arXiv subjects

Nobuya Nishimura

Publications and source records attributed to Nobuya Nishimura.

31 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2017

The intermediate r-process in core-collapse supernovae driven by the magneto-rotational instability

We investigated r-process nucleosynthesis in magneto-rotational supernovae, based on a new explosion mechanism induced by the magneto-rotational instability. A series of axisymmetric magneto-hydrodynamical simulations with detailed microphysics including neutrino heating is performed, numerically resolving the magneto-rotational instability. Neutrino-heating dominated explosions, enhanced by magnetic fields, showed mildly neutron-rich ejecta producing nuclei up to $A \sim 130$ (i.e. the weak r-process), while explosion models with stronger magnetic fields reproduce a solar-like r-process pattern. More commonly seen abundance patterns in our models are in between the weak and regular r-process, producing lighter and intermediate mass nuclei. These {\it intermediate r-processes} exhibit a variety of abundance distributions, compatible with several abundance patterns in r-process-enhanced metal-poor stars. The amount of Eu ejecta $\sim 10^{-5} M_\odot$ in magnetically-driven jets agrees with predicted values in the chemical evolution of early galaxies. In contrast, neutrino-heating dominated explosions have a significant amount of Fe ($^{56}{\rm Ni}$) and Zn, comparable to regular supernovae and hypernovae, respectively. These results indicate magneto-rotational supernovae can produce a wide range of heavy nuclei from iron-group to r-process elements, depending on the explosion dynamics.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2016

Impact of the first-forbidden $β$ decay on the production of $A \sim 195$ r-process peak

We investigated the effects of first-forbidden transitions in $β$ decays on the production of the r-process $A \sim 195$ peak. The theoretical calculated $β$-decay rates with $β$-delayed neutron emission were examined using several astrophysical conditions. As the first-borbidden decay is dominant in $N \sim 126$ neutron-rich nuclei, their inclusion shortens $β$-decay lifetimes and shifts the abundance peak towards higher masses. Additionally, the inclusion of the $β$-delayed neutron emission results in a wider abundance peak, and smoothens the mass distribution by removing the odd-even mass staggering. The effects are commonly seen in the results of all adopted astrophysical models. Nevertheless there are quantitative differences, indicating that remaining uncertainty in the determination of half-lives for $N=126$ nuclei is still significant in order to determine the production of the r-process peak.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2015

The r-process in Magnetorotational Supernovae

One of the hottest open issues involving the evolution of r-process elements is fast enrichment in the early Universe. Clear evidence for the chemical enrichment of r-process elements is seen in the stellar abundances of extremely metal poor stars in the Galactic halo. However, small-mass galaxies are the ideal testbed for studying the evolutionary features of r-process enrichment given the potential rarity of production events yielding heavy r-process elements. Their occurrences become countable and thus an enrichment path due to each event can be found in the stellar abundances. We examine the chemical feature of Eu abundance at an early stage of ${\rm[Fe/H]} \lesssim -2$ in the Draco and Sculptor dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies. Accordingly, we constrain the properties of the Eu production in the early dSphs. We find that the Draco dSph experienced a few Eu production events, whereas Eu enrichment took place more continuously in the Sculptor dSph due to its larger stellar mass. The event rate of Eu production is estimated to be about one per $100$-$200$ core-collapse supernovae, and a Eu mass of $\sim (1-2) \times 10^{-5}$\ms per single event is deduced by associating this frequency with the observed plateau value of ${\rm [Eu/H]} \sim -1.3$ for ${\rm [Fe/H]} \gtrsim -2$. The observed plateau implies that early Eu enrichment ceases at ${\rm [Fe/H]} \approx -2$. Such a selective operation only in low-metallicity stars supports magnetorotational supernovae, which require very fast rotation, as the site of early Eu production. We show that the Eu yields deduced from chemical evolution agree well with the nucleosynthesis results from corresponding supernovae models.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2015

The r-process nucleosynthesis in the various jet-like explosions of magnetorotational core-collapse supernovae

The r-process nucleosynthesis in core-collapse supernovae (CC-SNe) is studied, with a focus on the explosion scenario induced by rotation and strong magnetic fields. Nucleosynthesis calculations are conducted based on magneto-hydrodynamical explosion models with a wide range of parameters for initial rotation and magnetic fields. The explosion models are classified in two different types: i.e., prompt-magnetic-jet and delayed-magnetic-jet, for which the magnetic fields of proto-neutron stars (PNSs) during collapse and the core-bounce are strong and comparatively moderate, respectively. Following the hydrodynamical trajectories of each explosion model, we confirmed that r-processes successfully occur in the prompt-magnetic-jets, which produce heavy nuclei including actinides. On the other hand, the r-process in the delayed-magnetic-jet is suppressed, which synthesizes only nuclei up to the second peak ($A \sim 130$). Thus, the r-process in the delayed-magnetic-jets could explain only "weak r-process" patterns observed in metal-poor stars rather than the "main r-process", represented by the solar abundances. Our results imply that core-collapse supernovae are possible astronomical sources of heavy r-process elements if their magnetic fields are strong enough, while weaker magnetic explosions may produce "weak r-process" patterns ($A \lesssim 130$). We show the potential importance and necessity of magneto-rotational supernovae for explaining the galactic chemical evolution, as well as abundances of r-process enhanced metal-poor stars. We also examine the effects of the remaining uncertainties in the nature of PNSs due to weak interactions that determine the final neutron-richness of ejecta. Additionally, we briefly discuss radioactive isotope yields in primary jets (e.g., $^{56}$Ni), with relation to several optical observation of SNe and relevant high-energy astronomical phenomena.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2014

Code dependencies of pre-supernova evolution and nucleosynthesis in massive stars: Evolution to the end of core helium burning

Massive stars are key sources of radiative, kinetic, and chemical feedback in the universe. Grids of massive star models computed by different groups each using their own codes, input physics choices and numerical approximations, however, lead to inconsistent results for the same stars. We use three of these 1D codes---GENEC, KEPLER and MESA---to compute non-rotating stellar models of $15~\mathrm{M}_\odot$, $20~\mathrm{M}_\odot$, and $25~\mathrm{M}_\odot$ and compare their nucleosynthesis. We follow the evolution from the main sequence until the end of core helium burning. The GENEC and KEPLER models hold physics assumptions used in large grids of published models. The MESA code was set up to use convective core overshooting such that the CO core masses are consistent with those obtained by GENEC. For all models, full nucleosynthesis is computed using the NuGrid post-processing tool MPPNP. We find that the surface abundances predicted by the models are in reasonable agreement. In the helium core, the standard deviation of the elemental overproduction factors for Fe to Mo is less than $30\,\%$---smaller than the impact of the present nuclear physics uncertainties. For our three initial masses, the three stellar evolution codes yield consistent results. Differences in key properties of the models, e.g., helium and CO core masses and the time spent as a red supergiant, are traced back to the treatment of convection and, to a lesser extent, mass loss. The mixing processes in stars remain the key uncertainty in stellar modelling. Better constrained prescriptions are thus necessary to improve the predictive power of stellar evolution models.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2014

Production of all the r-process nuclides in the dynamical ejecta of neutron star mergers

Recent studies suggest that binary neutron star (NS-NS) mergers robustly produce the heavy r-process nuclei above the atomic mass number A ~ 130 because of their ejecta consisting of almost pure neutrons (electron fraction of Y_e < 0.1). However, little production of the lighter r-process nuclei (A = 90-120) conflicts with the spectroscopic results of r-process-enhanced Galactic halo stars. We present, for the first time, the result of nucleosynthesis calculations based on the fully general-relativistic simulation of a NS-NS merger with approximate neutrino transport. It is found that the bulk of the dynamical ejecta are appreciably shock-heated and neutrino-processed, resulting in a wide range of Y_e (= 0.09-0.45). The mass-averaged abundance distribution of calculated nucleosynthesis yields is in reasonable agreement with the full-mass range (A = 90-240) of the solar r-process curve. This implies, if our model is representative of such events, that the dynamical ejecta of NS-NS mergers can be the origin of the Galactic r-process nuclei. Our result also shows that the radioactive heating after ~ 1 day from the merging, giving rise to r-process-powered transient emission, is dominated by the beta-decays of several species close to stability with precisely measured half-lives. This implies that the total radioactive heating rate for such an event can be well constrained within about a factor of two if the ejected material has a solar-like r-process pattern.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2014

Revisiting Impacts of Nuclear Burning for Reviving Weak Shocks in Neutrino-Driven Supernovae

We revisit potential impacts of nuclear burning on the onset of the neutrino-driven explosions of core-collapse supernovae. By changing the neutrino luminosity and its decay time to obtain parametric explosions in one-(1D) and two-dimensional (2D) models with or without a 13-isotope alpha network, we study how the inclusion of nuclear burning could affect the postbounce dynamics for four progenitor models; three for 15.0 Msun stars, one for an 11.2 Msun star. We find that the energy supply due to nuclear burning of infalling material behind the shock can energize the shock expansion especially for models that produce only marginal explosions in the absence of nuclear burning. These models are energized by nuclear energy deposition when the shock front passes through the silicon-rich layer and/or later it touches the oxygen-rich layer. Depending on the neutrino luminosity and its decay time, a diagnostic energy of explosion increases up to a few times 10^50 erg for models with nuclear burning compared to the corresponding models without. We point out that these features are most remarkable for the Limongi-Chieffi progenitor in both 1D and 2D, because the progenitor model possesses a massive oxygen layer with its inner-edge radius being smallest among the employed progenitors, so that the shock can touch the rich fuel on a shorter timescale after bounce. The energy difference is generally smaller (~0.1-0.2 times 10^51 erg) in 2D than in 1D (at most ~0.6 times 10^51 erg). This is because neutrino-driven convection and the shock instability in 2D models enhance the neutrino heating efficiency, which makes the contribution of nuclear burning relatively smaller compared to 1D models. Considering uncertainties in progenitor models, our results indicate that nuclear burning should remain as one of the important ingredients to foster the onset of neutrino-driven explosions.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2013

Observational Constraint on Heavy Element Production in Inhomogeneous Big Bang Nucleosynthesis

Based on a scenario of the inhomogeneous big-bang nucleosynthesis (IBBN), we investigate the detailed nucleosynthesis that includes the production of heavy elements beyond Li-7. From the observational constraints on light elements of He4 and D for the baryon-to-photon ratio given by WMAP, possible regions found on the plane of the volume fraction of the high density region against the ratio between high- and low-density regions. In these allowed regions, we have confirmed that the heavy elements beyond Fe can be produced appreciably, where p- and/or r-process elements are produced well simultaneously compared to the solar system abundances. We suggest that recent observational signals such as He4 overabundance in globular clusters and high metallicity abundances in quasars could be partly due to the results of IBBN. Possible implications are given for the formation of the first generation stars

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2012

Nucleosynthesis in core-collapse supernova explosions triggered by a quark-hadron phase transition

We explore heavy element nucleosynthesis in the explosion of massive stars which are triggered by a quark-hadron phase transition during the early post bounce phase of core-collapse supernovae. The present study is based on general relativistic radiation hydrodynamics simulations with three-flavor Boltzmann neutrino transport in spherical symmetry, which utilize a quark-hadron hybrid equation of state based on the MIT bag model for strange quark matter. The quark-hadron phase transition inside the stellar core forms a shock wave propagating towards the surface of the proto-neutron star. The shock wave results in an explosion and ejects neutron-rich matter which is piled up or accreting on the proto-neutron star. Later, during the cooling phase, the proto-neutron star develops a proton-rich neutrino-driven wind. We present a detailed analysis of the nucleosynthesis outcome in both neutron-rich and proton-rich ejecta and compare our integrated nucleosynthesis with observations of metal poor stars.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2012

Magnetorotationally driven Supernovae as the origin of early galaxy $r$-process elements?

We examine magnetorotationally driven supernovae as sources of $r$-process elements in the early Galaxy. On the basis of thermodynamic histories of tracer particles from a three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamical core-collapse supernova model with approximated neutrino transport, we perform nucleosynthesis calculations with and without considering the effects of neutrino absorption reactions on the electron fraction ($Y_{e}$) during post-processing. We find that the peak distribution of $Y_{e}$ in the ejecta is shifted from $\sim0.15$ to $\sim0.17$ and broadened toward higher $Y_{e}$ due to neutrino absorption. Nevertheless, in both cases the second and third peaks of the solar $r$-process element distribution can be well reproduced. The rare progenitor configuration that was used here, characterized by a high rotation rate and a large magnetic field necessary for the formation of bipolar jets, could naturally provide a site for the strong $r$-process in agreement with observations of the early galactic chemical evolution.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2012

Impact of New beta-decay Half-lives on r-process Nucleosynthesis

We investigate the effects of newly measured beta-decay half-lives on r-process nucleosynthesis. These new rates were determined by recent experiments at the radioactive isotope beam factory facility in the RIKEN Nishina Center. We adopt an r-process nucleosynthesis environment based on a magnetohydrodynamic supernova explosion model that includes strong magnetic fields and rapid rotation of the progenitor. A number of the new beta-decay rates are for nuclei on or near the r-process path, and hence they affect the nucleosynthesis yields and time scale of the r-process. The main effect of the newly measured beta-decay half-lives is an enhancement in the calculated abundance of isotopes with mass number A = 110 -- 120 relative to calculated abundances based upon beta-decay rates estimated with the finite-range droplet mass model. This effect slightly alleviates, but does not fully explain, the tendency of r-process models to underproduce isotopes with A = 110 -- 120 compared to the solar-system r-process abundances.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2008

Nucleosynthesis in Magnetically Driven Jets from Collapsars

We have made detailed calculations of the composition of magnetically driven jets ejected from collapsars, or rapidly rotating massive stars, based on long-term magnetohydrodynamic simulations of their core collapse with various distributions of magnetic field and angular momentum before collapse. We follow the evolution of the abundances of about 4000 nuclides from the collapse phase to the ejection phase and through the jet generation phase using a large nuclear reaction network. We find that the r-process successfully operates only in energetic jets (> 1e51 ergs), such that U and Th are synthesized abundantly, even when the collapsar has a relatively weak magnetic field (1e10 G) and a moderately rotating core before the collapse. The abundance patterns inside the jets are similar to those of the r-elements in the solar system. About 0.01-0.06 Msun neutron-rich, heavy nuclei are ejected from a collapsar with energetic jets. The higher energy jets have larger amounts of Ni56, varying from 0.00037 to 0.06Msun. Less energetic jets, which eject small amounts of Ni56, could induce a gamma-ray burst (GRB) a supernova, such as GRB 060505 or GRB 060614. Considerable amounts of r-elements are likely to be ejected from GRBs with hypernovae, if both the GRB and hypernova are induced by jets that are driven near the black hole.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2005

R-Process Nucleosynthesis in MHD Jet Explosions of Core-Collapse Supernovae

We investigate $r$-process nucleosynthesis during the magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) explosion of supernova in a massive star of 13 $M_{\odot}$. Contrary to the case of the spherical explosion, jet-like explosion due to the combined effects of the rotation and magnetic field lowers the electron fraction significantly inside the layers above the iron core. We find that the ejected material of low electron fraction responsible for the $r$-process comes out from the silicon rich layer of the presupernova model. This leads to the production up to the third peak in the solar $r$-process elements. We examine whether the fission affects the $r$-process paths by using the full nuclear reaction network with both the spontaneous and $β$-delayed fission included. Moreover, we pay particular attention how the mass formula affects the $r$-process peaks with use of two mass formulae. It is found that both formulae can reproduce the global abundance pattern up to the third peak though detailed distributions are rather different. We point out that there are variations in the $r$-process nucleosynthesis if the MHD effects play an important role in the supernova explosion.

astro-ph↗