High Energy Physics Seminar
The origin of several proton-rich isotopes in the solar system—most notably $^{92,94}$Mo and $^{96,98}$Ru—remains a long-standing puzzle in nuclear astrophysics. A promising production mechanism is the $\nu p$-process, which operates in proton-rich, neutrino-driven outflows from proto-neutron stars formed in core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe). Years of detailed studies failed to reproduce the observed abundances of various $p$-nuclides using this process. However, we have recently identified the physical conditions under which the $\nu p$-process can operate efficiently and match observations. In this talk, I will first outline these conditions and show how they enable successful production of light $p$-nuclides. I will then investigate how these conditions are modified by collective neutrino flavor oscillations—a nonlinear many-body phenomenon expected to occur in the first seconds after core collapse. The impact of flavor conversion is inherently nontrivial, as it introduces competing effects that can both enhance and suppress nucleosynthesis. We find that the net result is a significant increase in the production of key $p$-nuclides. These results suggest that CCSNe from sufficiently massive progenitors can account for the origin of light $p$-nuclides up to $^{102}$Pd. More intriguingly, the observed solar abundances of these isotopes may represent a hint for the occurrence of collective neutrino oscillations in CCSNe.
The talk is in 469 Lauritsen.
Contact [email protected] for Zoom link.