All articles tagged with #heavy elements
Brown University researchers show relativistic effects can hybridize sigma and pi bonds in a heavy Bi–C triple bond, using photoelectron spectroscopy, suggesting heavy-element bonds may be stronger than expected and challenging the classic bond picture; the Science paper by Peterson et al. is paywalled.
Los Alamos researchers analyzed two long-duration gamma-ray bursts detected by Fermi and concluded they originated from neutron stars collapsing into black holes (collapsars) rather than mergers, prompting a reevaluation of long GRB origins. Using NASA data and the Chicoma supercomputer, the study supports a collapsar-based explanation and suggests kilonova-driven heavy-element synthesis may be more varied than previously thought; upcoming gravitational-wave observations could further clarify the links between GRBs, kilonovae, and heavy-element production.
Astronomers used chemical fingerprints from thousands of star-forming gas clouds in the nearby spiral galaxy NGC 1365 to reconstruct its 12-billion-year growth by matching observations to about 20,000 galaxy simulations. They found a centrally formed, oxygen-rich core with slower outer-disk growth, likely shaped by mergers with smaller galaxies and late gas inflows. This chemical-archaeology approach opens a new way to study how distant galaxies assembled over cosmic time.
Astronomers using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and Hubble traced a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 230906A) to a neutron-star merger inside a tiny dwarf galaxy, revealed by its placement in a long tidal tail; the finding shows such powerful explosions can occur in faint hosts and helps explain how heavy elements are dispersed into galactic outskirts.
Astronomers detected a neutron-star collision in a tiny, faint galaxy inside a 600,000-light-year gas stream, about 4.7 billion light-years away, challenging where such events occur and linking them to gamma-ray bursts and the production of heavy elements like gold and platinum, with observations from Fermi, Chandra, Swift, and Hubble.
Astronomers using Chandra, Fermi, Swift and Hubble have pinpointed a neutron-star merger inside a tiny, faint galaxy embedded in a 600,000-light-year gas stream, likely created by a past galaxy collision. The event, GRB 230906A from 2023-09-06, helps explain gamma-ray bursts without obvious host galaxies and how heavy elements like gold and platinum can form and spread into galaxy outskirts.
Simulations show that neutrino flavor transformations during neutron star mergers significantly influence the production of heavy elements like gold and platinum, potentially increasing their yield and affecting gravitational wave brightness, highlighting the importance of including neutrino physics in astrophysical models.
A study suggests that asteroid 33 Polyhymnia may contain ultra-dense, possibly unknown heavy elements beyond the current periodic table, potentially classifying it as a Compact Ultradense Object (CUDO) with a composition that includes stable superheavy elements, which could have implications for space mining and our understanding of matter in the universe.
Scientists at Michigan's FRIB are experimentally recreating how heavy elements beyond iron are formed in stars, focusing on the intermediate neutron-capture process (i-process), which fills gaps in understanding of element formation like gold and platinum, using advanced isotope experiments to identify where and how these processes occur in stellar environments.
In 2017, scientists observed a kilonova explosion from colliding neutron stars, providing insights into the creation of heavy elements like strontium and yttrium. This event, similar to the Big Bang, involved a hot, expanding fireball where particles combined to form atoms, akin to the Universe's Epoch of Recombination. By analyzing data from multiple telescopes, researchers have detailed the kilonova's evolution, confirming its role as a source of heavy elements and offering a miniature model for studying early Universe processes.
While gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are known to be the universe's most powerful explosions and potential sources of heavy elements, recent studies, including observations of the brightest GRB ever recorded (GRB 221009), suggest they may not be the primary source of these elements. The findings indicate that another, yet unidentified, source must be responsible for the abundance of heavy elements in the universe.
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), the universe's most powerful explosions, have been studied to understand the creation of heavy elements. While short GRBs from neutron star collisions have shown evidence of heavy element production, recent observations of the brightest long GRB, dubbed the BOAT, revealed no such elements. This suggests that GRBs may not be the primary source of the universe's heavy elements, indicating another unknown source.
The most powerful space explosion ever recorded, GRB 221009A, was surprisingly ordinary in terms of its associated supernova, challenging previous expectations. Despite its extreme brightness, the explosion did not show signs of heavy element production, suggesting that extremely energetic gamma-ray bursts like the BOAT may not be responsible for creating these elements. Future observations with the James Webb Space Telescope will help determine if other gamma-ray bursts produce heavy elements.
Researchers have determined that the extremely bright cosmic explosion known as the Brightest Of All Time (BOAT) was caused by a supernova, but found no signs of heavy elements like gold and platinum, deepening the mystery of their origins. The event, observed with the Webb Space Telescope, lasted 10 hours and emitted gamma-rays with energies reaching up to 13 teraelectronvolts. The findings challenge previous hypotheses about the production of heavy elements and point to alternative channels for their creation, prompting astronomers to rework their models of cosmic phenomena.
Astronomers have discovered evidence of nuclear fission occurring in stars, providing insight into the formation of elements heavier than those found naturally on Earth. Previously, it was believed that such elements were created through cataclysmic events like neutron star mergers. However, new research suggests that fission, the process behind nuclear reactors on Earth, is also operating in the cosmos and contributing to the creation of heavy elements. This discovery could help explain the origin of elements with atomic masses over 260, which have not been detected in space or on Earth before.