arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Heinz Oberhummer.
We show that nuclei lying at the edge of stability can behave as nonlinear quantum amplifiers. A tiny change in the nucleon-nucleon interaction can trigger a much bigger change in the binding energy of these systems, relative to the few-cluster breakup threshold.
We show that the synthesis of carbon and oxygen through the triple-alpha process in red giant stars is extremely sensitive to the fine details of the nucleon-nucleon (N-N) interaction. A +/-0.5% change in the strength of the N-N force would reduce either the carbon or oxygen abundance by as much as a factor of 30-1000. This result may be used to constrain some fundamental parameters of the Standard Model.
In nucleosynthesis three possible paths are known to bridge the mass gaps at A=5 and A=8. The primary path producing the bulk of the carbon in our Universe proceeds via the triple-alpha process He4(2alpha,gamma)C12. This process takes place in helium-burning of red giant stars. We show that outside a narrow window of about 0.5% of the strength or range of the strong force, the stellar production of carbon or oxygen through the triple-alpha process is reduced by factors of 30 to 1000. Outside this small window the creation of carbon or oxygen and therefore also carbon-based life in the universe is strongly disfavored. The anthropically allowed strengths of the strong force also give severe constraints for the sum of the light quark masses as well as the Higgs vacuum expectation value and mass parameter at the 1% level.
The bulk of the carbon in our universe is produced in the triple-alpha process in helium-burning red giant stars. We calculated the change of the triple-alpha reaction rate in a microscopic 12-nucleon model of the C-12 nucleus and looked for the effects of minimal variations of the strengths of the underlying interactions. Stellar model calculations were performed with the alternative reaction rates. Here, we show that outside a narrow window of 0.5 and 4% of the values of the strong and Coulomb forces, respectively, the stellar production of carbon or oxygen is reduced by factors of 30 to 1000.
Through the triple-alpha process practically all of the carbon in our universe is synthesized as the ash of helium burning in red giants. The triple-alpha process proceeds trough the ground state of 8Be and though the 02+-state in 12C. We investigate the dependence of 02+-state and the production of carbon as a function of the strength of the underlying nucleon-nucleon interaction. This is performed by using the complex scaling method in a microscopic cluster model.
Through the triple-alpha process occurring in red giant stars the bulk of the carbon existing in our universe is produced. We calculated the change of the triple-alpha reaction rate for slight variations of the nucleon-nucleon force using a microscopic 12-body model. Stellar model calculations for a low-mass, intermediate-mass and massive star using the different triple-alpha reaction rates obtained with different strengths of the N-N interaction have been performed. Even with a change of 0.4% in the strength of N-N force, carbon-based life appears to be impossible, since all the stars then would produce either almost solely carbon or oxygen, but could not produce both elements.
The $({\rm n},γ)$--cross sections for neutron--rich oxygen isotopes have been calculated in the direct capture model. The experimental data for ${^{18}{\rm O}}({\rm n},γ){^{19}{\rm O}}$ can be reproduced using this model. Compared to previous work the cross section for ${^{19-21}{\rm O}}({\rm n},γ){^{20-22}{\rm O}}$ are enhanced considerably by factors between four and 300.