The research, published in Physical Review Letters, improves models of heavy chemical element production by stars and resolves an enigma preserved for billions of years regarding the composition of tiny particles trapped in primitive meteorites.
The experiment was conducted at the n_TOF facility of CERN, the European particle physics laboratory, and has allowed for the determination of neutron capture by niobium-94, a reaction not previously measured experimentally under relevant stellar conditions. This measurement reduces the uncertainty in stellar models and successfully reproduces the observed quantities of molybdenum-94 in presolar dust.
César Domingo Pardo, a CSIC researcher at IFIC, highlights the relevance of niobium-94 for understanding molybdenum abundance. The competition between beta decay to molybdenum-94 and neutron capture to niobium-95 determines the final proportion of this element.
The new results, incorporated into advanced stellar evolution models, confirm the importance of large international scientific infrastructures and collaboration between institutions such as IFIC, IFW Dresden, the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL), and the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in advancing the understanding of the origin of chemical elements.
Despite resolving a significant part of the mystery, the study opens new avenues for future experimental measurements on other nuclear processes affecting niobium-94, contributing to improved nucleosynthesis models and a better understanding of matter formation in the universe.
