Enhanced production of 60Fe in massive stars
Massive stars are a major source of chemical elements in the cosmos, ejecting freshly produced nuclei through winds and core-collapse supernova explosions into the interstellar medium. Among the material ejected, long-lived radioisotopes, such as <sup>60</sup>Fe (iron) and <sup>26</sup>Al (aluminum), offer unique signs of active nucleosynthesis in our galaxy. There is a long-standing discrepancy between the observed <sup>60</sup>Fe/<sup>26</sup>Al ratio by γ-ray telescopes and predictions from supernova models. This discrepancy has been attributed to uncertainties in the nuclear reaction networks producing <sup>60</sup>Fe, and one reaction in particular, the neutron-capture on <sup>59</sup>Fe. Here we present experimental results that provide a strong constraint on this reaction. We use these results to show that the production of <sup>60</sup>Fe in massive stars is higher than previously thought, further increasing the discrepancy between observed and predicted <sup>60</sup>Fe/<sup>26</sup>Al ratios. The persisting discrepancy can therefore not be attributed to nuclear uncertainties, and points to issues in massive-star models.
Authors
- A. C. Larsen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2188-3709)
- A. C. Dombos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1431-6009)
- G. Perdikakis
- C. J. Prokop (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9641-8070)
- K. Hermansen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1707-0844)
- H. Schatz
- C. Sumithrarachchi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-3123-0937)
- A. Spyrou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8642-8352)
- S. Lyons (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0194-261X)
- A. Palmisano-Kyle (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3844-7540)
- Douglas D. Richman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0962-9254)
- A. Couture (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0861-3616)
- B. P. Crider (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7153-8762)
- M. Guttormsen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8681-1044)
- S. N. Liddick
- P. Gastis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7773-0616)
- J. E. Midtbø
- K. Childers
- P. A. DeYoung (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9899-0716)
- Carl Fields (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8925-057X)
- A. Sweet (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7750-5232)
- S. Mosby (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6996-9993)
- D. Muecher
- M. K. Smith (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4552-7549)
- R. Lewis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-6024-7303)
- F. Naqvi
Institutions
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (US)
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (US)
- University of Arizona (US)
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (US)
- Hope College (US)
- Central Michigan University (US)
- University of Cologne (DE)
- University of Oslo (NO)
- University of Tennessee at Knoxville (US)
- Michigan State University (US)
- Texas A&M University (US)
- Mississippi State University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2024-11-07
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-54040-4
- Citations
- 6
- Primary Topic
- Nuclear physics research studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 3.96
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- U.S. Department of Energy
- U.S. Department of State
- Battelle
- Michigan State University
- Fulbright Norway
- Norges Forskningsråd
- Office of Science
- National Nuclear Security Administration
- College of Engineering, Michigan State University
- Nuclear Physics
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
- Los Alamos National Laboratory
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory