Heavy‐Element Nucleosynthesis in a Collapsar

Abstract

We investigate synthesis of heavy elements in a collapsar. We have calculated detailed composition of magnetically driven jets ejected from a collapsar, which is based on long-term, magneto-hydrodynamic simulations of a rapidly rotating massive star of 40Msun during core collapse. We follow evolution of abundances of about 4000 nuclides from the collapse phase to the ejection phase through the jet generation phase with use of two large nuclear reaction networks. We find that the r-process successfully operates in the jets, so that U and Th are synthesized abundantly when the progenitor has large magnetic field of 10^{12} G and rapidly rotating core. Abundance pattern inside the jets is similar compared to that of r-elements in the solar system. Heavy neutron-rich nuclei \sim 0.01Msun can be ejected from the collapsar. The detailed abundances depend on nuclear properties of mass model, beta-decay rate, and fission, for nuclei near the neutron drip line. Furthermore, we find that p-nuclei are produced without seed nuclei: not only light p-nuclei, such as Se74, Kr78, Sr84, and Mo92, but also heavy p-nuclei, In113, Sn115, and La138, can be abundantly synthesized in the jets. The amounts of p-nuclei in the ejecta are much greater than those in core-collapse supernovae (SNe). In particular, Mo92, In113, Sn115, and La138 deficient in the SNe, are significantly produced in the ejecta.