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Michael K. Rulison
(http://sites.oglethorpe.
edu/mrulison/)
Professor of Physics

Chapter 21: Star Death


End of a Stars Life:
For stars less than about 25 solar masses the end of their lives is to evolve to white dwarfs after
substantial mass loss. Due to atomic structure limits, all white dwarfs must mass less than the
Chandrasekhar limit. If their initial mass is more than the Chandrasekhar limit, then they must lose
their envelopes during their planetary nebula phase till they are below this mass limit. An example of
this is the Cats Eye Nebula shown below:
(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/cats_eye_nebula-1msvevj.gif)

At what stage a star leaves the AGB (Asymptotic Giant Branch) and becomes a white dwarf depends on
how fast it runs out of fuel in its core. Higher mass stars will switch from helium to carbon burning and
extend their lifetimes. Even higher mass stars will burn neon after carbon is used up. However, once
iron is reached, fusion is halted since iron is so tightly bound that no energy can be extracted by fusion.
Iron can fuse, but it absorbs energy in the process and the core temperature drops.

After evolving to white dwarfs, stars less than 25 solar masses slowly cool to become black dwarfs and
suffer heat death.

Stars greater than 25 solar masses undergo a more violent end to their lives. Carbon core burning lasts
for 600 years for a star of this size. Neon burning for 1 year, oxygen burning about 6 months (i.e. very
fast on astronomical timescales). At 3 billion degrees, the core can fuse silicon nuclei into iron and the
entire core supply is used up in one day.

(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/massive_star_core-1f9dqy4.gif)

An inert iron core builds up at this time where successive layers above the core consume the remaining
fuel of lighter nuclei in the core. The core is about the size of the Earth, compressed to extreme
densities and near the Chandrasekhar limit. The outer regions of the star have expanded to fill a
volume as large as Jupiters orbit from the Sun. Since iron does not act as a fuel, the burning stops.
The sudden stoppage of energy generation causes the core to collapse and the outer layers of the star to
fall onto the core. The infalling layers collapse so fast that they bounce off the iron core at close to the
speed of light. The rebound causes the star to explode as a supernova.

The energy released during this explosion is so immense that the star will out shine an entire galaxy
for a few days. Supernova can be seen in nearby galaxies, about one every 100 years (therefore, if you
survey 100 galaxies per year you expect to see at least one supernova a year). One such supernova
(1991T) is shown below in the galaxy M51.

(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/m51_preSN-2djpfb7.gif)

Another, more spectacular, example is SN1987A which occured in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a
satellite galaxy of the Milky Way.

(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/aat050-

2mzg87q.gif)

Supernova Core Explosion:


Once the silicon burning phase has produced an iron core the fate of the star is sealed. Since iron will
not fuse to produce more energy, energy is lost by the productions of neutrinos through a variety of
nuclear reactions. Neutrinos, which interact very weakly with matter, immediately leave the core
taking energy with them. The core contracts and the star teeters on the edge of oblivion.

As the core shrinks, it increases in density. Electrons are forced to combine with protons to make
neutrons and more neutrinos, called neutronization (inverse beta decay). The core cools more, and
becomes an extremely rigid form of matter. This entire process only takes 1/4 of a second.
(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/sn_explosion-

24xm1vv.gif)

With a loss of pressure from core, the unsupported regions surrounding the core plunge inward at
velocities up to 100,000 km/s. The material crashes into the now-rigid core, enormous temperatures and
pressures build up, and the layers bounce upward. A shock wave forms, which accelerates and, within
a few hours, explodes from the surface of the star rushing outward at thousands of km/sec.

(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulis (http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulis
on/astronomy-web-lecture- on/astronomy-web-lecture-
notes/chapter-21-star- notes/chapter-21-star-
death/sn_shock/) death/sn_collapse/)
Shockwave Plunge

This entire process happens so fast that we can only follow it usingsuper computer simulations
(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/sn_simulation-1-1w004c9.mov). Maps of density and
flow show the details in regions where observations can not be made.
(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/fi
les/2016/07/sn_flow-1vjhhqz.gif)

Density and Flow

As the outer layers are blasted into space, the luminosity of the dying star increases by a factor of 108
or 20 magnitudes. In 1987, a supernova exploded in our nearest neighbor galaxy. That supernova,
designated SN1987A (the first one discovered in 1987) was visible to the naked eye, rising to a
maximum brightness 85 days after detonation with a slow decline over the next 2 years. The light
curve for SN1987A is shown below:

(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/astronomy- (http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/astronomy-
web-lecture-notes/chapter-21-star- web-lecture-notes/chapter-21-star-death/aat048/)
death/sn1987a_light_curve/) SN1987A
SN1987A

Although a supernova is extremely bright, only 1% of its energy is released as optical light. The rest was
released as neutrinos and kinetic energy to explode the star. Most of the initial luminosity is the shell of
the star expanding outward and cooling. After a few hundred days, this shell of expanding gas has
cooled to be almost invisible and the light we see at this point is due to the radioactive decay of nickel
and cobalt produced by nucleosynthesis during the explosion.
(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/
2016/07/SN1987A_Rings-12dnrb1.gif)

Shell of expanding gas

Neutrinos and Gravity Waves:


Supernovae are the most energetic events in the Universe and provide an opportunity to observe two
very elusive phenomena, neutrinos and gravity waves(see end of chapter).

The collapse of a supernova core produces a flood of those very strange particles, neutrinos. Neutrinos
interact very weakly with matter. Under most conditions, matter is transparent to neutrinos. During
the high densities of a supernova core collapse, some of the neutrinos provide the pulse to starts the
outward moving shock wave. But most of the neutrinos zip out of the supernova core. Thus, when a
supernova explodes, huge numbers of neutrinos pour into space, streaming across the Galaxy passing
through dust, gas, nebula unhindered. Even if the supernova is obscured, the neutrinos will rain down
on the Earth.

However, because neutrinos are weakly interacting, they are also just as difficult to detect. Our best
neutrino telescopes are large tanks of water buried deep underground such as the Super Kamiokande
in Japan. Water contains lots of protons in the form of hydrogen atoms. Neutrinos from a supernova
explosion travel at or very near the speed of light and carry a lot of energy. On rare occasions, a
neutrino will hit a proton in the tank of water (the more water, the greater the chance). This collision
will produce a positron which recoils with such high speed that it emits a brief flash of light known as
Cerenkov radiation(see end of chapter). The detector tank of water is buried deep in the Earth to
eliminate cosmic rays and other interactions that would distort the detection of the neutrinos. Only
neutrinos can reach to such depths.
(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulis (http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulis
on/astronomy-web-lecture- on/astronomy-web-lecture-
notes/chapter-21-star- notes/chapter-21-star-
death/super_kamiokande/) death/neutrino_detector/)
Super Kamiokande

The supernova SN1987A was the first recorded neutrino detection of an astronomical event (most
neutrinos detected are from the Sun). Twelve neutrinos were detected 3 hours before the supernova
was seen in the optical. The neutrino detections also give us valuable information on the neutrino
itself. Until recently, we did not know if the neutrino has zero mass (like the photon and, therefore,
travels at the speed of light) or if it has a small mass and must travel less than the speed of light. If
neutrinos are massless, then they would arrive at the Earth at the same time. The more massive the
neutrino, the more spread out their arrival times. The results from these experiments showed that the
neutrino has a very small mass, a surprise to the world of particle physics.

Another exotic technique to study supernovae is through the use of gravitational radiation. During the
core collapse of the supernova, vast amounts of matter are moved about at enormous speeds. The
dense mass is surrounded by a strong gravitational field. Einsteins general theory of relativity
describes gravity as curves in the fabric of space. Vigorous changes in gravity will produce ripples in
the geometry of space, and these ripples can propagate outward at the speed of light, called gravity
waves.

(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/gravity_wave-28ubh1z.gif)

Gravity waves can be detected by the effects they have on other masses. For example, two masses will
vibrate when a gravity wave passes, so sensitive measurements of their motion with lasers will detect
the motion. Currently our technology is unable to detect gravity waves, but a new system (LIGO
(http://lab.ligo-la.caltech.edu/)) is currently under construction for use at the turn of the century.

Nucleosynthesis:
There are over 100 naturally occurring elements in the Universe and classification makes up the
periodic table. One of the great successes of stellar evolution theory was the explanation of the origin of
all these elements. Some of the elements were formed when the Universe was very young. The era
immediately after the Big Bang was a time with matter was densely packed and temperatures were
high (tens of millions of degrees). Fusion in the early Universe produced helium, lithium, beryllium
and boron, the first 5 elements in the periodic table. (https://www.webelements.com/)

Other elements, from carbon to iron, were formed by fusion reactions in the cores of stars. The fusion
process produces energy, which keeps the temperature of a stellar core high to keep the reaction rates
high. The fusing of new elements is balanced by the destruction of nuclei by high energy gamma-rays.
Gamma-rays in a stellar core are capable of disrupting nuclei, emitting free protons and neutrons. If
the reaction rates are high, then a net flux of energy is produced.

Fusion of elements with mass numbers (the number of protons and neutrons) greater than 60 uses up
more energy than is produced by the reaction. Thus, elements heavier than iron cannot be fuel sources
in stars. And, likewise, elements heavier than iron are not produced in stars, so what is their origin?

(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/cosmic_ab-

2fgrqb2.gif)

The construction of elements heavier than involves neutron capture. A nucleus can capture or fuse
with a neutron because the neutron is electrically neutral and, therefore, not repulsed like the proton.
In everyday life, free neutrons are rare because they have a short half-life(see end of chapter) before
they radioactively decay(see end of chapter). Each neutron capture produces an isotope (see end of
chapter), some are stable, some are unstable. Unstable isotopes will decay by emitting a positron and a
neutrino to make a new element.
(http://sites.oglethorpe.edu/mrulison/files/2016/07/neutron_capture-2gv4qe5.gif)

Neutron capture can happen by two methods, the s- and r-processes, where s and r stand for slow and
rapid. The s-process happens in the inert carbon core of a star, the slow capture of neutrons. The s-
process works as long as the decay time for unstable isotopes is longer than the capture time. Up to the
element bismuth (atomic number 83), the s-process works, but above this point the more massive
nuclei that can be built from bismuth are unstable.

The second process, the r-process, is what is used to produce very heavy, neutron rich nuclei. Here the
capture of neutrons happens in such a dense environment that the unstable isotopes do not have time
to decay. The high density of neutrons needed is only found during a supernova explosion and, thus, all
the heavy elements in the Universe (radium, uranium, plutonium, etc.) are produced this way. The
supernova explosion also has the side benefit of propelling the new created elements into space to seed
molecular clouds which will form new stars and solar systems.

Gravity Waves

Superficially, there are many similarities between gravity and electricity; for example, Newtons law for
the gravitational force between two point masses and Coulombs law for the electric force between two
point charges both vary as the inverse square of the separation distance. Yet, in James Clerk Maxwells
theory for electromagnetism, accelerated charges emit signals (electromagnetic radiation) that travel at
the speed of light, whereas in Newtons theory of gravitation accelerated masses transmit information
(action at a distance) that travels at infinite speed. This dichotomy is repaired by Einsteins theory of
gravitation, wherein accelerated masses also produce signals (gravitational waves) that travel only at
the speed of light. And, just as electromagnetic waves can make their presence known by the pushing to
and fro of electrically charged bodies, so can gravitational waves be detected, in principle, by the
tugging to and fro of massive bodies. However, because the coupling of gravitational forces to masses is
intrinsically much weaker than the coupling of electromagnetic forces to charges, the generation and
detection of gravitational radiation are much more difficult than those of electromagnetic radiation.
Indeed, since the time of Einsteins invention of general relativity in 1916, there has yet to be a single
instance of the detection of gravitational waves that is direct and undisputed.
There are, however, some indirect pieces of evidence that accelerated astronomical masses do emit
gravitational radiation. The most convincing concerns radio-timing observations of a pulsar located in
a binary star system with an orbital period of 7.75 hours. This object, discovered in 1974, has a pulse
period of about 59 milliseconds that varies by about one part in 1,000 every 7.75 hours. Interpreted as
Doppler shifts, these variations imply orbital velocities on the order of 1/1000 the speed of light. The
non-sinusoidal shape of the velocity curve with time allows a deduction that the orbit is quite
noncircular (indeed, an ellipse of eccentricity 0.62 whose long axis precesses in space by 4.2 per year).
It is now believed that the system is composed of two neutron stars, each having a mass of about 1.4
solar masses, with a semimajor axis separation of only 2.8 solar radii. According to Einsteins theory of
general relativity, such a system ought to be losing orbital energy through the radiation of gravitational
waves at a rate that would cause them to spiral together on a time scale of about 3 108 years. The
observed decrease in the orbital period in the years since the discovery of the binary pulsar does
indeed indicate that the two stars are spiraling toward one another at exactly the predicted rate.

The implosion of the core of a massive star to form a neutron star prior to a supernova explosion, if it
takes place in a nonspherically symmetric way, ought to provide a powerful burst of gravitational
radiation. Simple estimates yield the release of a fraction of the mass-energy deficit, roughly 1053 ergs,
with the radiation primarily coming out at wave periods between the vibrational period of the neutron
star, approximately 0.3 millisecond, and the gravitational-radiation damping time, about 300
milliseconds.

A cosmic background of gravitational waves is a possibility that has sometimes been discussed. Such a
background might be generated if the early universe expanded in a chaotic fashion rather than in the
smooth homogeneous fashion that it is currently observed to do. The energy density of the
gravitational waves produced, however, is unlikely to exceed the energy density of electromagnetic
radiation, and each graviton (the gravitational analogue of the photon) would be susceptible to the
same cosmological redshift by the expansion of the universe. A roughly thermal distribution of
gravitons at a present temperature of about 1 K would be undetectable by foreseeable technological
developments in gravitational-wave astronomy.

Cerenkov Radiation

Cerenkov light is a consequence of the motion of a charged particle with a speed that is greater than
the speed of light in the same medium. No particle can exceed the speed of light in a vacuum (c), but in
materials with an index of refraction represented by n, the particle velocity v will be greater than the
velocity of light if v > c/n. For materials with an index of refraction in the common range between 1.3
and 1.8, this velocity requirement corresponds to a minimum kinetic energy of many hundreds of MeV
for heavy charged particles. Fast electrons with relatively small kinetic energy can reach this minimum
velocity, however, and the application of the Cerenkov process to radiations with energy below 20 MeV
is restricted to primary or secondary fast electrons.

Cerenkov light is emitted only during the time in which the particle is slowing down and therefore has
very fast time characteristics. In contrast with the isotropically emitted scintillation light, Cerenkov
light is emitted along the surface of a forward-directed cone centered on the particle velocity vector.
The wavelength of the light is preferentially shifted toward the short-wavelength (blue) end of the
spectrum. The total intensity of the Cerenkov light is much weaker than the light emitted from
equivalent energy loss in a good scintillator and may be only a few hundred photons or less for a 1-
MeV electron. Cerenkov detectors are normally used with the same type of light sensors employed in
scintillation detectors.

Cherenkov radiation, when it is intense, appears as a weak bluish white glow in the pools of water
shielding some nuclear reactors. The Cherenkov radiation in cases such as this is caused by electrons
from the reactor traveling at speeds greater than the speed of light in water, which is 75 percent of the
speed of light in a vacuum. The energetic charged particle traveling through the medium displaces
electrons in some of the atoms along its path. The electromagnetic radiation that is emitted by the
displaced atomic electrons combines to form a strong electromagnetic wave analogous to the bow
wave caused by a power boat traveling faster than the speed of water waves or to the shock wave
(sonic boom) produced by an airplane traveling faster than the speed of sound in air.

Half-life

A half-life is the interval of time required for one-half of the atomic nuclei of a radioactive sample to
decay (change spontaneously into other nuclear species by emitting particles and energy), or,
equivalently, the time interval required for the number of disintegrations per second of a radioactive
material to decrease by one-half.

The radioactive isotope cobalt-60, which is used for radiotherapy, has, for example, a half-life of 5.26
years. Thus after that interval, a sample originally containing 8 g of cobalt-60 would contain only 4 g of
cobalt-60 and would emit only half as much radiation. After another interval of 5.26 years, the sample
would contain only 2 g of cobalt-60. Neither the volume nor the mass of the original sample visibly
decreases, however, because the unstable cobalt-60 nuclei decay into stable nickel-60 nuclei, which
remain with the still-undecayed cobalt.

Half-lives are characteristic properties of the various unstable atomic nuclei and the particular way in
which they decay. Alpha and beta decay are generally slower processes than gamma decay. Half-lives
for beta decay range upward from one-hundredth of a second and, for alpha decay, upward from about
one one-millionth of a second. Half-lives for gamma decay may be too short to measure (around 10-14
second), though a wide range of half-lives for gamma emission has been reported.

Radioactivity

Radioactivity is the property exhibited by certain types of matter of emitting energy and subatomic
particles spontaneously. It is, in essence, an attribute of individual atomic nuclei.

Radioactivity was first reported in 1896 by the French physicist Henri Becquerel for a double salt of
uranium and potassium. Soon thereafter it was found that all uranium compounds and the metal itself
were similarly radioactive. Intensity of activity was proportional to the amount of uranium present,
chemical combination having no effect. In 1898 the noted French physicists Pierre and Marie Curie
discovered two other strongly radioactive elements, radium and polonium, that occur in nature.

The early study of the radioactivity of the heavy elements led to revolutionary changes in ideas of the
structure of matter. At the beginning of the 20th century the theory that matter consists of atoms was
generally accepted by scientists; notions of the inner structure of atoms, however, were entirely
speculative. By 1903 research on radioactive processes and radiations led to the realization that atoms
are not of necessity permanently stable. The conclusion by 1911 was that nearly all of the mass of the
atom is concentrated in a nucleus occupying only a minute portion of the total volume. Next came the
important concept of isotopes (1913); and transmutation, the modification of an atomic nucleus, was
achieved in a laboratory experiment six years later. Finally, in 1934, it was discovered that radioactivity
could be induced in ordinary matter by transmutation in an artificially contrived arrangement. In
these first experiments radioactive varieties of nitrogen, aluminum, and phosphorus were identified.
Within a few months it had been shown that neutrons (uncharged nuclear particles) could effect
transmutation, and the list of newly discovered radioactive isotopes covered the whole range of known
elements from hydrogen to uranium. At this time there were indications that radioactive isotopes of
transuranium elements (i.e., those of atomic number greater than that of uranium) might be obtained
through transmutation, but it was not until 1940 that the first clear identification of such an element
neptuniumwas made.

Of the various processes resulting in the production of radioactive species, neutron-induced nuclear
fission, achieved in 1939, has been the most fruitful. In 1941 it was learned that fission may also occur
spontaneously. In this case, certain unstable nuclei of heavier elements split into nearly equal
fragments without the introduction of outside energy. With such discoveries, modern theories of
nuclear structure became possible, and the large-scale release of nuclear energy was achieved in 1942.

Radioactive substances emit energy in the form of ionizing radiations. Such radiations dissipate their
energy in passing through matter by producing ionization and other effects. The radiated energy is
either kinetic energy of particles or quantum energy of photons; these are eventually degraded into
heat. If the radioactive source is a compact portion of matter, some of the energy of radiations is
dissipated in the source itself. The source then tends to maintain a temperature higher than that of its
surroundings. The emission is spontaneous, and its rate is uninfluenced by changes of pressure and
temperature available to laboratory study. It is, however, not inexhaustible. For each source the rate of
emission of energy continually decreases, as measured by its half-life. (Half-life is defined as the period
in which the rate of radioactive emission by a pure sample falls by a factor of two.) Among known
radioactive isotopes, half-lives range from about 10-7 second to 1016 years.

Isotope

An isotope is one of two or more species of atoms of a chemical element with the same atomic number
and position in the periodic table and nearly identical chemical behaviour but with different atomic
masses and physical properties.

Before the early 1900s it was generally assumed that the mass of a standard number of atoms of any
given element was a basic characteristic of the element. It was also thought that all the atoms of an
element were the same and, in particular, had the same mass. The first evidence that two substances
with the same chemical properties did not have to be physically identical came from the study of the
radioactivity of the heavy elements. Between 1906 and 1907 several investigators showed that ionium
(a decay product of uranium) and radiothorium (a decay product of thorium), when mixed with
thorium, could not be separated from it by any chemical means. The two substances had radioactive
properties quite different from those of thorium and could be shown to have atomic masses differing
by several units from that of thorium. The term isotope was introduced in 1913 by the English chemist
Frederick Soddy to cover such situations. Not long after the acceptance of these ideas as applied to the
heavy elements came indications that isotopy might exist in the main group of naturally occurring
stable elements. In 1919 F.W. Aston of England showed conclusively that neon consisted chiefly of two
atomic species. This success was followed by the discovery that chlorine had two isotopes. It soon
became clear that most elements consisted of a mixture of isotopes, each with an atomic mass close to
an integer on the atomic mass scale.

The majority of elements, as found in the Earths crust and atmosphere, are now known to be mixtures
of several isotopes. Such mixtures are in almost unvarying proportions. In its natural form, tin, for
example, has 10 isotopes whose atomic masses range from values approximating 112 to 124, but any
given sample of the element has an average value of 118.69. In effect, ordinary tin is natures
standardized blend of these 10 atomic species.

In most cases, only the stable isotopes of elements can be found in nature. The unstable, or radioactive,
forms decay (break down) spontaneously into entirely different elements at characteristic rates
because their ratio of neutrons to protons is either too low or too high for stability. Isotopes of all the
elements heavier than bismuth are radioactive. Some of these, such as uranium, do occur naturally
because their isotopes have long half-lives.

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