Nuclear reactions in astrophysics.

At all times and at all astrophysical scales, nuclear reactions have played and continue to play a key role. This concerns the energetics as well as the production of nuclides (nucleosynthesis). After a brief review of the observed composition of various objects in the universe, and especially of the solar system, the basic ingredients that are required in order to build up models for the chemical evolution of galaxies are sketched. Special attention is paid to the evaluation of the stellar yields through an overview of the important burning episodes and nucleosynthetic processes that can develop in non-exploding or exploding stars. Emphasis is put on the remaining astrophysical and nuclear physics uncertainties that hamper a clear understanding of the observed characteristics, and especially compositions, of a large variety of astrophysical objects.

[1]  N. Prantzos.  The 26 Al γ-Ray Line: A Status Report , 1987 .

[2]  G. Schatz.  The s-process of stellar nucleosynthesis , 1986 .

[3]  F. Thielemann,et al.  Hydrostatic nucleosynthesis. II. Core neon to silicon burning and presupernova abundance yields of massive stars , 1985 .

[4]  M. Leising,et al.  26Al in the interstellar medium , 1987 .

[5]  F. Thielemann,et al.  F-17(p, gamma)Ne-18 in explosive hydrogen burning , 1988 .

[6]  F. Thielemann,et al.  The hot proton-proton chains in low-metallicity objects , 1989 .

[7]  N. Grevesse,et al.  Abundances of the elements: Meteoritic and solar , 1989 .

[8]  A. G. W. Cameron,et al.  NUCLEAR REACTIONS IN STARS AND NUCLEOGENESIS , 1957 .

[9]  W. Rodney,et al.  Current status of nuclear astrophysics , 1987 .

[10]  N. Langer,et al.  Neutron capture nucleosynthesis and the evolution of 15 and 30 M○. stars. I: The core helium burning phase , 1989 .

[11]  W. Fowler,et al.  Thermonuclear reaction rates V , 1988 .

[12]  R. Malaney,et al.  On nuclear reactions and Be-9 production in inhomogeneous cosmologies , 1989 .

[13]  Fred Hoyle,et al.  The Synthesis of the Elements from Hydrogen , 1946 .

[14]  Virginia Trimble.  The origin and abundances of the chemical elements , 1975 .

[15]  D. Schramm,et al.  The Weak Neutral Current and its Effects in Stellar Collapse , 1977 .

[16]  L. Ahrens.  Origin and distribution of the elements , 1968 .

[17]  R. Marshall.  Electron-positron annihilation at high energies , 1989 .

[18]  W. M. Howard,et al.  P-process in supernovae , 1978 .

[19]  M. Leising,et al.  Gamma-Ray Limits on Na-22 Production in Novae , 1988 .

[20]  R. W. Hoff.  Beta decay of neutron-rich transuranic nuclei , 1986 .

[21]  P. Descouvemont.  A microscopic approach to fusion reactions , 1989 .

[22]  W. Arnett,et al.  Hydrostatic nucleosynthesis. I - Core helium and carbon burning. , 1985 .

[23]  I. Iben,et al.  Neutron production and neutron-capture nucleosynthesis in a low-mass, low-metallicity asymptotic giant branch star , 1989 .

[24]  W. M. Howard,et al.  Parametric Study of Pulsed Neutron Source Models for the s-Process , 1986 .

[25]  M. Arnould,et al.  Nucleosynthesis contributions to the solar nebula , 1987, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences.

[26]  Thomas A. Weaver,et al.  The Physics of Supernova Explosions , 1986 .

[27]  E. Anders.  Local and exotic components of primitive meteorites, and their origin , 1987, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences.

[28]  C. Loore,et al.  The evolution of massive stars , 1980 .

[29]  R. K. Wallace,et al.  Explosive hydrogen burning , 1981 .

[30]  F. Hoyle,et al.  Synthesis of the Elements in Stars , 1957 .

[31]  S. Cahen,et al.  Revisiting the standard solar model , 1988 .

[32]  J. Truran,et al.  p-process nucleosynthesis in postshock supernova envelope environments , 1975 .

[33]  M. Wiescher,et al.  The first excited state in 23Al and its influence on 22Mg(p,γ)23Al , 1988 .

[34]  F. Käppeler,et al.  s-process nucleosynthesis-nuclear physics and the classical model , 1989 .

[35]  M. Arnould.  The origin of the light nuclides , 1986 .

[36]  F. Käppeler,et al.  Neutron capture cross sections for s-process studies , 1987 .

[37]  W. Hillebrandt,et al.  The supernova 1987A in the Large Magellanic Cloud , 1989 .

[38]  H. Thomas.  Consequences of Mass Transfer in Close Binary Systems , 1977 .

[39]  The Chemical Evolution of Galaxies , 1986 .

[40]  Glenn E. Miller,et al.  The Initial mass function and stellar birthrate in the solar neighborhood , 1979 .

[41]  D. Baye,et al.  C ( α 12 ,γ ) 16 O reaction in a multiconfiguration microscopic model , 1987 .

[42]  E. Salpeter,et al.  NUCLEAR REACTION RATES AT HIGH DENSITIES. , 1969 .

[43]  J. Isern,et al.  The final stages of evolution of cold, mass-accreting white dwarfs , 1988 .

[44]  H. V. Klapdor,et al.  Calculation of β−-decay half-lives with the proton-neutron quasiparticle RPA , 1988 .

[45]  García,et al.  gamma width of the unbound 5.17 MeV level of 14O and the "hot" CNO cycle. , 1989, Physical review. C, Nuclear physics.

[46]  M. Rayet.  On the Synthesis of the Proton-Rich Nuclei , 1987 .

[47]  A. Jorissen,et al.  Proton mixing in He-rich layers - The C-13(alpha,n)O-16 neutron source and associated nucleosynthesis , 1989 .

[48]  N. Prantzos,et al.  Nucleosynthesis during Core Helium Burning in Massive Stars , 1987 .

[49]  K. Takahashi,et al.  Beta-decay rates of highly ionized heavy atoms in stellar interiors , 1987 .

[50]  W. Mahoney,et al.  HEAO 3 discovery of Al-26 in the interstellar medium , 1984 .

[51]  G. Mathews,et al.  Neutron capture process in astrophysics , 1985 .

[52]  F. Thielemann,et al.  Beta-delayed fission and neutron emission: Consequences for the astrophysicalr-process and the age of the galaxy , 1983 .

[53]  The Origin and Abundance Distribution of the Elements , 1953 .

[54]  William A. Fowler,et al.  Thermonuclear Reaction Rates, III , 1967 .

[55]  W. Hillebrandt,et al.  Synthesis of Al-26 in explosive hydrogen burning , 1980 .

[56]  P. McCorquodale,et al.  Stellar reaction rates of alpha capture on light (N not equal to Z) nuclei and their astrophysical implications , 1988 .

[57]  John N. Bahcall,et al.  Solar models, neutrino experiments, and helioseismology , 1988 .

[58]  S. Woosley,et al.  The Explosive Burning of Oxygen and Silicon , 1973 .

[59]  K. Nomoto,et al.  Presupernova evolution of massive stars , 1988 .

[60]  I. Iben,et al.  Asymptotic Giant Branch Evolution and Beyond , 1983 .

[61]  F. Thielemann,et al.  Explosive hydrogen burning in novae , 1986 .

[62]  A. Maeder,et al.  The evolution of massive stars with mass loss , 1986 .

[63]  N. Prantzos,et al.  The p-process revisited , 1990 .

[64]  M. Wiescher,et al.  Warm CNO nucleosynthesis as a possible enrichment mechanism for oxygen and fluorine isotopes , 1982 .

[65]  W. Fowler,et al.  Tables of thermonuclear reaction rates for low-mass nuclei (1 ⩽ Z ⩽ 14) , 1985 .

[66]  Jr. Icko Iben.  Post main sequence evolution of single stars. , 1974 .

[67]  F. Thielemann,et al.  Alpha-burning of O-14 , 1987 .

[68]  K. Nomoto,et al.  Presupernova models and supernovae , 1980 .

[69]  N. Prantzos,et al.  Nucleosynthesis and evolution of massive stars with mass loss and overshooting , 1986 .

[70]  V. Trimble.  Supernovae. Part II: The aftermath , 1983 .