Low-energy 17O(n,g)18O reaction within the microscopic potential model and its role for the weak r-process

TL;DR

This paper calculates the $^{17}$O(n,$\gamma$)$^{18}$O reaction rate using a microscopic potential model and demonstrates its significant impact on weak r-process nucleosynthesis, emphasizing the importance of accurate nuclear data in astrophysical models.

Contribution

It provides a new calculation of the $^{17}$O(n,$\gamma$)$^{18}$O cross section using the Skyrme Hartree-Fock model and assesses its impact on nucleosynthesis.

Findings

Calculated cross sections differ from existing data in libraries.

The reaction rate affects the production of first r-process peak elements.

Updated reaction rates influence nucleosynthesis modeling.

Abstract

The neutron radiative capture reaction $^{17}$O(n,$\gamma$)18O plays a pivotal role in both nuclear structure studies and astrophysical nucleosynthesis, particularly in the formation of elements during hydrostatic and explosive stellar environments. We calculated the $^{17}$O(n,$\gamma$)$^{18}$O cross section within the Skyrme Hartree-Fock potential model and analyzed electric dipole E1 transitions to both positive and negative-parity states below the alpha-decay threshold in $^{18}$O. Our cross sections are significantly different from the data available in commonly used libraries. We further investigate the impact of the new calculated cross section on weak r-process nucleosynthesis using large-scale reaction network calculations across a wide range of electron fractions and entropies. Our results show that the $^{17}$O(n, $\gamma$)$^{18}$O reaction rate significantly influences the production of first r-process peak elements, such as strontium, under specific astrophysical conditions. This study highlights the importance of accurate nuclear dat$ for light isotopes in modeling heavy-element synthesis and provides updated reaction rates for future nucleosynthesis simulations.