Bang! Zoom! Kaboom! Stellar Explosions and the Cosmic Origin of the Elements
Nuclear astrophysics aims at understanding the cosmic origin of the chemical elements and the energy generation in stars. It constitutes a truly multidisciplinary arena that combines tools, developments and achievements in theoretical astrophysics, observational astronomy, cosmochemistry and nuclear physics: supercomputers have provided astrophysicists with the required computational capabilities to study the evolution of stars in a multidimensional framework; the emergence of high-energy astrophysics with space-borne observatories has opened new windows to observe the Universe, from a novel panchromatic perspective; cosmochemists have isolated tiny pieces of stardust embedded in primitive meteorites, giving clues on the processes operating in stars as well as on the way matter condenses to form solids; and nuclear physicists are measuring reactions near stellar energies, using stable and radioactive ion beams. This talk will provide a comprehensive insight into the nucleosynthesis accompanying stellar explosions, with particular emphasis on some recent advances in the modeling of type Ia supernovae, classical and recurrent novae, and type I X-ray bursts.
