Impact of the nuclear mass uncertainties on the r process

Abstract

Based on a simple site-independent approach, we attempt to reproduce the solar [Formula: see text]-process abundance with four nuclear mass models, and investigate the impact of the nuclear mass uncertainties on the [Formula: see text] process. In this paper, we first analyze the reliability of an adopted empirical formula for [Formula: see text]-decay half-lives which is a key ingredient for the [Formula: see text] process. Then we apply four different mass tables to study the [Formula: see text]-process nucleosynthesis together with the calculated [Formula: see text]-decay half-lives, and the existing [Formula: see text]-decay data from FRDM+QRPA is also considered for comparison. The numerical results show that the main features of the solar [Formula: see text]-process pattern and the locations of the abundance peaks can be reproduced well via the [Formula: see text]-process simulations. Moreover, we also find that the mass uncertainties can significantly affect the derived astrophysical conditions for the [Formula: see text]-process site, and resulting in a remarkable impact on the [Formula: see text] process.