Constraints on the 12C(α,γ)16O nuclear reaction rate from Hubble Space Telescope observations of C/(O) in low-abundance galaxies

Details Constraints on the 12C(α,γ)16O nuclear reaction rate from Hubble Space Telescope observations of C/(O) in low-abundance galaxies Constraints on the 12C(α,γ)16O nuclear reaction rate from Hubble Space Telescope observations of C/(O) in low-abundance galaxies

Feb 1997

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1997nupha.621...27g&link_type=abstract

Nuclear Physics A, v. 621, p. 27-30.

Physics

Nuclear Physics

Scientific paper

The C/(O) abundance ratio in the ionized interstellar gas of galaxies with very low heavy element abundances is used to constrain the 12C(α,γ)16O nuclear reaction rate, based on spectroscopic measurements using the Hubble Space Telescope (Garnett et al. 1995, ApJ, 443, 64). We observe that C/(O) is only about one-third the solar system value in galaxies with the lowest abundances (O/(H) less than one-tenth of the solar system value), implying significant evolution of the abundance ratio. If intermediate mass stars have not contributed significant amounts of carbon to the interstellar gas in these galaxies, then the C/(O) ratio reflects nucleosynthetic yields of C and O in massive stars, which are sensitive to the 12C(α,γ)16O rate. Based on stellar nucleosynthesis calculations of Weaver & Woosley (1993, Phys. Rep. 227, 65), the average observed C/(O) ratio in the four galaxies with the lowest abundances implies a reaction rate of 1.7 times the Caughlan & Fowler 1988 (CF88) ``baseline'' rate for 12C(α,γ)16O, with a lower limit of 1.2 times the CF88 rate (95% confidence level). This compares well with Weaver & Woosley's best estimate of 1.7+/-0.5 times the CF88 rate.

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