM) was used to determine the

{}^{19}F

(p,

α_{0}

)¹⁶O reaction S(E)-factor in the energy range of astrophysical interest (

E_{c m}

≈ 0–1 MeV), showing, for the first time, the presence of resonant structures within the astrophysical energy range. THM has been also applied for the study of the

{}^{19}F

(p,

α_{π}

)¹⁶O reaction; data analysis is ongoing. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Outcomes and Future Challenges in Nuclear Astrophysics)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

11 pages, 5168 KiB

Open AccessReview

X17: Status and Perspectives

by Carlo Gustavino

Universe 2024, 10(7), 285; https://doi.org/10.3390/universe10070285 - 29 Jun 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 714

Abstract

Recently, a group directed by A. J. Krasznahorkay observed an anomaly in the emission of electron–positron pairs in three different nuclear reactions, namely, the

^{3}

H(p,e

^{-}

^{+}

)

^{4}

He,

^{7}

Li(p,e

^{-}

e [...] Read more.

Recently, a group directed by A. J. Krasznahorkay observed an anomaly in the emission of electron–positron pairs in three different nuclear reactions, namely, the

^{3}

H(p,e

^{-}

^{+}

)

^{4}

He,

^{7}

Li(p,e

^{-}

^{+}

)

^{8}

Be, and

^{11}

B(p,e

^{-}

^{+}

)

^{12}

C processes. Kinematics indicate that this anomaly might be due to the de-excitation of

^{4}

He,

^{8}

Be, and

^{12}

C nuclei with the emission of a boson with a mass of about 17 MeV, rapidly decaying into e

^{-}

^{+}

pairs. The result of the experiments performed with the singletron accelerator of ATOMKI is reviewed, and the consequences of the so-called X17 boson in particle physics and in cosmology are discussed. Forthcoming experiments designed to shed light on the possible existence of the X17 boson are also reported. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Outcomes and Future Challenges in Nuclear Astrophysics)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

19 pages, 12433 KiB

Open AccessReview

Detectors and Shieldings: Past and Future at LUNA

by Chemseddine Ananna, Lucia Barbieri, Axel Boeltzig, Matteo Campostrini, Fausto Casaburo, Alessandro Compagnucci, Laszlo Csedreki, Riccardo Maria Gesue, Jordan Marsh, Daniela Mercogliano, Denise Piatti, Duncan Robb, Ragandeep Singh Sidhu and Jakub Skowronski

Universe 2024, 10(5), 228; https://doi.org/10.3390/universe10050228 - 20 May 2024

Viewed by 974

Abstract

Nuclear reactions are responsible for the chemical evolution of stars, galaxies and the Universe. Unfortunately, at temperatures of interest for nuclear astrophysics, the cross-sections of the thermonuclear reactions are in the pico- femto-barn range and thus measuring them in the laboratory is extremely challenging. In this framework, major steps forward were made with the advent of underground nuclear astrophysics, pioneered by the Laboratory for Underground Nuclear Astrophysics (LUNA). The cosmic background reduction by several orders of magnitude obtained at LUNA, however, needs to be combined with high-performance detectors and dedicated shieldings to obtain the required sensitivity. In the present paper, we report on the recent and future detector-shielding designs at LUNA. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Outcomes and Future Challenges in Nuclear Astrophysics)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

30 pages, 1088 KiB

Open AccessReview

The Physics of Core-Collapse Supernovae: Explosion Mechanism and Explosive Nucleosynthesis

by Luca Boccioli and Lorenzo Roberti

Universe 2024, 10(3), 148; https://doi.org/10.3390/universe10030148 - 19 Mar 2024

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 1940

Abstract

Recent developments in multi-dimensional simulations of core-collapse supernovae have considerably improved our understanding of this complex phenomenon. In addition to that, one-dimensional (1D) studies have been employed to study the explosion mechanism and its causal connection to the pre-collapse structure of the star, as well as to explore the vast parameter space of supernovae. Nonetheless, many uncertainties still affect the late stages of the evolution of massive stars, their collapse, and the subsequent shock propagation. In this review, we will briefly summarize the state-of-the-art of both 1D and 3D simulations and how they can be employed to study the evolution of massive stars, supernova explosions, and shock propagation, focusing on the uncertainties that affect each of these phases. Finally, we will illustrate the typical nucleosynthesis products that emerge from the explosion. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Outcomes and Future Challenges in Nuclear Astrophysics)

► Show Figures

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Recent Outcomes and Future Challenges in Nuclear Astrophysics

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Special Issue Information

Keywords

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

Published Papers (5 papers)

Research

Review

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI