Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-1-1994

Publication Title

The Astrophysical Journal

Publisher

The American Astronomical Society

Abstract

A search is made for the most important electron captures and beta-decays after core silicon buring in massive stars. A nuclear statistical equilibrium code is used to compute isotopic abundances. Electron capture and beta-decay rates are estimated for the 150 most abundant istopes in a simplifiec fashion which generally includes the strongest transitions. These estimates are made for nuclei in the fp-shell and use techniques similar to Fuller, Fowler, & Newman (1982a), and are compared to them. The general behaviour of Y is examined. These methods are then used to follow a typical stellar trajectory, seeking the most important weak interactions during the formation of the iron core. Ranked lists of nuclei are given, to prioritize more detailed studies of individual nuclei. Beta-decays are found to be an important modification to the evolution below Y = 0.4 as the core approaches a state dynamic equilibrium between electron captures and beta-decays.

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