arXiv subjects

Rebecca Surman

Publications and source records attributed to Rebecca Surman.

47 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2020

Gamma-rays from kilonova: a potential probe of r-process nucleosynthesis

The mergers of compact binaries with at least one neutron star component are the potential leading sites of the production and ejection of $r$-process elements. Discoveries of galactic binary pulsars, short gamma-ray bursts, and gravitational-wave detections have all been constraining the rate of these events, while the gravitational wave plus broadband electromagnetic coverage of binary neutron star merger (GW170817) has also placed constraints on the properties (mass and composition) of the merger ejecta. But uncertainties and ambiguities in modeling the optical and infrared emission make it difficult to definitively measure the distribution of heavy isotopes in these mergers. In contrast, gamma rays emitted in the decay of these neutron-rich ejecta may provide a more direct measurement of the yields. We calculate the gamma production in remnants of neutron star mergers, considering two epochs: a kilonova epoch, lasting about two weeks, and a much later epoch of tens and hundreds of thousands of years after the merger. For the kilonova epoch, when the expanding ejecta is still only partially transparent to gamma radiation, we use 3D radiative transport simulations to produce the spectra. We show that the gamma-ray spectra associated with beta- and alpha-decay provide a fingerprint of the ejecta properties and, for a sufficiently nearby remnant, may be detectable, even for old remnants. We compare our gamma spectra with the potential detection limits of next generation detectors, including the Lunar Occultation Explorer (LOX), the All-sky Medium Energy Gamma-ray Observatory (AMEGO), and the Compton Spectrometer and Imager (COSI). We show that fission models can be discriminated via the presence of short-lived fission fragments in the remnant spectra.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2020

Spallation of r-Process Nuclei Ejected from a Neutron Star Merger

Neutron star mergers (NSMs) are rapid neutron capture (r-process) nucleosynthesis sites, which eject materials at high velocities, from 0.1c to as high as 0.6c. Thus the r-process nuclei ejected from a NSM event are sufficiently energetic to initiate spallation reactions with the interstellar medium (ISM) particles. With a thick-target model for the propagation of high-speed heavy nuclei in the ISM, we find that spallation reactions may shift the r-process abundance patterns towards solar data, particularly around the low-mass edges of the r-process peaks where neighboring nuclei have very different abundances. The spallation effects depend both on the astrophysical conditions of the r-process nuclei and nuclear physics inputs for the nucleosynthesis calculations and the propagation process. This work extends that of [Wang et al.(2019)] by focusing on the influence of nuclear physics variations on spallation effects.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2020

Characterizing $r$-Process Sites through Actinide Production

Of the variations in the elemental abundance patterns of stars enhanced with $r$-process elements, the variation in the relative actinide-to-lanthanide ratio is among the most significant. We investigate the source of these actinide differences in order to determine whether these variations are due to natural differences in astrophysical sites, or due to the uncertain nuclear properties that are accessed in $r$-process sites. We find that variations between relative stellar actinide abundances is most likely astrophysical in nature, owing to how neutron-rich the ejecta from an $r$-process event may be. Furthermore, if an $r$-process site is capable of generating variations in the neutron-richness of its ejected material, then only one type of $r$-process site is needed to explain all levels of observed relative actinide enhancements.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2019

Using excitation-energy dependent fission yields to identify key fissioning nuclei in r-process nucleosynthesis

We evaluate the impact of using sets of fission yields given by the GEF code for spontaneous (sf), neutron-induced ((n,f)), and beta-delayed (betadf) fission processes which take into account the approximate initial excitation energy of the fissioning compound nucleus. We further explore energy-dependent fission dynamics in the r process by considering the sensitivity of our results to the treatment of the energy sharing and de-excitation of the fission fragments using the FREYA code. We show that the asymmetric-to-symmetric yield trends predicted by GEF can reproduce the high-mass edge of the second r-process peak seen in solar data and examine the sensitivity of this result to the mass model and astrophysical conditions applied. We consider the effect of fission yields and barrier heights on the nuclear heating rates used to predict kilonova light curves. We find that fission barriers influence the contribution of 254Cf spontaneous fission to the heating at ~100 days, such that a light curve observation consistent with such late-time heating would both confirm that actinides were produced in the event and imply the fission barriers are relatively high along the 254Cf beta-feeding path. We lastly determine the key nuclei responsible for setting the r-process abundance pattern by averaging over thirty trajectories from a 1.2--1.4 M_odot neutron star merger simulation. We show it is largely the odd-N nuclei undergoing (Z,N)(n,f) and (Z,N)betadf that control the relative abundances near the second peak. We find the "hot spots" for beta-delayed and neutron-induced fission given all mass models considered and show most of these nuclei lie between the predicted N=184 shell closure and the location of currently available experimental decay data.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2019

Actinide-rich and Actinide-poor $r$-Process Enhanced Metal-Poor Stars do not Require Separate $r$-Process Progenitors

The astrophysical production site of the heaviest elements in the universe remains a mystery. Incorporating heavy element signatures of metal-poor, $r$-process enhanced stars into theoretical studies of $r$-process production can offer crucial constraints on the origin of heavy elements. In this study, we introduce and apply the "Actinide-Dilution with Matching" model to a variety of stellar groups ranging from actinide-deficient to actinide-enhanced to empirically characterize $r$-process ejecta mass as a function of electron fraction. We find that actinide-boost stars do not indicate the need for a unique and separate $r$-process progenitor. Rather, small variations of neutron richness within the same type of $r$-process event can account for all observed levels of actinide enhancements. The very low-$Y_e$, fission-cycling ejecta of an $r$-process event need only constitute 10-30% of the total ejecta mass to accommodate most actinide abundances of metal-poor stars. We find that our empirical $Y_e$ distributions of ejecta are similar to those inferred from studies of GW170817 mass ejecta ratios, which is consistent with neutron-star mergers being a source of the heavy elements in metal-poor, $r$-process enhanced stars.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2018

Actinide Production in Neutron-Rich Ejecta of a Neutron Star Merger

The rapid-neutron-capture ("r") process is responsible for synthesizing many of the heavy elements observed in both the solar system and Galactic metal-poor halo stars. Simulations of r-process nucleosynthesis can reproduce abundances derived from observations with varying success, but so far fail to account for the observed over-enhancement of actinides, present in about 30% of r-process-enhanced stars. In this work, we investigate actinide production in the dynamical ejecta of a neutron star merger and explore if varying levels of neutron richness can reproduce the actinide boost. We also investigate the sensitivity of actinide production on nuclear physics properties: fission distribution, beta-decay, and mass model. For most cases, the actinides are over-produced in our models if the initial conditions are sufficiently neutron-rich for fission cycling. We find that actinide production can be so robust in the dynamical ejecta that an additional lanthanide-rich, actinide-poor component is necessary in order to match observations of actinide-boost stars. We present a simple actinide-dilution model that folds in estimated contributions from two nucleosynthetic sites within a merger event. Our study suggests that while the dynamical ejecta of a neutron star merger is a likely production site for the formation of actinides, a significant contribution from another site or sites (e.g., the neutron star merger accretion disk wind) is required to explain abundances of r-process-enhanced, metal-poor stars.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2018

The Origin of r-Process Elements in the Milky Way

Some of the heavy elements, such as gold and europium (Eu), are almost exclusively formed by the rapid neutron capture process (r-process). However, it is still unclear which astrophysical site between core-collapse supernovae and neutron star - neutron star (NS-NS) mergers produced most of the r-process elements in the universe. Galactic chemical evolution (GCE) models can test these scenarios by quantifying the frequency and yields required to reproduce the amount of europium (Eu) observed in galaxies. Although NS-NS mergers have become popular candidates, their required frequency (or rate) needs to be consistent with that obtained from gravitational wave measurements. Here we address the first NS-NS merger detected by LIGO/Virgo (GW170817) and its associated Gamma-ray burst and analyze their implication on the origin of r-process elements. The range of NS-NS merger rate densities of 320-4740 Gpc$^{-3}$ yr$^{-1}$ provided by LIGO/Virgo is remarkably consistent with the range required by GCE to explain the Eu abundances in the Milky Way with NS-NS mergers, assuming the solar r-process abundance pattern for the ejecta. Under the same assumption, this event has produced about 1-5 Earth masses of Eu, and 3-13 Earth masses of gold. When using theoretical calculations to derive Eu yields, constraining the role of NS-NS mergers becomes more challenging because of nuclear astrophysics uncertainties. This is the first study that directly combines nuclear physics uncertainties with GCE calculations. If GW170817 is a representative event, NS-NS mergers can produce Eu in sufficient amounts and are likely to be the main r-process site.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2011

Formation Of The Rare Earth Peak: Gaining Insight Into Late-Time r-Process Dynamics

We study the formation and final structure of the rare earth peak ($A\sim160$) of the $r$-process nucleosynthesis. The rare earth peak forms at late times in the $r$-process after neutron exhaustion (neutron-to-seed ratio unity or R=1) as matter decays back to stability. Since rare earth peak formation does not occur during \nggn \ equilibrium it is sensitive to the strong interplay between late time thermodynamic evolution and nuclear physics input. Depending on the conditions the peak forms either because of the pattern of the neutron capture rates or because of the pattern of the separation energies. We analyze three mass models under different thermodynamic conditions. We find that the subtleties of each mass model, including separation energies and neutron capture rates, influence not only the final shape of the peak but also when it forms. We identify the range of nuclei which are influential in rare earth peak formation.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2010

The influence of collective neutrino oscillations on a supernova r-process

Recently, it has been demonstrated that neutrinos in a supernova oscillate collectively. This process occurs much deeper than the conventional matter-induced MSW effect and hence may have an impact on nucleosynthesis. In this paper we explore the effects of collective neutrino oscillations on the r-process, using representative late-time neutrino spectra and outflow models. We find that accurate modeling of the collective oscillations is essential for this analysis. As an illustration, the often-used "single-angle" approximation makes grossly inaccurate predictions for the yields in our setup. With the proper multiangle treatment, the effect of the oscillations is found to be less dramatic, but still significant. Since the oscillation patterns are sensitive to the details of the emitted fluxes and the sign of the neutrino mass hierarchy, so are the r-process yields. The magnitude of the effect also depends sensitively on the astrophysical conditions - in particular on the interplay between the time when nuclei begin to exist in significant numbers and the time when the collective oscillation begins. A more definitive understanding of the astrophysical conditions, and accurate modeling of the collective oscillations for those conditions, is necessary.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2003

On the Contribution of Gamma Ray Bursts to the Galactic Inventory of Some Intermediate Mass Nuclei

Light curves from a growing number of Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) indicate that GRBs copiously produce radioactive Ni moving outward at fractions of the speed of light. We calculate nuclear abundances of elements accompanying the outflowing Ni under the assumption that this Ni originates from a wind blown off of a viscous accretion disk. We also show that GRB's likely contribute appreciably to the galactic inventory of 42Ca, 45Sc, 46Ti, 49Ti, 63Cu, and may be a principal site for the production of 64Zn.

astro-ph↗

arXiv1998

Neutrino capture by r-process waiting-point nuclei

We use the Quasiparticle Random Phase Approximation to include the effects of low-lying Gamow-Teller and first forbidden strength in neutrino capture by very neutron-rich nuclei with N = 50, 82, or 126. For electron neutrinos in what is currently considered the most likely r-process site the capture cross sections are two or more times previous estimates. We briefly discuss the reliability of our calculations and their implications for nucleosynthesis.

nucl-th↗