PIANO

PIANO (Proton-Induced Reactions for Astrophysical NucleOsynthesis) is a "Young Investigators Group" funded by the Helmholtz Association, located at GSI and the campus of University of Frankfurt.

Motivation

All naturally occurring chemical elements - apart from the primordial H, He, and Li abundances produced in the Big Bang - were and still are synthesized in stars. A clear and quantitative picture of nucleosynthesis in the different stages of stellar evolution constitutes the basis for our understanding of the chemical history of the Universe. In this respect the heavy elements are particularly important because their production can be described by detailed astrophysical models of evolved stars and of Supernovae. Due to the yet uncertain stellar-physics ingredients in these models (e.g. the effects of mixing, rotation, and magnetic fields), the validity of these ingredients must be checked by comparing the predicted abundance distributions with the immense wealth of observational data that are presently collected with ever refined astronomical techniques. The information obtained in this way depends critically on the quality of the underlying nuclear physics data because the model predictions are otherwise obscured by nuclear uncertainties.

The Helmholtz-University Young Investigators Group "PIANO" will be focused on establishing a program for accurate measurements of key nuclear reactions in the fields of stellar and explosive nucleosynthesis. Since the nuclear-physics part of the problem is still far from being fully understood, the program will concentrate on the necessary improvements for characterizing the production processes of the elements to the point where the respective abundance patterns can be interpreted as diagnostic tools for the deep stellar interior. The program covers pioneering work related to explosive nucleosynthesis in Supernovae and to stellar decay rates important to nucleosynthesis in Red Giant stars.

Both aspects will be investigated using proton induced reactions and will make use of the existing and future experimental facilities of the HGF centre GSI Darmstadt, which are unique for the determination of reaction rates in the yet unexplored region of unstable nuclei defining the reaction networks far from stability. The astrophysical information accessible with the experimental results will be analyzed in collaboration with leading institutes in stellar modeling and astronomical observations.

Proposal

Download: Proposal for the Young Investigators Group "Piano" (PDF document).

PhD students / Doktoranden

We offer positions for PhD students.