Abstract
We discuss the possibility whether superheavy elements can be produced in Nature by the astrophysical rapid neutron capture process. To this end we have performed fully dynamical network r-process calculations assuming an environment with neutron-to-seed ratio large enough to produce superheavy nuclei. Our calculations include two sets of nuclear masses and fission barriers and include all possible fission channels and the associated fission yield distributions. Our calculations produce superheavy nuclei with \(\ensuremath A\approx 300\) that however decay on time scales of days.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
W.D. Myers, W.J. Swiatecki, Nucl. Phys. 81, 1 (1966)
A. Sobiczewski, F.A. Gareev, B.N. Kalinkin, Phys. Lett. 22, 500 (1966)
H.W. Meldner, Phys. Rev. C 178, 1815 (1969)
S.G. Nilsson, S.G. Thompson, C.F. Tsang, Phys. Lett. B 28, 458 (1969)
S.G. Nilsson, C.F. Tsang, A. Sobiczewski, Z. Szymanski, S. Wycech, C. Gustafson, L.L. Lamm, P. Moller, B. Nilsson, Nucl. Phys. A 131, 1 (1969)
J. Grummann, B. Fink, U. Mosel, W. Greiner, Z. Phys. 228, 371 (1969)
K.A. Brueckner, J.H. Chirico, H.W. Meldner, Phys. Rev. C 4, 732 (1971)
S. Cwiok, J. Dobaczewski, P.-H. Heenen, P. Magierski, W. Nazarewicz, Nucl. Phys. A 611, 211 (1996)
M. Bender, K. Rutz, P.-G. Reinhard, J.A. Maruhn, W. Greiner, Phys. Rev. C 60, 034304 (1999)
A.T. Kruppa et al., Phys. Rev. C 61, 034313 (2000)
P.-H. Heenen, W. Nazarewicz, Europhys. News 33, 1 (2002)
S. Cwiok, P.-H. Heenen, W. Nazarewicz, Nature 433, 705 (2005)
M. Bender, W. Nazarewicz, P.-G. Reinhard, Phys. Lett. B 515, 42 (2001)
P. Möller, J.R. Nix, J. Phys. G 20, 1681 (1994)
P. Möller, A.J. Sierk, T. Ichikawa, A. Iwamoto, R. Bengtsson, H. Uhrenholt, S. Aringberg, Phys. Rev. C 79, 064304 (2009)
P. Möller, Int. J. Mod. Phys. E 19, 575 (2010)
A. Sobiczewski, P. Rozmej, Int. J. Mod. Phys. E 20, 325 (2011)
J. Erler, K. Langanke, H.P. Loens, G. Martinez-Pinedo, P.G. Reinhard, Phys. Rev. C 85, 025802 (2012)
S. Hofmann, G. Münzenberg, Rev. Mod. Phys. 72, 733 (2000)
P. Armbruster, Ann. Rev. Nucl. Part. Sci. 50, 411 (2000)
Y.T. Oganessian, Nucl. Phys. 734, 109 (2004)
K. Moody et al., Nucl. Phys. 734, 188 (2004)
S. Hofmann, Lect. Notes Phys. 764, 203 (2009)
Y.T. Oganessian et al., Phys. Rev. C 74, 044602 (2006)
Y.T. Oganessian et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 142502 (2010)
Y.T. Oganessian et al., Phys. Rev. C 83, 054315 (2011)
D.N. Schramm, W.A. Fowler, Nature 231, 103 (1971)
G.N. Flerov, G.M. Ter-Akopian, Rep. Prog. Phys. 46, 817 (1983)
J.J. Cowan, F.-K. Thielemann, J.W. Truran, Phys. Rep. 208, 267 (1991)
M. Arnould, S. Goriely, K. Takahashi, Phys. Rep. 450, 97 (2007)
F.-K. Thielemann et al., Prog. Part. Nucl. Phys. 66, 346 (2011)
H.W. Meldner, Phys. Rev. Lett. 28, 975 (1972)
D.W. Dorn, R.W. Hoff, Phys. Rev. Lett. 14, 440 (1965)
G.I. Bell, Rev. Mod. Phys. 39, 59 (1967)
J.S. Igley, Nucl. Phys. A 124, 130 (1969)
S.A. Becker, in Origin and Evolution of the Elements, Carnegie Observatories Astrophysics Series, edited by A. McWilliam, M. Rauch, Vol. 4 (Pasadena, Carnegie Observatories, 2004) symposia.obs.carnegiescience.edu/series/symposium4/proceedings.html
R. Boleu, S.G. Nilsson, R.K. Sheline, K. Takahashi, Phys. Lett. B 40, 517 (1972)
D.N. Schramm, E.O. Fizet, Astrophys. J. 180, 551 (1973)
K.A. Brueckner, J.H. Chirico, S. Jona, H.W. Meldner, D.N. Schramm, P.A. Seeger, Phys. Rev. C 7, 2133 (1973)
W.M. Howard, J.R. Nix, Nature 247, 17 (1974)
W.M. Howard, P. Moller, At. Data Nucl. Data Tables 25, 219 (1980)
F.-K. Thielemann, J. Metzinger, H.V. Klapdor, Z. Phys. A 309, 301 (1983)
F.-K. Thielemann, J. Metzinger, H.V. Klapdor, Astron. Astrophys. 123, 162 (1983)
E.R. Hilf, H. von Groote, K. Takahashi, Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Nuclei far from Stability (Cargese), CERN 76-13 (1976) p. 142
A. Mamdouh, J.M. Pearson, C.M. Rayet, F. Tondeur, Nucl. Phys. A 679, 337 (2001)
J.J. Cowan, B. Pfeiffer, K.-L. Kratz, F.-K. Thielemann, C. Sneden, S. Burles, D. Tytler, T.C. Beers, Astrophys. J. 521, 194 (1999)
A. Mamdouh, J.M. Pearson, M. Rayet, F. Tondeur, Nucl. Phys. A 644, 389 (1998)
W.D. Myers, W.J. Swiatecki, Phys. Rev. C 60, 014606 (1999)
S. Goriely, S. Hilaire, A.J. Koning, M. Sin, R. Capote, Phys. Rev. C 79, 024612 (2009)
R. Capote et al., Nucl. Data Sheets 110, 3107 (2009) and http://www-nds.iaea.org/RIPL-3/
I.V. Panov, E. Kolbe, B. Pfeiffer, T. Rauscher, K.-L. Kratz, F.-K. Thielemann, Nucl. Phys. A 747, 633 (2005)
I.V. Panov, I.Y. Korneev, T. Rauscher, G. Martinez-Pinedo, A. Kelic-Heil, N.T. Zinner, F.-K. Thielemann, Astron. Astrophys. 513, A61 (2010)
I.V. Panov, I.Y. Korneev, F.-K. Thielemann, Phys. At. Nucl. 72, 1026 (2009)
I. Petermann et al., J. Phys. Conf. Ser. 202, 012008 (2010)
K. Langanke, G. Martinez-Pinedo, I. Petermann, F.-K. Thielemann, Prog. Part. Nucl. Phys. 66, 319 (2011)
T. Rauscher, F.-K. Thielemann, At. Data Nucl. Data Tables 75, 1 (2000)
T. Rauscher, F.-K. Thielemann, At. Data Nucl. Data Tables 79, 47 (2001)
T. Rauscher, F.-K. Thielemann, At. Data Nucl. Data Tables 88, 1 (2004)
D. Mocelj, T. Rauscher, G. Martinez-Pinedo, K. Langanke, L. Pacearescu, A. Faessler, F.-K. Thielemann, Y. Alhassid, Phys. Rev. C 75, 045805 (2007)
H.P. Loens, K. Langanke, G. Martinez-Pinedo, T. Rauscher, F.-K. Thielemann, Phys. Lett. B 666, 395 (2008)
E. Litvinova, H.P. Loens, K. Langanke, G. Martinez-Pinedo, T. Rauscher, P. Ring, F.-K. Thielemann, V. Tselyaev, Nucl. Phys. A 823, 26 (2009)
R. H. Cyburt et al., Astrophys. J. Suppl. 189, 240 (2010)
T. Rauscher, Int. J. Mod. Phys. E 20, 1071 (2011)
S. Goriely, S. Hilaire, A.J. Koning, Astron. Astrophys. 487, 767 (2008)
A.C. Larsen, S. Goriely, Phys. Rev. C 82, 014318 (2010)
S. Goriely, S. Hilaire, A.J. Koning, R. Capote, Phys. Rev. C 83, 034601 (2011)
T. Kodama, K. Takahashi, Nucl. Phys. A 239, 489 (1975)
Z. Ren, C. Xu, Nucl. Phys. A 759, 64 (2005)
R. Smolańczuk, J. Skalski, A. Sobiczewski, Phys. Rev. C 52, 1871 (1995)
R. Smolańczuk, Phys. Rev. C 56, 812 (1997)
P. Möller, J.R. Nix, W.D. Myers, W.J. Swiatecki, At. Data Nucl. Data Tables 59, 185 (1995)
Y. Aboussir, J.M. Pearson, A.K. Dutta, F. Tondeur, At. Data Nucl. Data Tables 61, 127 (1995)
J. Duflo, A.P. Zuker, Phys. Rev. C 52, 23 (1995)
S. Goriely, N. Chamel, J.M. Pearson, Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 152503 (2009)
S. Goriely, N. Chamel, J.M. Pearson, Phys. Rev. C 82, 035804 (2010)
J.A. Sheikh, W. Nazarewicz, J.C. Pei, Phys. Rev. C 80, 011302 (2009)
S. Goriely, M. Samyn, J.M. Pearson, Phys. Rev. C 75, 064312 (2007)
G. Martinez-Pinedo et al., Prog. Part. Nucl. Phys. 59, 199 (2007)
A. Sobiczewski, Z. Patyk, S. Ćwiok, Phys. Lett. B 224, 1 (1989)
P. Möller, B. Pfeiffer, K.-L. Kratz, Phys. Rev. C 67, 055802 (2003)
N.T. Zinner, PhD Thesis, University of Aarhus, Denmark (2007)
J.-J. Gaimard, K.-H. Schmidt, Nucl. Phys. A 531, 709 (1991)
J. Benlliure, A. Grewe, M. de Jong, K.-H. Schmidt, S. Zhdanov, Nucl. Phys. A 628, 458 (1998)
J.M. Lattimer, D.N. Schramm, Astrophys. J. 210, 549 (1976)
J.M. Lattimer, F. Mackie, D.G. Ravenhall, D.N. Schramm, Astrophys. J. 213, 225 (1977)
C. Freiburghaus, S. Rosswog, F.-K. Thielemann, Astrophys. J. 525, L121 (1999)
S. Goriely, A. Bauswein, H.-T. Janka, Astrophys. J. 738, L32 (2011)
A.G.W. Cameron, Astrophys. J. 587, 327 (2003)
S. Fujimoto, N. Nishimura, M. Hashimoto, Astrophys. J. 680, 1350 (2008)
C. Winteler et al., Astrophys. J. 750, L22 (2012)
S.E. Woosley, J.R. Wilson, G.J. Mathews, R.D. Hoffman, B.S. Meyer, Astrophys. J. 433, 229 (1994)
K. Takahashi, J. Witti, H.-T. Janka, Astron. Astrophys. 286, 857 (1994)
Y.-Z. Qian, S.E. Woosley, Astrophys. J. 471, 331 (1996)
K. Otsuki, H. Tagoshi, T. Kajino, S. Wanajo, Astrophys. J. 533, 424 (2000)
T.A. Thompson, A. Burrows, B.S. Meyer, Astrophys. J. 562, 887 (2001)
A. Arcones, H.-T. Janka, L. Scheck, Astron. Astrophys. 467, 1227 (2007)
K. Farouqi, K.-L. Kratz, B. Pfeiffer, T. Rauscher, F.-K. Thielemann, J.W. Truran, Astrophys. J. 712, 1359 (2010)
A. Arcones, G. Martinez-Pinedo, Phys. Rev. C 83, 045809 (2011)
T. Fischer, S.C. Whitehouse, A. Mezzacappa, F.-K. Thielemann, M. Liebendörfer, Astron. Astrophys. 517, A80 (2010)
L. Hüdepohl, B. Müller, H.-T. Janka, A. Marek, G. Raffelt, Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 251101 (2010)
R. Surman, G. C. McLaughlin, M. Ruffert, H.-T. Janka, W.R. Hix, Astrophys. J. 679, L117 (2008)
S. Wanajo, H.-T. Janka, Astrophys. J. 746, 180 (2012)
A. Arcones, H.-Th. Janka, L. Scheck, Astron. Astrophys. 467, 1227 (2007)
B.S. Meyer, J.S. Brown, Astrophys. J. Suppl. 112, 199 (1997)
I.V. Panov, H.-T. Janka, Astron. Astrophys. 494, 829 (2009)
S. Wanajo, H.-T. Janka, S. Kubono, Astrophys. J. 729, 46 (2011)
F.X. Timmes, D. Arnett, Astrophys. J. Suppl. 125, 277 (1999)
W.R. Hix, F.-K. Thielemann, J. Comput. Appl. Math. 109, 321 (1999)
T. Sasaqui, K. Otsuki, T. Kajino, G.J. Mathews, Astrophys. J. 645, 1345 (2006)
E.M. Burbidge, G.R. Burbidge, W.A. Fowler, F. Hoyle, Rev. Mod. Phys. 29, 547 (1957)
A.G.W. Cameron, Stellar evolution, nuclear astrophysics, and nucleogenesis, Report CRL-41, Chalk River (1957)
J.B. Blake, D.N. Schramm, Astrophys. J. 209, 846 (1976)
S. Wanajo, Astrophys. J. 666, L77 (2007)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Communicated by M. Hjorth-Jensen
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Petermann, I., Langanke, K., Martínez-Pinedo, G. et al. Have superheavy elements been produced in nature?. Eur. Phys. J. A 48, 122 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1140/epja/i2012-12122-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1140/epja/i2012-12122-6