Discovery of an Exceptionally Strong $\ensuremath{\beta}$-Decay Transition of $^{20}\mathrm{F}$ and Implications for the Fate of Intermediate-Mass Stars

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Discovery of an Exceptionally Strong $β$ -Decay Transition of ${}^{20}F$ and Implications for the Fate of Intermediate-Mass Stars

O. S. Kirsebom, S. Jones, D. F. Strömberg, G. Martínez-Pinedo, K. Langanke, F. K. Röpke, B. A. Brown, T. Eronen, H. O. U. Fynbo, M. Hukkanen, A. Idini, A. Jokinen, A. Kankainen, J. Kostensalo, I. Moore, H. Möller, S. T. Ohlmann, H. Penttilä, K. Riisager, S. Rinta-Antila, P. C. Srivastava, J. Suhonen, W. H. Trzaska, and J. Äystö

Phys. Rev. Lett. 123, 262701 – Published 24 December 2019

See Viewpoint: A Forbidden Transition Allowed for Stars

Abstract

A significant fraction of stars between 7 and 11 solar masses are thought to become supernovae, but the explosion mechanism is unclear. The answer depends critically on the rate of electron capture on ${}^{20}{Ne}$ in the degenerate oxygen-neon stellar core. However, because of the unknown strength of the transition between the ground states of ${}^{20}{Ne}$ and ${}^{20}F$ , it has not previously been possible to fully constrain the rate. By measuring the transition, we establish that its strength is exceptionally large and that it enhances the capture rate by several orders of magnitude. This has a decisive impact on the evolution of the core, increasing the likelihood that the star is (partially) disrupted by a thermonuclear explosion rather than collapsing to form a neutron star. Importantly, our measurement resolves the last remaining nuclear physics uncertainty in the final evolution of degenerate oxygen-neon stellar cores, allowing future studies to address the critical role of convection, which at present is poorly understood.

Received 22 May 2019
Revised 15 August 2019

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.123.262701

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Beta decay Electron & muon capture Lifetimes & widths Novae & supernovae Nuclear astrophysics Nuclear physics of explosive environments Nucleosynthesis in explosive environments

20 ≤ A ≤ 38

Astrophysical & cosmological simulations Hydrodynamic models Nuclear structure & decays Radioactive beams Shell model Spectrometers & spectroscopic techniques

Nuclear PhysicsGravitation, Cosmology & Astrophysics

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A Forbidden Transition Allowed for Stars

Published 24 December 2019

The discovery of an exceptionally strong “forbidden” beta-decay involving fluorine and neon could change our understanding of the fate of intermediate-mass stars.

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Authors & Affiliations

O. S. Kirsebom ^1,2,*, S. Jones^3,4, D. F. Strömberg^5,6, G. Martínez-Pinedo ^6,5,†, K. Langanke^6,5, F. K. Röpke^4,7, B. A. Brown⁸, T. Eronen⁹, H. O. U. Fynbo¹, M. Hukkanen⁹, A. Idini¹⁰, A. Jokinen⁹, A. Kankainen ⁹, J. Kostensalo⁹, I. Moore⁹, H. Möller^6,5, S. T. Ohlmann^4,11, H. Penttilä⁹, K. Riisager¹, S. Rinta-Antila⁹, P. C. Srivastava ¹², J. Suhonen⁹, W. H. Trzaska⁹, and J. Äystö⁹

¹Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
²Institute for Big Data Analytics, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 4R2, Canada
³Computational Physics (XCP) Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico 87545, USA
⁴Heidelberger Institut für Theoretische Studien, D-69118 Heidelberg, Germany
⁵Institut für Kernphysik (Theoriezentrum), Technische Universität Darmstadt, D-64289 Darmstadt, Germany
⁶GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung, D-64291 Darmstadt, Germany
⁷Zentrum für Astronomie der Universität Heidelberg, Institut für Theoretische Astrophysik, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany
⁸National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA
⁹Department of Physics, University of Jyväskylä, P.O. Box 35, FI-40014 University of Jyväskylä, Finland
¹⁰Division of Mathematical Physics, Department of Physics, LTH, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, S-22100 Lund, Sweden
¹¹Max Planck Computing and Data Facility, D-85748 Garching, Germany
¹²Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee 247667, India

^*Corresponding author. oliver.kirsebom@dal.ca
^†g.martinez@gsi.de

Measurement of the $2^{+} \to 0^{+}$ ground-state transition in the $β$ decay of ${}^{20}F$

O. S. Kirsebom et al.

Phys. Rev. C 100, 065805 (2019)

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Vol. 123, Iss. 26 — 31 December 2019

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Physical Review Letters

Discovery of an Exceptionally Strong $β$ -Decay Transition of ${}^{20}F$ and Implications for the Fate of Intermediate-Mass Stars

Phys. Rev. Lett. 123, 262701 – Published 24 December 2019

See Viewpoint: A Forbidden Transition Allowed for Stars

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Viewpoint

A Forbidden Transition Allowed for Stars

Published 24 December 2019

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Measurement of the $2^{+} \to 0^{+}$ ground-state transition in the $β$ decay of ${}^{20}F$

O. S. Kirsebom et al.

Phys. Rev. C 100, 065805 (2019)

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Physical Review Letters

Discovery of an Exceptionally Strong β-Decay Transition of F20 and Implications for the Fate of Intermediate-Mass Stars

Phys. Rev. Lett. 123, 262701 – Published 24 December 2019

See Viewpoint: A Forbidden Transition Allowed for Stars

Abstract

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A Forbidden Transition Allowed for Stars

Published 24 December 2019

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Measurement of the 2+→0+ ground-state transition in the β decay of F20

O. S. Kirsebom et al.

Phys. Rev. C 100, 065805 (2019)

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Discovery of an Exceptionally Strong $β$ -Decay Transition of ${}^{20}F$ and Implications for the Fate of Intermediate-Mass Stars

Measurement of the $2^{+} \to 0^{+}$ ground-state transition in the $β$ decay of ${}^{20}F$