Ancient Stars were Capable of Producing Elements with Atomic Masses Greater than 260, Scientists Say. The rapid neutron capture process, or the so-called r-process, occurs in neutron-rich environments such as neutron star mergers or certain types of supernovae.
According to a recent study, ancient stars may have been able to produce elements with atomic masses greater than 260. This is heavier than any element on Earth’s periodic table.
The study looked at 42 stars in the Milky Way with well-understood elemental compositions. The researchers found that the r-process in the first stars may have produced these heavier elements. The r-process is a rapid neutron capture process that occurs in neutron-rich environments, such as neutron star mergers or some types of supernovae.
The number of protons in an atom’s nucleus is known as the atomic number and is the defining property of an element. Each element has a unique number of protons, which determines the number of atomic electrons and the chemical characteristics of the element.
Iron is the heaviest element that stars can produce through nuclear fusion. Nuclear fusion is the process of two light atomic nuclei combining to form a single heavier one, releasing massive amounts of energy.
The most energy is produced by the fusion of hydrogen to form helium. Then helium fusion, and so on, up to iron.
Once a star reaches iron, it cannot fuse iron into any heavier elements. The core becomes unstable as the energy created by fusion is what has kept its gravity from collapsing the core. At this point, the star explodes.
Elements heavier than iron are not formed in a fusion process, but rather in a supernova explosion undergone by large stars towards the end of their life cycles.
In nuclear astrophysics, the rapid neutron-capture process, also known as the r-process, is a set of nuclear reactions that is responsible for the creation of approximately half of the atomic nuclei heavier than iron, the “heavy elements”, with the other half produced by the p-process and s-process
Massive stars fuse heavier elements in their cores than lower mass stars. This is because the cores of high-mass stars have high temperatures and densities. This allows for a more efficient process to fuse hydrogen into helium at a much higher rate.
The temperature and pressure in the core of high-mass stars can reach high enough values that carbon fusion can begin. This is followed by oxygen fusion, and then even heavier elements like neon, magnesium, and silicon can undergo fusion.
The resulting supernova creates even more heavy elements, scattering them through space.
Elements with atomic masses greater than 260 are created through a process called rapid neutron capture, or “r-process”. This process occurs during neutron star events and produces most elements heavier than iron.
According to a study, some of the oldest stars in the Milky Way galaxy may have produced elements with atomic masses greater than 260.
Elements with atomic masses greater than 260 are heavier than any element found naturally on Earth. These elements are found only in the lab.
The r-process can produce atoms with an atomic mass of at least 260 before they fission. Some elements, like silver and rhodium, may be the remnants of heavy element fission
Here are some elements with high atomic mass:
- Oganesson As of 2023, this element has the highest atomic number and atomic mass of all known elements. It is a synthetic chemical element with atomic number 118.
- Plutonium This naturally occurring substance has the highest atomic mass of 244 u and an atomic number of 94.
- Uranium This naturally occurring element has an atomic number of 92 and an atomic weight of 238.0289. It is the heaviest naturally occurring element in the universe.
- Calcium This element has an atomic number of 20 and an atomic weight of 40 g mol-1. It has the highest atomic weight among the first 20 elements in the periodic table.
- Tellurium This element has the highest average atomic mass, followed by iodine, krypton, and bromine.
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