2020/06/30 by Benoit Côté, Benoît Côté, Marius Eichler +18 · 58 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astro and Planetary Science #Astrobiology #Astrophysics #Ejecta #Formation and evolution of the Solar System #Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae #Meteorite #Neutron #Neutron capture #Neutron star #Nuclear astrophysics #Nuclear fusion #Nuclear physics #Nuclear physics research studies #Nuclear reaction #Nucleosynthesis #Physics #Solar System #Supernova #astro-ph.HE #astro-ph.SR #nucl-th #r-process #s-process
paper · pdf · doi:10.1126/science.aba1111
published in Science 371(6532), 945-948 (American Association for the Advancement of Science) · 36 pages, 7 figures, 7 tables
openalex publication_date 2021/02/25 · arxiv created 2021/03/02 · arxiv updated 2021/03/04 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
The origin of r-process elements Theoretical models predict that the synthesis of heavy elements by the rapid neutron capture process (r-process) occurs in extreme astrophysical environments such as neutron star mergers or some types of supernovae. Testing those predictions by comparing them with the isotopic record has been difficult. Côté et al. examined two r-process isotopes, iodine-129 and curium-247, both of which have half-lives of 15.6 million years. Therefore, their ratio remains constant even long after the nucleosynthesis event. The ratio of those isotopes at the time of Solar System formation is recorded in meteorites. Comparing this value with nuclear astrophysics calculations shows that the most likely source was moderately neutron-rich material ejected from a binary neutron star merger. Science , this issue p. 945