Influence of Neutron-capture Reactions on the Nucleosynthesis of Strontium

Authors

• Caley M. Harris, Michigan State University
• Artemis Spyrou, Michigan State University
• Pavel Denissenkov, University of Victoria
• Falk Herwig, University of Victoria
• Andrea L. Richard, Michigan State University
• Sivahami Uthayakumaar, Michigan State University
• Dennis Muecher, Universität zu Köln
• Hannah C. Berg, Michigan State University
• Paul DeYoung, Hope CollegeFollow
• Alexander C. Dombos, Michigan State University
• Beau Greaves, University of Guelph
• Ann Cecilie Larsen, Universitetet i Oslo
• Sean N. Liddick, Michigan State University
• Stephanie M. Lyons, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
• Gerald Owens-Fryar, Michigan State University
• Alicia Palmisano-Kyle, Michigan State University
• Georgios Perdikakis, Central Michigan University
• Daniel Santiago-Gonzalez, Argonne National Laboratory
• Guy Savard, Argonne National Laboratory
• Sunniva Siem, Universitetet i Oslo
• Mallory K. Smith, Michigan State University
• William W. VonSeeger, Hope College

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-1-2026

Publication Source

Communications Physics

Volume Number

9

Issue Number

1

E-ISSN

23993650

Article Number

299

Abstract

The astrophysical intermediate neutron-capture process (i process) has been reinvoked in recent years to describe stellar observations that cannot be explained by the traditional nucleosynthesis processes. Despite its success, significant uncertainties still remain including the exact astrophysical conditions and site, as well as the nuclear physics input. Available i-process models strongly underproduce the abundance of strontium (Sr) compared to observational data, while successfully describing neighboring elements, like yttrium (Y) and zirconium (Zr). This discrepancy has been attributed to nuclear physics uncertainties, specifically to the unconstrained reaction rate of the neutron-capture on the isotope krypton-88. Here we present an experimental investigation of this reaction and show that our result provides a possible solution to the aforementioned Sr underproduction in i-process models. (Figure presented.)

Recommended Citation

Published in: Communications Physics, Volume 9, Issue 1, December 1, 2026.