%0 Generic %1 roederer2023element %A Roederer, Ian U. %A Vassh, Nicole %A Holmbeck, Erika M. %A Mumpower, Matthew R. %A Surman, Rebecca %A Cowan, John J. %A Beers, Timothy C. %A Ezzeddine, Rana %A Frebel, Anna %A Hansen, Terese T. %A Placco, Vinicius M. %A Sakari, Charli M. %D 2023 %K astronomy element_abundance stars uranium %R 10.1126/science.adf1341 %T Element abundance patterns in stars indicate fission of nuclei heavier than uranium %U https://arxiv.org/abs/2312.06844 %X The heaviest chemical elements are naturally produced by the rapid neutron-capture process (r-process) during neutron star mergers or supernovae. The r-process production of elements heavier than uranium (transuranic nuclei) is poorly understood and inaccessible to experiments, so must be extrapolated using nucleosynthesis models. We examine element abundances in a sample of stars that are enhanced in r-process elements. The abundances of elements Ru, Rh, Pd, and Ag (atomic numbers Z = 44 to 47, mass numbers A = 99 to 110) correlate with those of heavier elements (63 <= Z <= 78, A > 150). There is no correlation for neighboring elements (34 <= Z <= 42 and 48 <= Z <= 62). We interpret this as evidence that fission fragments of transuranic nuclei contribute to the abundances. Our results indicate that neutron-rich nuclei with mass numbers >260 are produced in r-process events.

@misc{roederer2023element, abstract = {The heaviest chemical elements are naturally produced by the rapid neutron-capture process (r-process) during neutron star mergers or supernovae. The r-process production of elements heavier than uranium (transuranic nuclei) is poorly understood and inaccessible to experiments, so must be extrapolated using nucleosynthesis models. We examine element abundances in a sample of stars that are enhanced in r-process elements. The abundances of elements Ru, Rh, Pd, and Ag (atomic numbers Z = 44 to 47, mass numbers A = 99 to 110) correlate with those of heavier elements (63 <= Z <= 78, A > 150). There is no correlation for neighboring elements (34 <= Z <= 42 and 48 <= Z <= 62). We interpret this as evidence that fission fragments of transuranic nuclei contribute to the abundances. Our results indicate that neutron-rich nuclei with mass numbers >260 are produced in r-process events. }, added-at = {2024-03-09T12:47:05.000+0100}, archiveprefix = {arXiv}, author = {Roederer, Ian U. and Vassh, Nicole and Holmbeck, Erika M. and Mumpower, Matthew R. and Surman, Rebecca and Cowan, John J. and Beers, Timothy C. and Ezzeddine, Rana and Frebel, Anna and Hansen, Terese T. and Placco, Vinicius M. and Sakari, Charli M.}, biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/29f8d443158a84c63d5b50486dfe1c804/tabularii}, description = {[2312.06844] Element abundance patterns in stars indicate fission of nuclei heavier than uranium}, doi = {10.1126/science.adf1341}, eprint = {2312.06844}, interhash = {5c0031e0c0269ab3e2bd252a00f2a553}, intrahash = {9f8d443158a84c63d5b50486dfe1c804}, keywords = {astronomy element_abundance stars uranium}, primaryclass = {astro-ph.SR}, timestamp = {2024-03-09T12:47:05.000+0100}, title = {Element abundance patterns in stars indicate fission of nuclei heavier than uranium}, url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2312.06844}, year = 2023 }