The description of nuclear reactions induced by supernova neutrinos has witnessed significant progress during the recent years. At the energies and momentum transfers relevant for supernova neutrinos neutrino-nucleus cross sections are dominated by allowed transitions, however, often with non-negligible contributions from (first) forbidden transitions. For several nuclei allowed Gamow-Teller strength distributions could be derived from charge-exchange reactions and from inelastic electron scattering data. Importantly the diagonalization shell model has been proven to accurately describe these data and hence became the appropriate tool to calculate the allowed contributions to neutrino-nucleus cross sections for supernova neutrinos. Higher multipole contributions are usually calculated within the framework of the Quasiparticle Random Phase Approximation, which describes the total strength and the position of the giant resonances quite well.
This manuscript reviews the recent progress achieved in calculating supernova-relevant neutrino-nucleus cross sections and discusses its verification by data. Moreover, the review summarizes also the impact which neutrino-nucleus reactions have on the dynamics of supernovae and on the associated nucleosynthesis. These include the absorption of neutrinos by nuclei (the inverse of nuclear electron capture which is the dominating weak-interaction process during collapse), inelastic neutrino-nucleus scattering and nuclear de-excitation by neutrino-pair emission. We also discuss the role of neutrino-induced reactions for the recently discovered $νp$ process, for the r-process and for the neutrino process, for which neutrino-nucleus reactions have the largest impact. Finally, we briefly review neutrino-nucleus reactions important for the observation of supernova neutrinos by earthbound detectors. (Abridged)
We study the neutrino-induced production of nuclides in explosive supernova nucleosynthesis for progenitor stars with solar metallicity and initial main sequence masses between 15 M$_\odot$ and 40 M$_\odot$. We improve previous investigations i) by using a global set of partial differential cross sections for neutrino-induced charged- and neutral-current reactions on nuclei with charge numbers $Z < 76 $ and ii) by considering modern supernova neutrino spectra which have substantially lower average energies compared to those previously adopted in neutrino nucleosynthesis studies. We confirm the…
Observations of metal-poor stars indicate that at least two different nucleosynthesis sites contribute to the production of r-process elements. One site is responsible for the production of light r-process elements Z<~50 while the other produces the heavy r-process elements. We have analyzed recent observations of metal-poor stars selecting only stars that are enriched in light r-process elements and poor in heavy r-process elements. We find a strong correlation between the observed abundances of the N=50 elements (Sr, Y and Zr) and Fe. It suggest that neutrino-driven winds from core-collapse …
We explore heavy element nucleosynthesis in the explosion of massive stars which are triggered by a quark-hadron phase transition during the early post bounce phase of core-collapse supernovae. The present study is based on general relativistic radiation hydrodynamics simulations with three-flavor Boltzmann neutrino transport in spherical symmetry, which utilize a quark-hadron hybrid equation of state based on the MIT bag model for strange quark matter. The quark-hadron phase transition inside the stellar core forms a shock wave propagating towards the surface of the proto-neutron star. The sh…
We show that for the active-sterile flavor mixing parameters suggested by the reactor neutrino anomaly, substantial \ν_e-\ν_s and \bar \ν_e-\bar \ν_s conversion occurs in regions with electron fraction of \approx 1/3 near the core of an 8.8 M_sun electron-capture supernova. Compared to the case without such conversion, the neutron-richness of the ejected material is enhanced to allow production of elements from Sr, Y, and Zr up to Cd in broad agreement with observations of the metal-poor star HD 122563. Active-sterile flavor conversion also strongly suppresses neutrino heating at times when it…
International Centre of Supernovae (ICESUN), Yunnan Key Laboratory of Supernova Research, Yunnan Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)（中国科学院云南天文台）；Center for Exotic Nuclear Studies, Institute for Basic Science（基础科学研究院）
We analyze the production and freeze-out of the isomer 180Tam in the neutrino-process. We consider the influence of a possible low-lying intermediate (J = 5) state at 592 keV using a transition width estimated from the measured half-life. This more realistic width is much smaller than the previous estimate.We find that the 592-keV state leads only to a small reduction of the residual isomer population ratio from the previous result; that is, considering this better estimate for the transition width, the isomer population ratio changes from R = 0.39 to R = 0.38, whereas previously it was estima…
Neutrino interactions with matter play an important role in determining the nucleosynthesis outcome in explosive astrophysical environments such as core-collapse supernovae or mergers of compact objects. In this article, we first discuss our recent work on the importance of studying the time evolution of collective neutrino oscillations among active flavors in determining their effects on nucleosynthesis. We then consider the possible active-sterile neutrino mixing and demonstrate the need of a consistent approach to evolve neutrino flavor oscillations, matter composition, and the hydrodynamic…
We explore the sensitivity of the nucleosynthesis due to type Ia supernovae with respect to uncertainties in nuclear reaction rates. We have adopted a standard one-dimensional delayed detonation model of the explosion of a Chandrasekhar-mass white dwarf, and have post-processed the thermodynamic trajectories of every mass-shell with a nucleosynthetic code, with increases (decreases) by a factor of ten on the rates of 1196 nuclear reactions. We have computed as well hydrodynamic models for different rates of the fusion reactions of 12C and of 16O. For selected reactions, we have recomputed the …
Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) are believed to be a thermonuclear explosion of a white dwarf, but the mass of their progenitors is still an open problem. In near-Chandrasekhar-mass (near-M_Ch) models of SNe Ia, the central density reaches >10^9 g cm^{-3}. The electron chemical potential becomes higher than the Q-values of electron capture (EC) transitions between fp-shell nuclei, so a portion of the available electrons is captured by iron group elements and thus neutron-rich isotopes are formed. Since EC reaction rates are sensitive to the density, the degree of neutronization is a key to disting…
Effects of Random Density Fluctuations on Matter-Enhanced Neutrino Flavor Transitions in Supernovae and Implications for Supernova Dynamics and Nucleosynthesis
Stars of ~8-100 solar masses end their lives as core-collapse supernovae (SNe). In the process they emit a powerful burst of neutrinos, produce a variety of elements, and leave behind either a neutron star or a black hole. The wide mass range for SN progenitors results in diverse neutrino signals, explosion energies, and nucleosynthesis products. A major mechanism to produce nuclei heavier than iron is rapid neutron capture, or the r process. This process may be connected to SNe in several ways. A brief review is presented on current understanding of neutrino emission, explosion, and nucleosyn…
Neutrino oscillations, especially to light sterile states, can affect the nucleosynthesis yields because of their possible feedback effect on the electron fraction (Ye). For the first time, we perform nucleosynthesis calculations for neutrino-driven wind trajectories from the neutrino-cooling phase of an 8.8 Msun electron-capture supernova, whose hydrodynamic evolution was computed in spherical symmetry with sophisticated neutrino transport and whose Ye evolution was post-processed by including neutrino oscillations both between active and active-sterile flavors. We also take into account the …
The specific mechanism and astrophysical site for the production of half of the elements heavier than iron via rapid neutron capture (r-process) remains to be found. In order to reproduce the abundances of the solar system and of the old halo stars, at least two components are required: the heavy r-process nuclei (A>130) and the weak r-process which correspond to the lighter heavy nuclei (A<130). In this work, we present nucleosynthesis studies based on trajectories of hydrodynamical simulations for core-collapse supernovae and their subsequent neutrino-driven winds. We show that the weak r-pr…
Uncertainties in the production of iron-group nuclides in core-collapse supernovae from Monte Carlo variations of reaction rates
Kogakuin University（工学院大学）；The University of Tokyo（东京大学）；RIKEN Pioneering Research Institute (PRI)（理化学研究所先导研究本部）；National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ)（日本国立天文台）；North Carolina State University（北卡罗来纳州立大学）；University of Basel（巴塞尔大学）；University of Hertfordshire（赫特福德大学）
A review of neutrino astrophysics is presented, including solar and atmospheric neutrinos; neutrino mass and oscillations; the supernova mechanism, supernova neutrino production, and associated nucleosynthesis; cosmological neutrinos and Big Bang nucleosynthesis; neutrino cooling and associated limits on neutrino properties; and high-energy astrophysical neutrinos.
An update on astrophysical models for nucleosynthesis via rapid neutron capture, the r process, is given. A neutrino-induced r process in supernova helium shells may have operated up to metallicities of ~10^-3 times the solar value. Another r-process source, possibly neutron star mergers, is required for higher metallicities.
We revisit a neutrino-driven r-process mechanism in the He shell of a core-collapse supernova, finding that it could succeed in early stars of metallicity < solar/1000, at relatively low temperatures and neutron densities, producing A ~ 130 and 195 abundance peaks over ~ 10-20 s. The mechanism is sensitive to the neutrino emission model and to neutrino oscillations. We discuss the implications of an r-process that could alter interpretations of abundance data from metal-poor stars, and point out the need for further calculations that include effects of the supernova shock.
We have studied the sensitivity to variations in the triple alpha and 12C(alpha, gamma)16O reaction rates, of the yield of the neutrino process isotopes 7Li,11B, 19F, 138La, and 180Ta in core collapse supernovae. Compared to solar abundances, less than 15% of 7Li, about 25-80% of 19F, and about half of 138La is produced in these stars. Over a range of two sigma for each helium-burning rate, 11B is overproduced and the yield varies by an amount larger than the variation caused by the effects of neutrino oscillations. The total 11B yield, however, may eventually provide constraints on supernova …
