Calculation of Beta-decay Rates in Heavy Deformed Nuclei and Implications for the Astrophysical r Process

Public Deposited

Analytics

Last Modified

Creator

Shafer, Thomas
- Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Physics and Astronomy

Abstract

The rapid neutron-capture process (r process) is responsible for synthesizing approximately half of the heavy elements in the solar system, but after decades of work the astrophysical site where it occurs is unknown. Because a very large number of heavy, neutron-rich nuclei are populated during the r process, theoretical efforts to locate the r-process site require a tremendous amount of nuclear physics input. However, most nuclei populated during the r process are very neutron-rich and unstable, and many r-process nuclei cannot be studied experimentally. As a result, the basic properties of a large number of heavy, deformed, short-lived nuclei must be calculated with reliable nuclear models. β-decay half-lives are among the most important properties that affect r-process abundances. In this work we present a new, efficient method for calculating β-decay half-lives of heavy, deformed nuclei: the proton-neutron finite amplitude method (pnFAM). We apply the pnFAM to calculate half-lives of nuclei that demonstrate the strongest effects on r-process abundances in the A≃80 and A≃160 mass regions, including even-even, odd-A, and odd-odd nuclei. We find that our calculations result in half-lives very similar to those reported in previous studies, with correspondingly small effects on r-process abundances.

Date of publication

Keyword

DOI

Resource type

Rights statement

Advisor

Degree

Degree granting institution

Graduation year

Language

Relations

Thumbnail	Title	Date Uploaded	Visibility	Actions
	Shafer_unc_0153D_15939.pdf	2019-04-12	Public	Download