Abstract
We review recent work examining the influence of fission in rapid neutron capture (r-process) nucleosynthesis which can take place in astrophysical environments. We briefly discuss the impact of uncertain fission barriers and fission rates on the population of heavy actinide species. We demonstrate the influence of the fission fragment distributions for neutron-rich nuclei and discuss currently available treatments, including recent macroscopic-microscopic calculations. We conclude by comparing our nucleosynthesis results directly with stellar data for metal-poor stars rich in r-process elements to consider whether fission plays a role in the so-called ‘universality’ of r-process abundances observed from star to star.
Highlights
The potential to probe the origin(s) of the heaviest elements observed in nature has never been greater
Since the participation of this exotic and energetic process implies that elements such as gold have been synthesized prior to the building of the actinides, fission signatures are a means to understand whether an astrophysical event has produced all r-process nuclei
We discussed the challenges in quantifying the impact of fission in the r process due to the uncertainties in the fission rates and fission fragment distributions of neutron-rich nuclei
Summary
The potential to probe the origin(s) of the heaviest elements observed in nature has never been greater. An accretion disk can later form around the merger remnant and eject reprocessed material In such conditions the rapid neutron capture process, r process, has the possibility to synthesize the heaviest species known to occur in nature. An interesting way to search for evidence that the heaviest species were produced is to look to identify signatures of fission in astrophysical observables since if the actinides have been reached lighter species such as gold must have been synthesisized as well. Investigating fission in the r process currently faces challenges from a general lack of understanding for the properties of the neutron-rich actinides In this proceedings, we summarize the state of the nuclear data used for fission in r-process calculations and discuss currently identified potential signatures of fission within astrophysical environments
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