Heavy element abundances from a universal primordial distribution

TL;DR

This paper proposes a universal primordial distribution model for heavy element formation in nuclear matter, linking nuclear physics with astrophysical scenarios to explain observed abundance patterns.

Contribution

It introduces a freeze-out approach considering in-medium effects to identify a universal primordial state for heavy element nucleosynthesis.

Findings

Existence of a universal primordial state characterized by specific temperature and chemical potentials.

Heavy neutron-rich nuclei like $^{358}$Sn are part of the primordial distribution.

Potential astrophysical scenarios include supernovae, neutron star mergers, and inhomogeneous Big Bang.

Abstract

We present a freeze-out approach to the formation of heavy elements in expanding nuclear matter. Applying concepts used in the description of heavy-ion collisions or ternary fission, we determine the abundances of heavy elements taking into account in-medium effects such as Pauli blocking and the Mott effect, which describes the dissolution of nuclei at high densities of nuclear matter. With this approach, we search for a universal primordial distribution in an equilibrium state from which the gross structure of the solar abundances of heavy elements freezes out via radioactive decay of the excited states. The universal primordial state is characterized by the Lagrangian parameters of temperature and chemical potentials of neutrons and protons. We show that such a state exists and determine a temperature of 5.266 MeV, a neutron chemical potential of 940.317 MeV and a proton chemical potential of 845.069 MeV, at a baryon number density of 0.013 fm$^{-3}$ and a proton fraction of 0.13. Heavy neutron-rich nuclei such as the hypothesized double-magic nucleus $^{358}$Sn appear in the primordial distribution and contribute to the observed abundances after fission. We discuss astrophysical scenarios for the realization of this universal primordial distribution for heavy element nucleosynthesis, including supernova explosions, neutron star mergers and the inhomogeneous Big Bang. The latter scenario may be of interest in the light of early massive objects observed with the James Webb Space Telescope and opens new perspectives to explain universality of the observed r-process patterns and the lack of observations of population III stars.