German and Japanese Scientists Propose a New “Cosmic Alchemy” Process Involving “Ghost Particles” Neutrinos.
According to SciTech Daily, a scientific team has recently proposed a new nuclear synthesis process denoted as “vr”, which they refer to as the “alchemy of ghost particles.”
This process occurs when neutron-rich materials are exposed to a stream of neutrinos, helping to explain the existence of strange isotopes such as 92 Mo, 94 Mo, 96 Ru, 98 Ru, and 92 Nb in the early solar system.
A supernova remnant believed to create stars, captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. This star will explode again, creating another supernova through the vr process – (Photo: NASA).
The aforementioned isotopes are now treasures of humanity, utilized in various fields such as nuclear science, cancer diagnosis and treatment, and certain industries.
However, what continues to puzzle scientists is how they originated.
According to a widely accepted theory, each star forms from material expelled by previous generations of stars that exploded, and the thermonuclear processes within each star forge heavier elements for the universe.
This has resulted in a chemically rich universe today, filled with numerous heavy elements.
Thermonuclear processes occurring in large stars produce nuclei equivalent to iron and nickel. Moreover, most elements with stable heavy nuclei, such as lead and gold, are created through either slow or rapid neutron capture processes.
The remainder comprises neutron-deficient isotopes of certain elements, including the rare isotopes mentioned above. Scientists have proposed various nuclear synthesis processes in the past, but they have reached a deadlock.
The vr process, proposed by a German-Japanese team led by researcher Zewei Xiong from the Helmholtz National Research Center for Heavy Ion Research (Germany), has resolved this impasse.
Neutrinos are dubbed “ghost particles” because they exist abundantly around us yet are undetectable. They have virtually no mass and can pass through people, objects, and even planets as easily as a ghost.
Nevertheless, these “ghost particles” carry significant energy, enough to excite nuclei into a state of decay by emitting neutrons, protons, and alpha particles.
The emitted particles will be captured by some heavy nuclei. This triggers a series of capture reactions catalyzed by neutrinos that determine the final abundance of the elements produced by the νr process.
Simultaneously, this process also leaves behind the seemingly inexplicable neutron-deficient nuclei of certain rare isotopes.
The remaining question scientists are investigating is what type of stellar explosion can activate the vr process. They suspect that the culprits may be dead stars with strong magnetic fields, such as magnetars, a type of extreme neutron star. Neutron stars are the remnants of massive stars.
Fortunately, the research facilities of the members of this author group possess the tools to ascertain this through future studies, as stated in their publication in the journal Physical Review Letters.
