New framework suggests stars dissolve into neutrons to forge heavy elements

New framework suggests stars dissolve into neutrons to forge heavy elements

Understanding the origin of heavy elements on the periodic table is one of the most challenging open problems in all of physics. In the search for conditions suitable for these elements via "nucleosynthesis," a Los Alamos National Laboratory-led team is going where no researchers have gone before: the gamma-ray burst jet and surrounding cocoon emerging from collapsed stars.

Understanding the origin of heavy elements on the periodic table is one of the most difficult open problems of all physics. In the search for conditions adapted to these elements via a "nucleosynthesis", a team led by Los Alamos National Laboratory goes where no researcher has ever gone before: the gamma-ray bursting jet and [...]

Stars Dissolve into Neutrons to Form Heavy Elements, Study Suggests

High-energy photons produced deep in gamma-ray burst jets emerging from a collapsed star could dissolve the outer stellar layers into free neutrons, causing a series of physical processes that results in the formation of heavy elements. The post Stars Dissolve into Neutrons to Form Heavy Elements, Study Suggests appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.