天体环境下快中子俘获过程相关的核物理

Nuclear physics of the astrophysical rapid neutron-capture process

在人类历史上,曾经吸引无数哲学家、天文学家思考的一个问题是"我们从哪里来"。现代的科学研究揭示了一个答案:恒星。恒星产生了构成生命的主要元素,如碳、氧、氮、硫等,但是比铁更重的元素,如金、铂、铀等,却无法在恒星内部产生。由于原子核物理实验与天文观测技术的限制,这些重元素的起源仍有许多不确定性。文章主要探讨重元素起源的一个重要合成机制——快中子俘获过程,以及相关的原子核物理观测量,如原子核质量、半衰期、中子俘获截面和裂变等,并回顾最新的实验和理论进展。

One of the most fundamental questions for human beings is＂where are we from＂. One answer that has been unveiled by astronomers is the stars. The main elements of the building blocks of life, including carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and sulfur, were produced in the cores of stars. How-ever, nothing heavier than iron-56, such as gold, platinum, and uranium, can be formed via fusion in-side a star. Limited by nuclear experimental techniques and astronomical observations, where all the heavier nuclei came from is still an open question. In this paper, the nuclear physics observables （e.g. nuclear masses, half-lives, neutron-capture cross sections, and fission） for the rapid neutron-capture process, one of the major processes responsible for the formation of heavy elements, will be discussed. Abrief review on the progress of related nuclear physics experiment and theory will be presented.