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Nucleosynthesis is the process that creates new atomic nuclei from pre-existing nucleons (protons and neutrons) and nuclei. According to current theories, the first nuclei were formed a few minutes after the Big Bang , through nuclear reactions in a process called Big Bang nucleosynthesis . [ 1 ]
The term p-process (p for proton) is used in two ways in the scientific literature concerning the astrophysical origin of the elements (nucleosynthesis).Originally it referred to a proton capture process which was proposed to be the source of certain, naturally occurring, neutron-deficient isotopes of the elements from selenium to mercury.
The x-process in cosmic rays is the primary means of nucleosynthesis for the five stable isotopes of lithium, beryllium, and boron. [2] As the proton–proton chain reaction cannot proceed beyond 4 He due to the unbound nature of 5 He and 5 Li, [ 3 ] and the triple-alpha process skips over all species between 4 He and 12 C, these elements are ...
A version of the periodic table indicating the origins – including big bang nucleosynthesis – of the elements. All elements above 103 are also man-made and are not included. Big Bang nucleosynthesis produced very few nuclei of elements heavier than lithium due to a bottleneck: the absence of a stable nucleus with 8 or 5 nucleons. This ...
While the drip lines impose the ultimate boundaries for nucleosynthesis, in high-energy environments the burning pathway may be limited before the drip lines are reached by photodisintegration, where a high-energy gamma ray knocks a nucleon out of a nucleus. The same nucleus is subject both to a flux of nucleons and photons, so an equilibrium ...
This quickly moves the nucleosynthesis path from the region of stable nuclei to the very proton-rich side of the chart of nuclides. This is called rapid proton capture. [11] Here, a series of (p,γ) reactions proceeds until either the beta decay of a nucleus is faster than a further proton capture, or the proton drip line is reached. Both cases ...
The s-process is believed to occur mostly in asymptotic giant branch stars, seeded by iron nuclei left by a supernova during a previous generation of stars. In contrast to the r-process which is believed to occur over time scales of seconds in explosive environments, the s-process is believed to occur over time scales of thousands of years, passing decades between neutron captures.
It is a nucleosynthesis process and, along with the s-process and the r-process, may be responsible for the generation of many of the heavy elements present in the universe. However, it is notably different from the other processes mentioned in that it occurs on the proton-rich side of stability as opposed to on the neutron-rich side of stability.