Perspectives of Nuclear Physics in Europe - European Science ...

nova ejecta (a few seconds). In this way, neutron deficient
nuclei up to mass A~100 could be synthesized. Thus, it is
also a possible production mechanism for light p-nuclei
like 92,94 Mo and 96,98 Ru. The details of νp-process nucleosynthesis
still need to be explored including both the
nuclear physics and astrophysical aspects.
For many years the neutrino-driven wind has been
considered as the favoured site for r-process nucleosynthesis.
However, all simulations so far have failed to
obtain the conditions necessary for the production of
heavy r-process elements including U and Th. There
may be some important physical ingredient still missing
in the models, but alternative sites should also be
considered for the production of r-process elements.
These may be associated to the formation of a rotating
neutron star after the supernova explosion and the
appearance of an accretion disk and jets; the merging
of two neutron stars; and the ejection of neutron-rich
matter from black hole accretion disks associated with
γ-ray bursts. A major step in solving the r-process puzzle
has been the detection of r-process elements in a few
very metal-poor stars located in the halo of the galaxy.
These stars formed a long time ago when the galaxy
was still iron poor and provide us with a snapshot of the
nucleosynthesis yield resulting from, hopefully, a single
nucleosynthesis event. All observations so far show that
the production of r-process elements with A > 130 is very
robust and results in elemental abundances consistent
with the solar r-process abundances. Elements with
A