This artist depicts two neutron stars at the moment the concept collides. Credit: Dana Berry, Sky Works Digital, Inc.
Neutron stars in collisions were considered to be the main source of some of the heaviest elements in the periodic table. Now, not much …
Neutron star collisions do not quantify previously assumed chemical elements, finding a new analysis of galaxy evolution.
Research also reveals that current models cannot explain the amount of gold in the universe – creating an astronomical mystery.
This work has created a new look periodic table, showing the origin of stars from natural elements ranging from carbon to uranium.
All the hydrogen in the universe – including every one of its atoms on Earth – was created by The Big BangIs, which also produced a lot of helium and lithium, but not much more.
The remaining naturally occurring elements are formed by various molecular processes taking place inside the stars. Mass rules exactly what elements are fakes, but they all dissipate into the galaxies in the final moments of each star – for people of the same class as the sun, in the case of really large people or like ga solar currents, like solar wind.
“We can think of the stars as a huge pressure cooker where new elements are created,” explained co-author Associate Professor Caracas, in 3 Dimensions (Astro 3D) at Excel f Excellence for All Sky Astrophysics at ARC Center in Sk Australia.
The periodic table shows natural elements up to uranium. Shading indicates the origin of the stars. Credit: Chiaki Kobayashi et al Artwork: Saham Kelly
“The reactions that make up these elements also provide the radiance that keeps the stars bright for billions of years. As the stars age, they produce heavier and heavier elements as their bodies heat up. “
Half of all elements heavier than iron – such as thorium and uranium – were thought to be formed when neutron stars, the excessive remnants of the burning sun, crashed into each other. Long theorized, Neutron star The collision was not confirmed until 2017.
Now, however, a new analysis by Caracas and fellow astronomers Shiaki Kobayashi and Maria Lugoro has revealed that the role of neutron stars has increased significantly – and that the process of other stars is responsible for creating the heaviest elements.
“Neutron star mergers did not produce enough heavy elements in the early life of the universe, and they still do not do so 14 billion years later,” Caracas said.
“The universe did not make them fast enough to account for their presence in very ancient stars, and, overall, there are not enough collisions at present given the abundance of surrounding elements.”
Instead, the researchers found that heavier elements needed to create completely different types of stars – unusual supernovae that collapse when spinning very fast and producing a strong magnetic field.
This discovery is one to come out of their research, which has just been published in Astrophysical Journal. His study was the first to calculate the origin of stars from all naturally occurring elements, from carbon to uranium.
Researchers say the new modeling will significantly change the current accepted model of how the universe evolved. Kobayashi, an associate professor at the University of Hertfordshire in the UK, said: “For example, we created this new model to explain these elements together, and found enough silver, but not enough gold,” said co-author of the University of Hertfordshire in the UK. Said Associate Professor Kobayashi.
“Silver produces more but the model produces less gold than the observations. This means that we may need to identify new types of stellar explosions or nuclear reactions. “
This study corrects a previous study that calculated the relative role of star mass, age, and arrangement in the production of elements.
For example, researchers have established that stars smaller than eight times the mass of the Sun produce carbon, nitrogen, and fluorine, as well as half of all elements other than iron.
Eight times the mass of the Sun’s mass of stars, which also explode as supernovae at the end of their lives, produce many elements, from carbon to iron, including the oxygen and calcium needed for life.
“Apart from hydrogen, there is not a single element that is formed by just one type of star,” Kobayashi explained.
“Half of the carbon is produced by the death of low-mass stars, but the other half comes from supernovae.
“And half the iron comes from ordinary supernovae of large stars, but the other part needs another type, called a type IA supernova. This low mass is produced in a binary system of stars. “
Pairs of giant stars bound by gravity, in contrast, can transform into neutron stars. When these break each other, the effect produces some of the heavier elements found in nature, including gold.
On new modeling, however, numbers just don’t add up.
“But the most optimistic estimate of the frequency of neutron star collisions alone cannot account for the absolute abundance of these elements in the universe,” Caracas said. “It simply came to our notice then. It seems that spinning supernovae with strong magnetic fields are the real source of most of these elements. “
A co-author of the Concolly Observatory in Hungary and Monash University in Australia, Australia. Maria Lugoro believes the mystery of the missing gold could be solved very soon.
New discoveries are expected from nuclear facilities around the world, including Europe, the USA and Japan, he said, currently targeting the rare nucleus associated with the neutron star merger.
“The properties of these structures are unknown, but they have great control over the production of heavy element abundance. The astrophysical problem of missing gold can actually be solved by experimenting with nuclear physics. “
Researchers acknowledge that future research may find that neutron star collisions occur more frequently than previously suggested evidence, in which case their contribution to the creation of everything from mobile phone screens to fuel for nuclear reactors could be reversed.
For the moment, however, they appear to be delivering far fewer deer for their bangs.
Reference: 15 September 2020, Astrophysical Journal.
DOI: 10.3847 / 1538-4357 / ABA 65
