New Fe59 Stellar Decay Rate with Implications for the Fe60 Radioactivity in Massive Stars
| Autor: | J. Rebenstock, Jun Chen, A. Sieverding, Chong Qi, F. Ndayisabye, Brenden Longfellow, E. Kwan, B. A. Brown, K. Li, J. Schmitt, C. Hultquist, Shumpei Noji, Alexandra Gade, A. Revel, H. Iwasaki, Alexander Heger, Bao-Hua Sun, M. Grinder, C. Maher, D. Rhodes, T. N. Ginter, J. Pereira, P. Farris, A. M. Hill, X. Tang, R. G. T. Zegers, D. Weisshaar, J. Li, Bingshui Gao, J. M. Gabler, M. DeNudt, J. Ash, A. Sanchez, Y. Ayyad-Limonge, Chandana Sumithrarachchi, D. Bazin, S. Biswas, S. Giraud |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: | |
| Zdroj: | Physical Review Letters. 126 |
| ISSN: | 1079-7114 0031-9007 |
| Popis: | The discrepancy between observations from γ-ray astronomy of the ^{60}Fe/^{26}Al γ-ray flux ratio and recent calculations is an unresolved puzzle in nuclear astrophysics. The stellar β-decay rate of ^{59}Fe is one of the major nuclear uncertainties impeding us from a precise prediction. The important Gamow-Teller strengths from the low-lying states in ^{59}Fe to the ^{59}Co ground state are measured for the first time using the exclusive measurement of the ^{59}Co(t,^{3}He+γ)^{59}Fe charge-exchange reaction. The new stellar decay rate of ^{59}Fe is a factor of 3.5±1.1 larger than the currently adopted rate at T=1.2 GK. Stellar evolution calculations show that the ^{60}Fe production yield of an 18 solar mass star is decreased significantly by 40% when using the new rate. Our result eliminates one of the major nuclear uncertainties in the predicted yield of ^{60}Fe and alleviates the existing discrepancy of the ^{60}Fe/^{26}Al ratio. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|