A Tale of Two Names

Almudena and then Cizewski. Not easy names for a blogger to get. (That feels funny the first time you write it. I'm a blogger.) Almudena Arcones continued the astrophysics segement of the morning. Good for shiny pictures and eye catching animations. I say we stop giving them data until they help us generate a nice library of sexy animations for straight nuclear physics talks.

Almudena started with more on observations and argument for two r-process sites, filling in a little detail on the issues raised by Gail. One has more scatter (Z<47) than the other. By now, everyone should have seen a basic Core Collapse supernova description. Shock waves stall- and Almudena explained we have not confirmed that neutrinos can restart shock wave. (Remember those instructions for speakers? She has let us know what is NOT done, too.)

On the neutrino drive winds front, simulations do not produce conditions necessary for the r-process. Those SNe simulations need a boost of compuational power or else a major break through. Nice movies. There usually are. But they never explode.... :(

** What should you take away? If you are not totally lost, it is important to understand that the r-process runs through a plateau of sorts of production mode, but that you have to get the physics right on the ride back from the nuclear limits back to the valley of stability. You can't get away with neglecting things like neutron capture and beta delayed neutron emission forever.

Jolie Cizewski brought us back to the meat and potatoes of nuclear physics. Three (d,p) experiments were laid out. Looking at the 132Sn(d,p) and 130Sn(d,p) data is filling in basic stats on closed shell nuclei away from the valley of stability. Surprisingly, there were no fist fights over the tentative assignments of quantum numbers for two peaks in the Q value spectrum. One point tells you- what? Jolie alluded to the need to get even the most basic neutron capture rate measurements. Turns out- astrophysicists would be delighted with get the order of magnitude nailed down sometimes.

The main point for measuring relative spectroscopic factors like these (d,p) experiments is that we can't get the exotic stuff right with theory if we don't work hard closer to our own (valley of stability) backyards. Close your eyes and click your rubby slippers three times: "There is no time like coffee break, there is no time like coffee break, there is no time like coffee break." It worked!