P-nuclei

p-nuclei (p stands for proton-rich) are certain proton-rich, naturally occurring isotopes of some elements between selenium and mercury inclusive which cannot be produced in either the s- or the r-process.

The classical, ground-breaking works of Burbidge, Burbidge, Fowler and Hoyle (1957) and of A. G. W. Cameron (1957) showed how the majority of naturally occurring nuclides beyond the element iron can be made in two kinds of neutron capture processes, the s- and the r-process. Some proton-rich nuclides found in nature are not reached in these processes and therefore at least one additional process is required to synthesize them. These nuclei are called p-nuclei.

Since the definition of the p-nuclei depends on the current knowledge of the s- and r-process (see also nucleosynthesis), the original list of 35 p-nuclei may be modified over the years, as indicated in the Table below. For example, it is recognized today that the abundances of ¹⁵²Gd and ¹⁶⁴Er contain at least strong contributions from the s-process. This also seems to apply to those of ¹¹³In and ¹¹⁵Sn, which additionally could be made in the r-process in small amounts.

The long-lived radionuclides ⁹²Nb, ⁹⁷Tc, ⁹⁸Tc and ¹⁴⁶Sm are not among the classically defined p-nuclei as they no longer occur naturally on Earth. By the above definition, however, they are also p-nuclei because they cannot be made in either the s- or the r-process. From the discovery of their decay products in presolar grains it can be inferred that at least ⁹²Nb and ¹⁴⁶Sm were present in the solar nebula. This offers the possibility to estimate the time since the last production of these p-nuclei before the formation of the solar system.

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