Großes Physikalisches Kolloquium | June 21, 16:45
Nuclei in the Sky – Novel Large-Scale Experiments on Natural Nucleosynthesis et al.
The world we live in is made of 81 stable chemical elements and another dozen of radioactive species all coming in different abundances. How were these elements synthesized in nature? What are the cosmic sites for their formation? Despite considerable progress in our understanding, the sites for the nucleosynthesis of heavy elements are still unclear. Neutron-star mergers are the strongest candidates. Yet, scientists are lacking quantitative information on properties of neutron-rich nuclei for deeper insight. New research infrastructures for addressing the open questions are under construction or have even started operation. At Darmstadt the international Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) is under construction, with considerable arsenal of novel instruments being already partly ready for use. We will motivate some experimental routes, give an overview of the FAIR project, in particular with respect to its pillar on Nuclear Structure, Nuclear Astrophysics and Reactions (NU STAR), and address recent scientific successes and progress.
Norbert Pietralla, TU Darmstadt
HS III
Contact: Simon Trebst