arXiv subjects

B. Côté

Publications and source records attributed to B. Côté.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Using chemical evolution models of the Milky Way disk to constrain Type Ia supernova progenitors

Thermonuclear explosions of carbon-oxygen white dwarfs as Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) play a significant role in the galactic chemical evolution (GCE) of the Milky Way. However, a long-standing and as yet unresolved problem of modern astrophysics concerns the identity of their progenitor. We aim to use GCE predictions to help constrain potential SN Ia progenitor scenarios, since it is well known that SN Ia nucleosynthesis yields, in particular the Fe-peak elements, depend on the explosion mechanism. We calculated 1140 GCE models and compared the GCE-predicted abundance ratios for four different SN Ia explosion mechanisms -- two from sub-Chandrasekhar (MCh) mass progenitors and two from near-MCh mass progenitors -- to spectroscopic measurements of Milky Way disk stars, considering both local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) and non-LTE (NLTE) assumptions. We calibrated the GCE framework for two sets of massive star yields in order to assess how stellar modelling uncertainties affect the relative contribution from core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe) towards Si, Ca, and the Fe-peak elements. From a GCE perspective, Si and Ca cannot be used to constrain SN Ia progenitors since there is little variation in their yields between different explosion types. The GCE of [Ti/Fe] and [Co/Fe] are not reproduced by any combination of yields. The [Cr/Fe] ratio is also problematic, since hardly any NLTE data of the disk are available and there are conflicting yields from CCSNe. For [Mn/Fe], neither CCSN yield set are compatible with the NLTE data. For [Ni/Fe], the NLTE data are well fit by one set of CCSN yields, with the best-fitting GCE models having a $\sim85\%$ contribution from sub-MCh SNe Ia. We advise caution when using GCE models to constrain the Galaxy's SN Ia population, since the results depend on both the choice of CCSN yields and the elemental ratio used as a diagnostic.

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arXiv2023

Observational constraints on the origin of the elements. V. Non-LTE abundance ratios of [Ni/Fe] in Galactic stars and enrichment by sub-Chandrasekhar mass SNe

We constrain the role of different SN Ia channels in the chemical enrichment of the Galaxy by studying the abundances of nickel in Galactic stars. We investigate four different SN Ia sub-classes, including the classical single-degenerate near-Chandrasekhar mass SN Ia, the fainter SN Iax systems associated with He accretion from the companion, as well as two sub-Ch mass SN Ia channels. The latter include the double-detonation of a white dwarf accreting helium-rich matter and violent white dwarf mergers. NLTE models of Fe and Ni are used in the abundance analysis. In the GCE models, we include new delay time distributions arising from the different SN Ia channels, as well as recent yields for core-collapse supernovae and AGB stars. The data-model comparison is performed using a Markov chain Monte Carlo framework that allows us to explore the entire parameter space allowed by the diversity of explosion mechanisms and the Galactic SN Ia rate, taking into account the uncertainties of the observed data. We show that NLTE effects have a non-negligible impact on the observed [Ni/Fe] ratios in the Galactic stars. The NLTE corrections to Ni abundances are not large, but strictly positive, lifting the [Ni/Fe] ratios by ~+0.15 dex at [Fe/H] =-2. We find that that the distributions of [Ni/Fe] in LTE and in NLTE are very tight, with a scatter of < 0.1 dex at all metallicities, supporting earlier work. In LTE, most stars have scaled-solar Ni abundances, [Ni/Fe] = 0, with a slight tendency for sub-solar [Ni/Fe] ratios at lower [Fe/H]. In NLTE, however, we find a mild anti-correlation between [Ni/Fe] and metallicity, and a slightly elevated [Ni/Fe] ratios at [Fe/H] < -1.0. The NLTE data can be explained by the GCE models calculated with a substantial, ~ 75%, fraction of sub-Ch SN Ia.

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arXiv2022

Horizons: Nuclear Astrophysics in the 2020s and Beyond

Nuclear Astrophysics is a field at the intersection of nuclear physics and astrophysics, which seeks to understand the nuclear engines of astronomical objects and the origin of the chemical elements. This white paper summarizes progress and status of the field, the new open questions that have emerged, and the tremendous scientific opportunities that have opened up with major advances in capabilities across an ever growing number of disciplines and subfields that need to be integrated. We take a holistic view of the field discussing the unique challenges and opportunities in nuclear astrophysics in regards to science, diversity, education, and the interdisciplinarity and breadth of the field. Clearly nuclear astrophysics is a dynamic field with a bright future that is entering a new era of discovery opportunities.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2021

Galactic Chemical Evolution of Radioactive Isotopes with an s-process Contribution

Analysis of inclusions in primitive meteorites reveals that several short-lived radionuclides (SLRs) with half-lives $0.1-100$ Myr existed in the early Solar System (ESS). We investigate the ESS origin of $^{107}$Pd, $^{135}$Cs, and $^{182}$Hf, which are produced by $slow$ neutron captures (the $s$-process) in asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars. We modelled the galactic abundances of these SLRs using the OMEGA+ galactic chemical evolution (GCE) code and two sets of mass- and metallicity-dependent AGB nucleosynthesis yields (Monash and FRUITY). Depending on the ratio of the mean life $τ$ of the SLR to the average length of time between the formation of AGB progenitor $γ$, we calculate timescales relevant for the birth of the Sun. If $τ/γ\gtrsim2$, we predict self-consistent isolation times between 9 and 26 Myr by decaying the GCE predicted $^{107}$Pd/$^{108}$Pd, $^{135}$Cs/$^{133}$Cs, and $^{182}$Hf/$^{180}$Hf ratios to their respective ESS ratios. The predicted $^{107}$Pd/$^{182}$Hf ratio indicates that our GCE models are missing $9-73\%$ of $^{107}$Pd and $^{108}$Pd in the ESS. This missing component may have come from AGB stars of higher metallicity than those that contributed to the ESS in our GCE code. If $τ/γ\lesssim0.3$, we calculate instead the time ($T_{\rm LE}$) from the last nucleosynthesis event that added the SLRs into the presolar matter to the formation of the oldest solids in the ESS. For the 2 M$_\odot$, $Z=0.01$ Monash model we find a self-consistent solution of $T_{\rm LE}=25.5$ Myr.

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arXiv2021

Monte Carlo Investigation of the Ratios of Short-Lived Radioactive Isotopes in the Interstellar Medium

Short-lived radioactive nuclei (SLR) with mean lives below 100 Myr provide us with unique insights into current galactic nucleosynthetic events, as well as events that contributed to the material of our Solar System more that 4.6 Gyr ago. Here we present a statistical analysis of the ratios of these radioactive nuclei at the time of early Solar System (ESS) using both analytical derivations and Monte Carlo methods. We aim to understand the interplay between the production frequency and the mean lives of these isotopes, and its impact on their theoretically predicted ratios in the interstellar medium (ISM). We find that when the ratio of two SRLs, instead of the ratios of each single SLR relative to its stable or long-lived isotope, is considered, not only the uncertainties related to the galactic chemical evolution of the stable isotope are completely eliminated, but also the statistical uncertainties are much lower. We identify four ratios, 247Cm/129I, 107Pd/182Hf, 97Tc/98Tc, and 53Mn/97Tc, that have the potential to provide us with new insights into the r-, s-, and p-process nucleosynthesis at the time of the formation of the Sun, and need to be studied using variable stellar yields. Additionally, the latter two ratios need to be better determined in the ESS to allow us to fully exploit them to investigate the galactic sites of the p process.

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arXiv2019

Aluminium-26 from massive binary stars I: non-rotating models

Aluminium-26 is a short-lived radionuclide with a half-life of 0.72Myr, which is observed today in the Galaxy via gamma-ray spectroscopy and is inferred to have been present in the early Solar System via analysis of meteorites. Massive stars are considered the main contributors of Al26. Although most massive stars are found in binary systems, the effect, however, of binary interactions on the Al26 yields have not been investigated since Braun & Langer (1995). Here we aim to fill this gap. We have used the MESA stellar evolution code to compute massive (10Msun<=M<=80Msun), non-rotating, single and binary stars of solar metallicity (Z=0.014). We computed the wind yields for the single stars and for the binary systems where mass transfer plays a major role. Depending on the initial mass of the primary star and orbital period, the Al26 yield can either increase or decrease in a binary system. For binary systems with primary masses up to ~35-40Msun, the yield can increase significantly, especially at the lower mass-end, while above ~45Msun the yield becomes similar to the single star yield or even decreases. Our preliminary results show that compared to supernova explosions, the contribution of mass-loss in binary systems to the total Al26 abundance produced by a stellar population is minor. On the other hand, if massive star mass-loss is the origin of Al26 in the early Solar System, our results will have significant implications for the identification of the potential stellar, or stellar population, source.

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arXiv2019

Using failed supernovae to constrain the Galactic r-process element production

Rapid neutron capture process (r-process) elements have been detected in a large fraction of metal-poor halo stars, with abundances relative to iron (Fe) that vary by over two orders of magnitude. This scatter is reduced to less than a factor of 3 in younger Galactic disc stars. The large scatter of r-process elements in the early Galaxy suggests that the r-process is made by rare events, like compact binary mergers and rare sub-classes of supernovae. Although being rare, neutron star mergers alone have difficulties to explain the observed enhancement of r-process elements in the lowest metallicity stars compared to Fe. The supernovae producing the two neutron stars already provide a substantial Fe abundance where the r-process ejecta from the merger would be injected. In this work we investigate another complementary scenario, where the r-process occurs in neutron star-black hole mergers in addition to neutron star mergers. Neutron star-black hole mergers would eject similar amounts of r-process matter as neutron star mergers, but only the neutron star progenitor would have produced Fe. Furthermore, a reduced efficiency of Fe production from single stars significantly alters the age-metallicity relation, which shifts the onset of r-process production to lower metallicities. We use the high-resolution [(20 pc)3/cell] inhomogeneous chemical evolution tool `ICE' to study the outcomes of these effects. In our simulations, an adequate combination of neutron star mergers and neutron star-black hole mergers qualitatively reproduces the observed r-process abundances in the Galaxy.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2019

A New Model for Electron-Capture Supernovae in Galactic Chemical Evolution

We examine the contribution of electron-capture supernovae (ECSNe), low-mass SNe from collapsing Fe cores (FeCCSNe), and rotating massive stars to the chemical composition of the Galaxy. Our model includes contributions to chemical evolution from both thermonuclear ECSNe (tECSNe) and gravitational collapse ECSNe (cECSNe). We show that if ECSNe are predominantly gravitational collapse SNe but about 15% are partial thermonuclear explosions, the model is able to reproduce the solar abundances of several important and problematic isotopes including $^{48}$Ca, $^{50}$Ti and $^{54}$Cr together with $^{58}$Fe, $^{64}$Ni, $^{82}$Se and $^{86}$Kr and several of the Zn--Zr isotopes. A model in which no cECSNe occur, only tECSNe with low-mass FeCCSNe or rotating massive stars, proves also very successful at reproducing the solar abundances for these isotopes. Despite the small mass range for the progenitors of ECSNe and low-mass FeCCSNe, the large production factors suffice for the solar inventory of the above isotopes. Our model is compelling because it introduces no new tensions with the solar abundance distribution for a Milky Way model -- only tending to improve the model predictions for several isotopes. The proposed astrophysical production model thus provides a natural and elegant way to explain one of the last uncharted territories on the periodic table of astrophysical element production.

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arXiv2018

r-Process Nucleosynthesis: Connecting Rare-Isotope Beam Facilities with the Cosmos

This is an exciting time for the study of r-process nucleosynthesis. Recently, a neutron star merger GW170817 was observed in extraordinary detail with gravitational waves and electromagnetic radiation from radio to gamma rays. The very red color of the associated kilonova suggests that neutron star mergers are an important r-process site. Astrophysical simulations of neutron star mergers and core collapse supernovae are making rapid progress. Detection of both, electron neutrinos and antineutrinos from the next galactic supernova will constrain the composition of neutrino-driven winds and provide unique nucleosynthesis information. Finally FRIB and other rare-isotope beam facilities will soon have dramatic new capabilities to synthesize many neutron-rich nuclei that are involved in the r-process. The new capabilities can significantly improve our understanding of the r-process and likely resolve one of the main outstanding problems in classical nuclear astrophysics. However, to make best use of the new experimental capabilities and to fully interpret the results, a great deal of infrastructure is needed in many related areas of astrophysics, astronomy, and nuclear theory. We will place these experiments in context by discussing astrophysical simulations and observations of r-process sites, observations of stellar abundances, galactic chemical evolution, and nuclear theory for the structure and reactions of very neutron-rich nuclei. This review paper was initiated at a three-week International Collaborations in Nuclear Theory program in June 2016 where we explored promising r-process experiments and discussed their likely impact, and their astrophysical, astronomical, and nuclear theory context.

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arXiv2017

Convective-reactive nucleosynthesis of K, Sc, Cl and p-process isotopes in O-C shell mergers

We address the deficiency of odd-Z elements P, Cl, K and Sc in galactic chemical evolution models through an investigation of the nucleosynthesis of interacting convective O- and C shells in massive stars. 3D hydrodynamic simulations of O-shell convection with moderate C-ingestion rates show no dramatic deviation from spherical symmetry. We derive a spherically averaged diffusion coefficient for 1D nucleosynthesis simulations which show that such convective-reactive ingestion events can be a production site for P, Cl, K and Sc. An entrainment rate of $10^{-3}{{\rm M}_\odot}$/s features overproduction factors $OP_\mathrm{s} \approx 7$. Full O-C shell mergers in our 1D stellar evolution massive star models have overproduction factors $OP_\mathrm{m}>1 \mathrm{dex}$ but for such cases 3D hydrodynamic simulations suggest deviations from spherical symmetry. p-process species can be produced with overproduction factors of $OP_\mathrm{m}>1 \mathrm{dex}$, e.g. for $^{130,132}Ba$. Using the uncertain prediction of the $15{{\rm M}_\odot}$, $Z=0.02$ massive star model ($OP_\mathrm{m} \approx 15$) as representative for merger or entrainment convective-reactive events involving O- and C-burning shells, and assume that such events occur in more than 50% of all stars, our chemical evolution models reproduce the observed Galactic trends of the odd-Z elements.

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