The Origin of Chemical Elements: Connecting Laboratory Nuclear Astrophysics with Astronomical Observations through Nucleosynthesis Modeling
Nuclear astrophysics is a field at the frontier of nuclear science which continues to enjoy significant progress and exciting prospects for the future. It addresses the fundamental question of where and how the chemical elements are made. Except for hydrogen and helium, all other chemical elements are made either in stars or in cosmic explosions such as supernovae or neutron star mergers. To understand the formation of elements we need to understand the relevant nuclear physics processes that govern the interaction between nuclei. We need to understand the conditions in the star or the explosion under which these nuclear processes take place. And we need to understand how individual events of element formation contribute to the overall chemical enrichment of our Galaxy over time. Experimental facilities allow for terrestrial experiments on the nuclear physics governing the element synthesis. Earth-based and space-based telescopes probe the Galaxy around us and provide information about the conditions in stars and supernovae, and about the chemical element enrichment of these different environments. Numerical simulations of stars, supernovae, and other astrophysical phenomena allow us to probe the conditions of extreme densities and temperatures required for element synthesis. Nucleosynthesis research is ideally posed to integrate advances from all three of these areas and advance our understanding of how and where elements are made. Nucleosynthesis research provides theory support for experiments and observations. And it makes predictions that can be tested in nuclear physics experiments and astronomical observations. The goals of this award were in three main areas: 1. Develop and implement an effective core-collapse supernova model that is computationally efficient and that captures the relevant physics for the scientific questions of interest 2. Advance our understanding of the synthesis of the lightest heavy elements 3. Increase the realism of supernova nucleosynthesis and determine its dependence on the properties of the exploding star As the projects progressed, an additional focus was added to this list: 1. Study the explosion properties and the signals from the most massive stars.