Capitalizing on nuclear data libraries’ comprehensiveness to obtain solar system r-process abundances

Abstract

The recent observation of neutron stars merger by the laser interferometer gravitational-wave observatory collaboration and the measurements of the event’s electromagnetic spectrum as a function of time for different wavelengths have altered profoundly our understanding of the r-process site as well as considerably energized nuclear astrophysics research efforts. R-process abundances are a key element in r-process simulations, as a successful calculation must account for these abundances in the final debris of a stellar cataclysmic event. In this article, mankind’s complete knowledge of neutron cross sections obtained over the last 80 years, as encapsulated in the latest release of the evaluated nuclear data file (ENDF/B) library, is used to obtain solar system r-process abundances in a comprehensive data approach. ENDF/B cross sections have been successfully used for decades in nuclear power and defense applications and are now used to obtain r-process abundances in a fully traceable and documented way. This article r-process abundances provide complementary insights on the astrophysical events, overall quality of neutron capture data in the astrophysical region of temperatures, and demonstrate issues with the s-process contribution subtraction procedure.