Where do gold, platinum and uranium come from? This question has fascinated astrophysicists and nuclear physicists for decades. A research team from Technische Universität Darmstadt has now taken an important step toward understanding the origin of heavy elements. Their findings are published in Physical Review Letters.
Approximately half of all elements heavier than iron are produced through the rapid neutron-capture process, commonly known as the r-process. This process occurs under extreme conditions, such as during the collision of two neutron stars. In these events, atomic nuclei are bombarded with neutrons at an extraordinary rate, enabling the formation of increasingly heavier elements.
A major challenge is that many of the nuclei involved are extremely neutron-rich and cannot be studied experimentally in laboratories. Scientists therefore rely on theoretical models, whose predictions often diverge significantly when applied to regions far from experimentally known nuclei. Some of these exotic nuclei can be produced at research facilities such as GSI/FAIR, but many remain beyond experimental reach.
