Recent Efforts in Data Compilations for Nuclear Astrophysics

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent efforts to compile, update, and unify nuclear reaction data for astrophysics, emphasizing databases like REACLIB and KADoNiS, to improve stellar nucleosynthesis modeling.

Contribution

It introduces an integrated approach to compile and fit nuclear reaction data, including experimental cross sections, into a unified database for astrophysical applications.

Findings

Development of the JINA Reaclib Database for stellar reaction rates

Inclusion of KADoNiS neutron capture data in REACLIB

Establishment of workflow tools for data evaluation

Abstract

Some recent efforts in compiling data for astrophysical purposes are introduced, which were discussed during a JINA-CARINA Collaboration meeting on "Nuclear Physics Data Compilation for Nucleosynthesis Modeling" held at the ECT* in Trento/ Italy from May 29th- June 3rd, 2007. The main goal of this collaboration is to develop an updated and unified nuclear reaction database for modeling a wide variety of stellar nucleosynthesis scenarios. Presently a large number of different reaction libraries (REACLIB) are used by the astrophysics community. The "JINA Reaclib Database" on http://www.nscl.msu.edu/\~nero/db/ aims to merge and fit the latest experimental stellar cross sections and reaction rate data of various compilations, e.g. NACRE and its extension for Big Bang nucleosynthesis, Caughlan and Fowler, Iliadis et al., and KADoNiS. The KADoNiS (Karlsruhe Astrophysical Database of Nucleosynthesis in Stars, http://nuclear-astrophysics.fzk.de/kadonis) project is an online database for neutron capture cross sections relevant to the s process. The present version v0.2 is already included in a REACLIB file from Basel university (http://download.nucastro.org/astro/reaclib). The present status of experimental stellar $(n,\gamma)$ cross sections in KADoNiS is shown. A "high priority list" for measurements and evaluations for light charged-particle reactions set up by the JINA-CARINA collaboration is presented. The central web access point to submit and evaluate new data is provided by the Oak Ridge group via the http://www.nucastrodata.org homepage. "Workflow tools" aim to make the evaluation process transparent and allow users to follow the progress.