Wolf-Rayet stars and radioisotope production
Abstract
Description
Radioisotopes are natural clocks which can be used to estimate the age of the solar system. They also influence the shape of supernova light curves. In addition, the diffuse emission at 1.8 MeV from the decay of 26Al may provide a measure of the present day nucleosynthetic activity in the Galaxy. Therefore, even if radionuclides represent only a tiny fraction of the cosmic matter, they carry a unique piece of information. A large number of radioisotopes are produced by massive stars at the time of their supernova explosion. A more or less substantial fraction of them are also synthesized during the previous hydrostatic burning phases. These nuclides are then ejected either at the time of the supernova event, or through stellar winds during their hydrostatic burning phases. This paper focusses of the non explosive ejection of radionuclides by non-rotating or rotating Wolf-Rayet stars.
to appear in "Astronomy with Radioactivities" (MPE Report; Eds. R. Diehl and D. Hartmann). Proc. of workshop held in Tegernsee (Germany), Oct 1999
to appear in "Astronomy with Radioactivities" (MPE Report; Eds. R. Diehl and D. Hartmann). Proc. of workshop held in Tegernsee (Germany), Oct 1999