Stellar β−-decay Rate of 63Ni and Its Impact on the s-process Nucleosynthesis in Massive Stars

The β ^− -decay rate of ^63 Ni, an important branching point, affects the subsequent nucleosynthesis in the weak component of the slow-neutron capture process (weak s -process). To evaluate the impact of the uncertainties of stellar lifetime of ^63 Ni on abundances, we calculate the contribution to...

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Main Authors: Xin-Xu Wang, Bao-Hua Sun, Toshitaka Kajino, Zhen-Yu He, Toshio Suzuki, Dong-Liang Fang, Zhong-Ming Niu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2025-01-01
Series:The Astrophysical Journal
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adc1be
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author Xin-Xu Wang
Bao-Hua Sun
Toshitaka Kajino
Zhen-Yu He
Toshio Suzuki
Dong-Liang Fang
Zhong-Ming Niu
author_facet Xin-Xu Wang
Bao-Hua Sun
Toshitaka Kajino
Zhen-Yu He
Toshio Suzuki
Dong-Liang Fang
Zhong-Ming Niu
author_sort Xin-Xu Wang
collection DOAJ
description The β ^− -decay rate of ^63 Ni, an important branching point, affects the subsequent nucleosynthesis in the weak component of the slow-neutron capture process (weak s -process). To evaluate the impact of the uncertainties of stellar lifetime of ^63 Ni on abundances, we calculate the contribution to β ^− -decay rates from its excited states using the large-scale shell model with various interactions and also explore the atomic effects in the highly ionized plasma. In the core He burning stage and the shell C burning stage of massive stars, our new rates can be larger than those from K. Takahashi & K. Yokoi by up to a factor of 4 and 6, respectively. We evaluate the impact of the stellar decay rates of ^63 Ni on the nucleosynthesis of A  = 60 ∼ 90 in a star with an initial mass of 25 M _⊙ and solar metallicity. We find that the new rates can lead to abundance changes of ^64 Ni, ^63 Cu, ^65 Cu, ^64 Zn, ^66 Zn, ^67 Zn, and ^68 Zn by up to 18%, 14%, 7%, 98%, 16%, 15%, and 13%, respectively, after the shell C burning stage at the Lagrangian mass coordinate M _r  = 2 M _⊙ . The enhancement of the decay rate of ^63 Ni increases the weak s -process efficiency of nuclei after ^65 Cu.
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spelling doaj-art-263ac1c7bb1b4ef189304d737233dcfa2025-08-20T02:07:16ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-019841810.3847/1538-4357/adc1beStellar β−-decay Rate of 63Ni and Its Impact on the s-process Nucleosynthesis in Massive StarsXin-Xu Wang0https://orcid.org/0009-0003-9008-3590Bao-Hua Sun1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9868-5711Toshitaka Kajino2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1856-4173Zhen-Yu He3https://orcid.org/0009-0002-0124-9492Toshio Suzuki4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5500-539XDong-Liang Fang5Zhong-Ming Niu6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4068-8247School of Physics, Beihang University , Beijing 100191, People’s Republic of China ; bhsun@buaa.edu.cnSchool of Physics, Beihang University , Beijing 100191, People’s Republic of China ; bhsun@buaa.edu.cnSchool of Physics, Peng Huanwu Collaborative Center for Research and Education, International Research Center for Big-Bang Cosmology and Element Genesis, Beihang University , Beijing 100191, People’s Republic of China ; kajino@buaa.edu.cn; National Astronomical Observatory of Japan , 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588, Japan; Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo , 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, JapanSchool of Physics, Peng Huanwu Collaborative Center for Research and Education, International Research Center for Big-Bang Cosmology and Element Genesis, Beihang University , Beijing 100191, People’s Republic of China ; kajino@buaa.edu.cnDepartment of Physics, College of Humanities and Sciences, Nihon University , 3-25-40 Sakurajosui, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 156-8550, Japan; NAT Research Center , NAT Corporation, 3129-45 Hibara Muramatsu, Tokai-mura, Naka-gun, Ibaraki 319-1112, JapanInstitute of Modern Physics , Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, People’s Republic of ChinaSchool of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Anhui University , Hefei 230601, People’s Republic of ChinaThe β ^− -decay rate of ^63 Ni, an important branching point, affects the subsequent nucleosynthesis in the weak component of the slow-neutron capture process (weak s -process). To evaluate the impact of the uncertainties of stellar lifetime of ^63 Ni on abundances, we calculate the contribution to β ^− -decay rates from its excited states using the large-scale shell model with various interactions and also explore the atomic effects in the highly ionized plasma. In the core He burning stage and the shell C burning stage of massive stars, our new rates can be larger than those from K. Takahashi & K. Yokoi by up to a factor of 4 and 6, respectively. We evaluate the impact of the stellar decay rates of ^63 Ni on the nucleosynthesis of A  = 60 ∼ 90 in a star with an initial mass of 25 M _⊙ and solar metallicity. We find that the new rates can lead to abundance changes of ^64 Ni, ^63 Cu, ^65 Cu, ^64 Zn, ^66 Zn, ^67 Zn, and ^68 Zn by up to 18%, 14%, 7%, 98%, 16%, 15%, and 13%, respectively, after the shell C burning stage at the Lagrangian mass coordinate M _r  = 2 M _⊙ . The enhancement of the decay rate of ^63 Ni increases the weak s -process efficiency of nuclei after ^65 Cu.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adc1beNucleosynthesisHelium burningCarbon burningMassive starsS-process
spellingShingle Xin-Xu Wang
Bao-Hua Sun
Toshitaka Kajino
Zhen-Yu He
Toshio Suzuki
Dong-Liang Fang
Zhong-Ming Niu
Stellar β−-decay Rate of 63Ni and Its Impact on the s-process Nucleosynthesis in Massive Stars
The Astrophysical Journal
Nucleosynthesis
Helium burning
Carbon burning
Massive stars
S-process
title Stellar β−-decay Rate of 63Ni and Its Impact on the s-process Nucleosynthesis in Massive Stars
title_full Stellar β−-decay Rate of 63Ni and Its Impact on the s-process Nucleosynthesis in Massive Stars
title_fullStr Stellar β−-decay Rate of 63Ni and Its Impact on the s-process Nucleosynthesis in Massive Stars
title_full_unstemmed Stellar β−-decay Rate of 63Ni and Its Impact on the s-process Nucleosynthesis in Massive Stars
title_short Stellar β−-decay Rate of 63Ni and Its Impact on the s-process Nucleosynthesis in Massive Stars
title_sort stellar β decay rate of 63ni and its impact on the s process nucleosynthesis in massive stars
topic Nucleosynthesis
Helium burning
Carbon burning
Massive stars
S-process
url https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adc1be
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