Speaker
Description
Beta decay and electron capture (EC) are processes mediated by the weak nuclear interaction. Both play a prominent role in the late stages of stellar evolution and during core-collapse supernova explosions. In this talk, I will give an overview of our recent work on calculating EC and beta-decay rates in stellar environments and their implications for core-collapse supernova dynamics [1,2]. Rates for a large number of nuclei from $Z=20$ to $Z=50$ are calculated within the nuclear density functional theory (DFT) framework, including finite-temperature effects under high-density stellar conditions. It is demonstrated how increasing density and temperature can significantly impact the weak-interaction rates.
Beta-decay rates are also important for determining the timescale of the nuclear $r$-process. Using a quantified DFT framework, we have computed beta-decay rates for $r$-process nuclei, including contributions from both allowed and first-forbidden transitions [3]. The new rates are found to slow down the synthesis of heavy elements in the $r$-process. Lastly, I will discuss how weak-decay rate calculations can be accelerated and their model uncertainties estimated using recent developments in data-driven emulators [4].
[1] A. Ravlic, S. Giraud, N. Paar, R. Zegers Phys. Rev. C 112, L032801 (2025).
[2] T. Dasher, A. Ravlic, S. Lalit, E. O'Connor, K. Godbey, Phys. Rev. D 113, 123041 (2026).
[3] A. Ravlic, Y. Saito, W. Nazarewicz, Phys. Rev. C 113, 045802 (2026).
[4] L. Jin, A. Ravli\'c, P Giuliani, K. Godbey, W. Nazarewicz, Phys. Rev. Research 7, 043347 (2025).
| Category | Theory |
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