Speaker
Description
Neutron capture rates play an important role in shaping r-process patterns and are commonly calculated within the Hauser-Feshbach statistical model. Their predictions depend on nuclear masses, nuclear level densities, γ-ray strength functions, and optical potentials. We investigate how uncertainties in these statistical model inputs propagate to r-process nucleosynthesis by calculating neutron capture rates with TALYS and implementing them in the WinNet reaction network for neutron star merger and parametric models. We compare the impact of different nuclear input prescriptions on the final abundance patterns and identify the dominant sources of uncertainty. Among the statistical model ingredients considered, nuclear level densities produce the largest abundance variations. This work provides a systematic assessment of neutron capture rate uncertainties in r-process nucleosynthesis.
| Category | Theory |
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