Nuclear fission reaction simulations in compact stars

Alex Deibel, M. E. Caplan, C. J. Horowitz

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Type-Ia supernovas are powerful stellar explosions that provide important distance indicators in cosmology. Recently, we proposed a new Type-Ia supernova mechanism that involves a nuclear fission chain-reaction in an isolated white dwarf [Phys. Rev. Lett. 126, 131101 (2021)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.126.131101]. Here we perform novel reaction network simulations of the actinide-rich first solids in a cooling white dwarf. The network includes neutron-capture and fission reactions on a range of U and Th isotopes with various possible values for U235 enrichment. We find, for modest U235 enrichments, neutron capture on U238 and Th232 can breed additional fissile nuclei so that a significant fraction of all U and Th nuclei may fission during the chain reaction. Finally, we compute the energy release from the fission chain reaction for various uranium enrichments; a novel result that is a necessary input for thermal diffusion simulations of carbon ignition.

Original languageEnglish
Article number045803
JournalPhysical Review C
Volume106
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2022
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

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© 2022 American Physical Society.

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