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Progress on nuclear reaction rates affecting the stellar production of <sup>26</sup>Al (2023)
Journal Article
Laird, A. M., Lugaro, M., Kankainen, A., Adsley, P., Bardayan, D. W., Brinkman, H. E., …Mengoni, A. (2023). Progress on nuclear reaction rates affecting the stellar production of 26Al. Journal of Physics G: Nuclear and Particle Physics, 50(3), Article 033002. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6471/ac9cf8

The radioisotope 26Al is a key observable for nucleosynthesis in the Galaxy and the environment of the early Solar System. To properly interpret the large variety of astronomical and meteoritic data, it is crucial to understand both the nuclear react... Read More about Progress on nuclear reaction rates affecting the stellar production of <sup>26</sup>Al.

Chemical evolution of fluorine in the Milky Way (2022)
Journal Article
Womack, K., Vincenzo, F., Gibson, B., Côté, B., Pignatari, M., Brinkman, H. E., …Karakas, A. (2023). Chemical evolution of fluorine in the Milky Way. Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 518(1), 1543-1556. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stac3180

Fluorine has many different potential sites and channels of production, making narrowing down a dominant site of fluorine production particularly challenging. In this work, we investigate which sources are the dominant contributors to the galactic fl... Read More about Chemical evolution of fluorine in the Milky Way.

Horizons: nuclear astrophysics in the 2020s and beyond (2022)
Journal Article
Schatz, H., Becerril Reyes, A. D., Best, A., Brown, E. F., Chatziioannou, K., Chipps, K. A., …Pignatari, M. (2022). Horizons: nuclear astrophysics in the 2020s and beyond. Journal of Physics G: Nuclear and Particle Physics, 49(11), Article 110502. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6471/ac8890

Nuclear astrophysics is a field at the intersection of nuclear physics and astrophysics, which seeks to understand the nuclear engines of astronomical objects and the origin of the chemical elements. This white paper summarizes progress and status of... Read More about Horizons: nuclear astrophysics in the 2020s and beyond.

Isotopic ratios for C, N, Si, Al, and Ti in C-rich presolar grains from massive stars (2022)
Journal Article
Schofield, J., Pignatari, M., Stancliffe, R. J., & Hoppe, P. (2022). Isotopic ratios for C, N, Si, Al, and Ti in C-rich presolar grains from massive stars. Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 517(2), 1803-1820. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stac2498

Certain types of silicon carbide (SiC) grains, e.g. SiC-X grains, and low density (LD) graphites are C-rich presolar grains that are thought to have condensed in the ejecta of core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe). In this work, we compare C, N, Al, Si, a... Read More about Isotopic ratios for C, N, Si, Al, and Ti in C-rich presolar grains from massive stars.

Comparison between Core-collapse Supernova Nucleosynthesis and Meteoric Stardust Grains: Investigating Magnesium, Aluminium, and Chromium (2022)
Journal Article
Den Hartogh, J., Petö, M. K., Lawson, T., Sieverding, A., Brinkman, H., Pignatari, M., & Lugaro, M. (2022). Comparison between Core-collapse Supernova Nucleosynthesis and Meteoric Stardust Grains: Investigating Magnesium, Aluminium, and Chromium. The Astrophysical journal, 927(2), Article 220. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ac4965

Isotope variations of nucleosynthetic origin among solar system solid samples are well documented, yet the origin of these variations is still uncertain. The observed variability of 54Cr among materials formed in different regions of the protoplaneta... Read More about Comparison between Core-collapse Supernova Nucleosynthesis and Meteoric Stardust Grains: Investigating Magnesium, Aluminium, and Chromium.

A Large-scale Approach to Modeling Molecular Biosignatures: The Diatomics (2022)
Journal Article
Cross, T. M., Benoit, D. M., Pignatari, M., & Gibson, B. K. (2022). A Large-scale Approach to Modeling Molecular Biosignatures: The Diatomics. The Astrophysical journal, 925(1), Article 57. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ac3976

This work presents the first steps to modeling synthetic rovibrational spectra for all molecules of astrophysical interest using a new approach implemented in the Prometheus code. The goal is to create a new comprehensive source of first-principles m... Read More about A Large-scale Approach to Modeling Molecular Biosignatures: The Diatomics.

Galactic Chemical Evolution of Radioactive Isotopes with an s-process Contribution (2022)
Journal Article
Trueman, T. C. L., Côté, B., Yagüe López, A., Den Hartogh, J., Pignatari, M., Soós, B., …Lugaro, M. (2022). Galactic Chemical Evolution of Radioactive Isotopes with an s-process Contribution. The Astrophysical journal, 924(1), 10. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ac31b0

Analysis of inclusions in primitive meteorites reveals that several short-lived radionuclides (SLRs) with half-lives of 0.1-100 Myr existed in the early solar system (ESS). We investigate the ESS origin of 107Pd, 135Cs, and 182Hf, which are produced... Read More about Galactic Chemical Evolution of Radioactive Isotopes with an s-process Contribution.

Radioactive nuclei in the early Solar system: analysis of the 15 isotopes produced by core-collapse supernovae (2021)
Journal Article
Lawson, T. V., Pignatari, M., Stancliffe, R. J., Den Hartogh, J., Jones, S., Fryer, C. L., …Lugaro, M. (2022). Radioactive nuclei in the early Solar system: analysis of the 15 isotopes produced by core-collapse supernovae. Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 511(1), 886-902. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stab3684

Short-lived radioactive isotopes (SLRs) with half-lives between 0.1 and 100 Myr can be used to probe the origin of the Solar system. In this work, we examine the core-collapse supernovae production of the 15 SLRs produced: 26Al, 36Cl, 41Ca, 53Mn, 60F... Read More about Radioactive nuclei in the early Solar system: analysis of the 15 isotopes produced by core-collapse supernovae.

26Aluminum from Massive Binary Stars. II. Rotating Single Stars up to Core Collapse and Their Impact on the Early Solar System (2021)
Journal Article
Brinkman, H. E., Hartogh, J. W., Doherty, C. L., Pignatari, M., & Lugaro, M. (2021). 26Aluminum from Massive Binary Stars. II. Rotating Single Stars up to Core Collapse and Their Impact on the Early Solar System. The Astrophysical journal, 923(1), Article 47. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ac25ea

Radioactive nuclei were present in the early solar system (ESS), as inferred from analysis of meteorites. Many are produced in massive stars, either during their lives or their final explosions. In the first paper of this series (Brinkman et al. 2019... Read More about 26Aluminum from Massive Binary Stars. II. Rotating Single Stars up to Core Collapse and Their Impact on the Early Solar System.

(Li 6, d) and (Li 6, t) reactions on Ne 22 and implications for s -process nucleosynthesis (2021)
Journal Article
Ota, S., Christian, G., Catford, W. N., Lotay, G., Pignatari, M., Battino, U., …Wilkinson, R. (2021). (Li 6, d) and (Li 6, t) reactions on Ne 22 and implications for s -process nucleosynthesis. Physical Review C, 104(5), Article 055806. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.104.055806

We studied α cluster states in Mg26 via the Ne22(Li6,dγ)Mg26 reaction in inverse kinematics at an energy of 7 MeV/nucleon. States between Ex = 4-14 MeV in Mg26 were populated and relative α spectroscopic factors were determined. Some of these states... Read More about (Li 6, d) and (Li 6, t) reactions on Ne 22 and implications for s -process nucleosynthesis.

New Thermonuclear Rate of <sup>7</sup>Li(d,n)2<sup>4</sup>He Relevant to the Cosmological Lithium Problem (2021)
Journal Article
Hou, S. Q., Kajino, T., Trueman, T. C., Pignatari, M., Luo, Y. D., & Bertulani, C. A. (2021). New Thermonuclear Rate of 7Li(d,n)24He Relevant to the Cosmological Lithium Problem. The Astrophysical journal, 920(2), Article 145. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ac1a11

Accurate 7Li(d,n)24He thermonuclear reaction rates are crucial for precise prediction of the primordial abundances of lithium and beryllium and to probe the mysteries beyond fundamental physics and the standard cosmological model. However, uncertaint... Read More about New Thermonuclear Rate of <sup>7</sup>Li(d,n)2<sup>4</sup>He Relevant to the Cosmological Lithium Problem.

Exploring the link between star and planet formation with Ariel (2021)
Journal Article
Turrini, D., Codella, C., Danielski, C., Fedele, D., Fonte, S., Garufi, A., …Wolkenberg, P. (in press). Exploring the link between star and planet formation with Ariel. Experimental astronomy, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10686-021-09754-4

The goal of the Ariel space mission is to observe a large and diversified population of transiting planets around a range of host star types to collect information on their atmospheric composition. The planetary bulk and atmospheric compositions bear... Read More about Exploring the link between star and planet formation with Ariel.

UVES analysis of red giants in the bulge globular cluster NGC 6522 (2021)
Journal Article
Barbuy, B., Cantelli, E., Muniz, L., Souza, S. O., Chiappini, C., Hirschi, R., …Depagne, E. (2021). UVES analysis of red giants in the bulge globular cluster NGC 6522. Astronomy and Astrophysics, 654, Article A29. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202140815

Context: NGC 6522 is a moderately metal-poor bulge globular cluster ([Fe/H] -1.0), and it is a well-studied representative among a number of moderately metal-poor blue horizontal branch clusters located in the bulge. The NGC 6522 abundance pattern ca... Read More about UVES analysis of red giants in the bulge globular cluster NGC 6522.

The 59Fe (n,γ) 60Fe Cross Section from the Surrogate Ratio Method and Its Effect on the 60Fe Nucleosynthesis (2021)
Journal Article
Yan, S. Q., Li, X. Y., Nishio, K., Lugaro, M., Li, Z. H., Makii, H., …Liu, W. P. (2021). The 59Fe (n,γ) 60Fe Cross Section from the Surrogate Ratio Method and Its Effect on the 60Fe Nucleosynthesis. The Astrophysical journal, 919(2), Article 84. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ac12ce

The long-lived 60Fe (with a half-life of 2.62 Myr) is a crucial diagnostic of active nucleosynthesis in the Milky Way galaxy and in supernovae near the solar system. The neutron-capture reaction 59Fe(n,γ)60Fe on 59Fe (half-life = 44.5 days) is the ke... Read More about The 59Fe (n,γ) 60Fe Cross Section from the Surrogate Ratio Method and Its Effect on the 60Fe Nucleosynthesis.

The Gaia-ESO Survey: A new approach to chemically characterising young open clusters (2021)
Journal Article
Baratella, M., D'Orazi, V., Sheminova, V., Spina, L., Carraro, G., Gratton, R., …Zaggia, S. (2021). The Gaia-ESO Survey: A new approach to chemically characterising young open clusters. Astronomy and Astrophysics, 653, Article A67. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202141069

Context. Young open clusters (ages of less than 200 Myr) have been observed to exhibit several peculiarities in their chemical compositions. These anomalies include a slightly sub-solar iron content, super-solar abundances of some atomic species (e.g... Read More about The Gaia-ESO Survey: A new approach to chemically characterising young open clusters.

New experimental 23Na(α,p)26Mg Reaction Rate for Massive Star and Type-Ia Supernova models (2021)
Journal Article
J. Hubbard, N., Aa. Diget, C., P. Fox, S., O. U. Fynbo, H., M. Howard, A., S. Kirsebom, O., …R. Tomlinson, J. (2021). New experimental 23Na(α,p)26Mg Reaction Rate for Massive Star and Type-Ia Supernova models. The Astrophysical journal, 912(1), Article 59. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/abee91

The 23Na(α,p)26Mg reaction has been identified as having a significant impact on the nucleosynthesis of several nuclei between Ne and Ti in type-Ia supernovae, and of 23Na and 26Al in massive stars. The reaction has been subjected to renewed experime... Read More about New experimental 23Na(α,p)26Mg Reaction Rate for Massive Star and Type-Ia Supernova models.

New Experimental 23Na(α, p)26Mg Reaction Rate for Massive Star and Type Ia Supernova Models (2021)
Journal Article
Fynbo, H. O., Diget, C. A., Hubbard, N. J., Diget, C. A., Fox, S. P., Fynbo, H. O. U., …Tomlinson, J. R. (2021). New Experimental 23Na(α, p)26Mg Reaction Rate for Massive Star and Type Ia Supernova Models. The Astrophysical journal, 912(1), 59. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/abee91

The 23Na(α, p)26Mg reaction has been identified as having a significant impact on the nucleosynthesis of several nuclei between Ne and Ti in Type Ia supernovae, and of 23Na and 26Al in massive stars. The reaction has been subjected to renewed experim... Read More about New Experimental 23Na(α, p)26Mg Reaction Rate for Massive Star and Type Ia Supernova Models.

129I and 247Cm in meteorites constrain the last astrophysical source of solar r-process elements (2021)
Journal Article
Côté, B., Eichler, M., Yagüe, A., Vassh, N., R. Mumpower, M., Világos, B., …Lugaro, M. (2021). 129I and 247Cm in meteorites constrain the last astrophysical source of solar r-process elements. Science, 371(6532), 945-948. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aba1111

Meteoritic analysis demonstrates that radioactive nuclei heavier than iron were present in the early Solar System. Among them, $^{129}$I and $^{247}$Cm both have a rapid neutron-capture process ($r$ process) origin and decay on the same timescale ($\... Read More about 129I and 247Cm in meteorites constrain the last astrophysical source of solar r-process elements.

Project ThaiPASS: international outreach blending astronomy and Python (2021)
Journal Article
Keegans, J. D., Stancliffe, R. J., Bilton, L. E., Cashmore, C. R., Gibson, B. K., Kristensen, M. T., …Chongchitnan, S. (2021). Project ThaiPASS: international outreach blending astronomy and Python. Physics Education, 56(3), Article 035001. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6552/abdae7

We present our outreach program, the Thailand–UK Python+Astronomy Summer School (ThaiPASS), a collaborative project comprising UK and Thai institutions and assess its impact and possible application to schools in the United Kingdom. Since its incepti... Read More about Project ThaiPASS: international outreach blending astronomy and Python.

Evaluation of the N 13 (α,p) O 16 thermonuclear reaction rate and its impact on the isotopic composition of supernova grains (2020)
Journal Article
Meyer, A., De Séréville, N., Laird, A. M., Hammache, F., Longland, R., Lawson, T., …Tatischeff, V. (2020). Evaluation of the N 13 (α,p) O 16 thermonuclear reaction rate and its impact on the isotopic composition of supernova grains. Physical Review C, 102(3), Article 035803. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.102.035803

Background: It has been recently suggested that hydrogen ingestion into the helium shell of massive stars could lead to high C13 and N15 excesses when the shock of a core-collapse supernova passes through its helium shell. This prediction questions t... Read More about Evaluation of the N 13 (α,p) O 16 thermonuclear reaction rate and its impact on the isotopic composition of supernova grains.