Physical Society Colloquium

The origin of heavy elements: Supernovae and the neutrino-p-Process

Carla Fröhlich

North Carolina State University

Core collapse supernovae are the violent death of massive stars. These massive stars and their explosions are a main site for nucleosynthesis, synthesizing alpha-elements, iron, and about half of the heavy elements beyond iron. Through their energy and chemical feedback, core collapse supernovae play a crucial role in the early galactic evolution. First, I will breifly review our current understanding of core collapse supernovae and the associated nucleosynthesis. Then, I will focus the Lighter Element Primary Process (LEPP). This process has been proposed both from Galactic Chemical Evolution studies as well as abundance observations of old metal-poor stars. The neutrino-p-process occurs in neutrino-driven winds from core collapse supernovae and is a promising candidate for the LEPP. I will present detailed neutrino-p-process nucleosynthesis yields in the context of recent advances in simulations, observational astronomy, and nuclear physics, and I will discuss their implications on our understanding of the origin of the heavy elements beyond iron.