https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/202022701010
Experimental Challenge to Heavy Element Synthesis under Explosive Burning on Neutron Stars
1 RIKEN Nishina Center, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama, 351-0198 Japan
2 Center for Nuclear Study, the University of Tokyo, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama, 351-0198 Japan
* Corresponding author: kubono@riken.jp
Published online: 14 January 2020
Binary stellar systems that involve a neutron star or two neutron stars make interesting phenomena, X-ray bursts and kilo-novae, respectively, which involve explosive burning either in the proton-rich environment or in the neutron-rich environment. These are very important problems for nuclear astrophysics. First, the current effort for the explosive hydrogen burning, the rapid proton capture (rp) process which would take place on a neutron star surface in X-ray burst is discussed together with a new X-ray observation that suggests the rp-process termination at around A = 100. The observation of the afterglow of the binary neutron star merger appears to be the kilo-nova predicted in the last decade in nuclear astrophysics, and to be the great success of the field. However, the detailed study of the kilo-nova by the r-process should be a great challenge for full understanding heavy element synthesis and the neutron star merger. Nuclear physics problems are discussed for the kilonova.
© The Authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2020
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
