CHAPTER 2

Forination of the Elements

(〕 hcinical C()lnposition()f the Sun Approxllnates(〕 henlical(lollnposition of the tり llivcrsc

Fivc Stablc Stib■ oFniC Particlcs and Nlany More tり nstiblc Ones iう ave Bcen ldcntified
F()ur T37pcs of Forces Accounl lbr All lnteractions in thc Universc
Prior to Star F'olnlation thc()nly Elelnents I'orincd in Signincant Amollnts Wcrc HydI()gen and
HcliuIH
EIcnlcnts bet、 /ccn IIcliunl and lron VVcrc l)ro(luccd ill thc Ccntcrs(Df Stars
Forillation or ElcrI〕 er)ts Hcavier Than i「 On Stalls vvitll Neutron Capttirc
ls()lopcs with Even NtllllberS Of Protons Are Favorcd in Eloment F()rmation
Suillmary
P′ υわ/′ ′
ll∫

Rく た ′
で′r`,

Although thcrc arc nl()rc than 100 kn()wl1 010mcnts,tllc vast nl● 01lty()f nlattcr in thc
Un市 crsc is colΥ 〕
poscd o「 just two,hydrogcn and hcliuin(Fi3・ 1)・ ln thiS chaptcr wc
cxplaill ho、 v clcnlcnts were lk)「 incd and 、
、/hy thcir abundanccs arc hcavily skcv/cd
t()ward thc lightcr clcllncnts. Priol・ to thc B18 Bang it SCcllls likCly that tlH substancc
、vas coniincd to a point s()urcc colltailning an incrcdible alnoヒ int o「 clicrgy ヽ′
ヽithill
scconds aftcr thc Big Bt1118 tllC COnvcrsion()F cncrgy to lnttss bcgan(Fig.2)but itヽ Vas
illany ycars hc● rC thC ainOunt of lnass in thc Univcrsc was cquセ ll to thc anlount of
cncrgy(appr()Xilllatcly onc… halF inillion).ThC ncutl｀ ()ns that wcl・ c Frst h‖ l]cd wcrc
unstablc()n their own,dccaying int()protons and clcctr()ns.By 121■ in,thcノ 7α f/‐ ′ クセ0「
a frcc nctltr()n, 11lost l〕 lattcr、 vas cqually ctividcd bct、 vecn ncutr()1ls and pl・ otons ttlld
cloctrons.11l thc dellsc l■ ass ol:rapidly cxpanding lγ lcttter,frcqucnt collisions bct、 vccn
ncutr()lls antl prot()ns lctt to thc R)「 ination()f considcrable hclitlin, 、
vhich 、
vas cltlitC
stablc ゞtry fcM/1argcli nuclci wcrc produccd at this tilnc so that by thc cnd of day()nc,
1110St lntlttcr ill thc Univcrsc consistct1 0f a lnixttlrc()f hydro3Cn,、 vhich contains ollly a
singlc protoll,and hcliulll,which cOntains t、 vo prot()ns t11ld tヽ VO nclltrons
Thc hydrogcn antt hctilllll at()11ls produccd in thc ctlrly stagcs of the cxpanding
Univcrsc cventし laHy cotlicsccd into lo()scly knit llobulas that condcllscd fLirthCr to R)ri γ
l

stars:ヒ lltil■ atcly,citistcl・ s()F stars ft)rlllctl galaxies.3ig stars all(I sillaH stars g()th「 ()llgh
18 Part I Creation of an Ellvironment Suitable for the O● gin OfI′ ife

H
ヽ

,HC
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５
〇﹄﹂ｏ 日 〓一一

４
３
﹄“∞ｏ日

Li

10 30 45 60 70
Atomlc numbcr
FIGURE l ThO relauvc abundances ofthc elemcntsin thc Sun,as dctermined frOm thc s。 1征 spect■ lm
Abundances ale p10tted relativc t。 106 silicon atolns

胤よ
躙 漱鴨蹴::雲 柵I孵∬:淵 譜l∬‖
ξ蹴露ξ
窯:1慧
CHE卜任ICAL COPIPOSIT10N OF THE SUN
APPROXIPIATES CHEDIIICAL COⅣ IPOSIT10N OF
THE UNIVERSE
Before wc can discuss the c01mposition ofthe Univcrse we must cxplain hOw cstimates
on composition wcre obtained.Because stars formcd fron■ the gravitational collapse
of c10uds of gascs, thc chenlical col■ pOsitiOn of a star shOuld bc reprcsentativc Of
the cloud from 、
vhich it was formed. Thus if we cOuld deterlnine the chenlical
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目ｏ﹁“口〓 ｏＬ
20 Part I Creation of an Environlllent Suitable for the Origin of IJire

composition Of thc Sun,wc could dcflnc thc colllpOsition of thc galactic mattcr frolln
、vhich thc Sun was formcd.This should givc us a rough cstimatc for thc avcragc com¨
position of the Universe.
As indicated in Chapter l,informatioll about the composition of stars such as our
Sun is gathered froln an analysis of the dark lilles in their spectra.Although these dark
lines are thc rcsult of the absorption of gases in the Sun's atinosphcre,it is assumcd
that the composition of these gases is representative of the Sun as a whole.To sollne
cxtcllt this estimate favors thc lighter elements becausc they are more likely to be clos―
erto thc Sun's surfacc.Howcvcr,this eRtct is attenuatcd by thc strong collveCtiOn cur―
rcnts that exist betwcen thc intcrior of the Sun and its surfacc
Thc abundanccs of clcl■ cllts in thc Sun deteri■ lincd in this way a口 じ plottcd in
rclatioll to thc llumbcr of atoms Of cach clcmcnt pcr llliHlon atoms of silicon in Fig. 1
This plot shows that hydrogen and helium arc thc most abulldant clcmcnts.There is a
prccipitous dcclinc in clclllcnt abundanccs with incrcasing atomic numbcr. Supcrirn―
posed on this dcclinc arc two pronlincnt cxccptions.(Dne is thc much grcatcr abun―
dance of ifon over that expected for a smooth dccline.Thc othcr is thc much lower
amounts fo「 lithiuln,bcryHiuin,and boron.In addition to thcsc cxccptional features,a
saw― toothed appcarancc to thc curvc is notable. This is duc to thc gcneraHy lower
abundances of clclncnts with an odd nulnber of protons over neighborillg clcl■ lcnts
with an cvcn nulnber of protons.All thcsc fcaturcs of thc abundancc curve can be
cxplaillcd by thc l■ odc of origin of thc clclncnts and thcir stability oncc forincd

FIVE STABLE SUBATOpIIIC PARTICLES AND ⅣIANY

Ⅳ10RE UNSTABLE ONES HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED

Bcfore、 ve discuss thc origin of the elements it is appropriate to discuss thc subatolnic
particles of、 vhich thcy arc colnposed and the forces that inttuence their intcraction.
First are the particlcs Therc arc only ive stable subatolnic PartiCles that rnake up the
known content of thc Univcrsc:J7`“ ′
´θ/1s,′ 石
θ′θrls, c7ι ι 声 θr7S, /7`lJ′ ri/1θ s, alld′ 77θ ′
υ77∫
`:′
The nrst thrcc― ―neutrons, protons, and clcctrons― are the buildil18 b10CkS of thc
e!cmcnts. Ncutrillos arc extrcmcly light nctltral particlcs crcatcd ill ccl・ taill nuclear
rcactions. 1)espite their lightncss thcy arc so abundant that thcy may constitutc a
signincant fraction of thc total nlass of the Universc.Photons are quanta of cncrgy that
arc believed to havc no rcst rnass.
T、 vo othcr stablc clcmcntary particlcs havc bccn postulated but ncvcr dctcctcd.
Thcy are thc grα ソ′
′θ/1 and the gι ffθ κ.Thcsc particlcs arc believcd to bc crcatcd、 vhcn―
cver illass is violently accelerated, as during thc gravitational coHapsc of a star, thc
faHing of lllattcr into a black holc,orthc Big Bang.Thc graviton accounts for thc forcc
of gravity, and tlle exchange of gluons bct、 Ⅳccn nuclear particlcs accounts f()r thc
stability of the atonlic lluclcus.
Thcre arc a host of unstablc clclllcntary particlcs that wcrc nrst dctccted alllong
the coslllic rays and subscqucntly produced with particlc accelcrators (Table l)
Thcy arc very short― livcd and dccay lllto stablc clclnentary particlcs in fractions of
Chapter 2 Fornlation of the Elements
21

TABLE l
Some Elementary Particles Found in the Universe

Rest energy ThreshOldわ

Particlc Syinbol (Mcv)“ Elcctric ChalBc Tcinaperaturc

QualkS Up u 900 %。 348

Down d 300 -%c 348
LeptOns Ncutrino 7',ラ ( 000001 o 00001
Elcctron e ,e+ o5110 -1(+1) 5930
Muon μ ,μ
l lo5 66 -I(+1) 1,2262
ヽ4esolls π° 13496 (o) 1,5562
πl,π
13957 +1(-1) `1,6197
3aryons Protoll p,p″ 93826 11(-1) 10,888
Ncuti・ on n,hど 93955 o 10,903
B、 、ons Gravilon __ 刊 ()‐
36 0 _
GIuon __ J()() o _
P[1()tc)n γ o O _
αlNlcv is cquivaに
I,tt。 1 8 × 10 3● kg
力The thrcsllold ternpcrattire ol'a particlc is its rcst cnel:gy divi(lc(l lDy thc 3oltznlann constttnt;it is thc
tcrnperatule ttbovc wilich thc particle can bc flccly cicatcd i0111 11lellnal radiatiol〕
r A bar abOvc a synlbol inclicates all antipal■
icle
″A protOll cOntai1ls 2 up quttks tand l d。
、
vn(〕 tlark
″/ヽ 1)etitroll c。
￨〕 tains 2 do、 vD qllarks alnd i tlp tluark

scconds foHowing thcir productiOn. Thesc includc クlrα ts froin which protons and
7‐

ncutrOns arc c01■ pOsed.

FOUR TYPES OF FORCES ACCOUNT FOR ALL

INTERACT10NS IN THE UNIVERSE
Four typcs Of fOrccs arc aHcgcd tO account for all intcractiOns in thc Univcrsc(Tablc
2).ThcSC arc g′ η、 ′
Jrrz′ ″
θんα′ル κιs,`た θ′ ″″7α g4`′ た ル κ′S,and thc s′ ″″g and″ ′αた
κ′c′ ″ル κ′ゞ.・
`α
Gravita10nal fOrccs account br thc univcrsal attrac● On that matcrial o崎 ccts
htlve fOr onc anothc■ Although thc rclative strcngth Of gravitatiOnal fOrces is colll―
parativcly、vcak at shOrt distanccs,thc inЛ ucncc Of gravitational forccs is additive and
for massive o切 ectS it bCcOmes a dOminant brcc with profound inauences within
the Universc.
Elcctromagnctic forccs account for all known chemical rcactions and most rcac―
tions betwcen light and lnattc■
The role of the two lluclear forces arc quite dintrcllt.The stl・ ong nuclear force is
rcsponsiblc fOr thc largc al■ ounts of encrgy relcased in lluclcar rcactions, such as thc
cncrgy of radiOactive dccay n・ 。l.l thC CXp10sivc encrgy of an atolllic bomb.Of grcatest
importa1lcc thc strong nuclcar fOrcc accounts for the nuclcar reactions that takc place
22 Part I CreatiOn of an Environment Suitable for the Origin ofI′ i艶

TABLE 2
The Four Forces

Rclative strcngth Palticlcs Paruclcs

Foκ c at 10-15 1nn cxchanged afFcctcd Rangc Exalnplc

Strong nuclcar l Gluons QuarkS 10 15 m HOlds nucici

togethcr
Electionlagnctic“ lo 2 Photons Charged particlcs lninitcル H。 lds atoms
together
Wcak nuclcar lo 4 GluOns QuarkS,01ectrons, 10 16m Rcleased On
ncutrinos β decay
GravitationalC lo 38 Gravitons A‖ palticlcs inflnitc H。 lds tho solar
system together

Ъ c疏 ∝ 製 hcolSth ttmtt m騰 山 蛛 ∞ 山 脆 面 鴨 崚 咄 卸 dの
千 …
"面 “ …

■ rd・ lul tlna∝ 型 ne妬 祠 4¨ mm― ¨ 呻 面 ∝耐 ゎ s tllcre¨ ∝ ¨ ¨ ¨ f

撃
separation “

in thc center of stars.The cxchangc of gluOns bctwcen nuclcar particlcs is bclieved t0

account for the attfactivc naturc Of the strong nuclear l10rce.
Thc、 vcak nuclear fOrcc by itsclli cannot hold anythin.・ tOgethc■ Thc wcak nuclcar
forcc is at wOrk in certain kinds Of radiOactivc decay, such as thc transformatiOn of a
ncutron intO a proton、 vith thc rcleasc Of an clcctron and an antincutrino.

PRIOR TO STAR FORⅣ IAT10N THE ONLY

ELEル IENTS FORPIED IN SIGNIFICANT AⅣ 10UNTS
WERE HYDROGEN AND HELIUPI
Thc nrst‐ phasc Of clcl■ ent crcation began 、
vith thc Big Bang. cOsinologists havc
spcculatcd that prior to the Big Bang the Univcrse was inassless 、
vith aH the cncrgy
conccntratcd at a pOint. Thc Big Bang unlcashcd this energy that rcsultcd in a
rapid convcrsion Of cncrgy into mass and an cxpansion process that continues to the
prcscnt day.Whcn energy is convcrted into lnass,it R)110ws the rclationship proposcd
by Einstcin:

E=″ 762,
、
vhcrc E is thc encrgy,″ 7 is thc l■ ass,and c is the vclocity of light.The cncrgy of the
photons initially was so high that all clcmcntary particlcs could bc frcely clcatcd fr()lll
the conversion of therinal radiation.As thc Universc expandcd thc tel■ pcraturc rapidly
dccreascd and so did thc capacity fof thcrmal radiation to bc convcrtcd into clcl■ entary
Cllapter 2 Forlllali()1l oF tilc lllel■ 1● 11ls
23

pctrticlcs.Thc dcscription givcn hcrc rcprcscnts a possiblc sccnario for thc flrst phasc
of elelncnt production(Sec Fig 2).
At 10 35s f。 1lowing the Big Bang thc approxilnate tcmperaturc was 1027 K.At this
tclllperaturc cOnsidcrable encrgy was spontaneously convertcd into quarks and lcptons
as well as antiquarks and antileptons.This was a period of rapid cxpansion.
By 10-12s thc tcmperaturc had dropped to 1015K. QuarkS and leptons wcre no
longer created spontancously.Collisions bct、 veen particles and antiparticles rcsulted ill
thcir reversible conversion illto phOt01ls. Leptons alld antileptolls separated into clec―
trons and positl・ olls,and nCutrinos and antincutrinos.
At 10 6s thc tcmperaturc had droppcd to 1013K At this tcmpcraturc quarks and
antiquarks combincd into protons and antiprotons as wcH as llcutrons,and antincu¨
trons. Annihilatioll rcactions invoiving protons alld ncutrons no 10ngcr Occurrcd
reversibly.Thc Univcrsc cOntaincd protons,neutrolls,clCCtrons and positrons(in ncar_
ly CqLlal numbcrs),1lcutrinos and antincutl・ inos,phOtOns,and gravitons
At i s the tcmpcraturc had droppcd to a mcrc 1010K.At this tcmpcraturc llcutrillos
alld antincutrillos stopped intcracting、 vith onc anothc■
By 15 s the tclllpcrature had droppcd to 3 )く 109K.The cxisting photons no longcr
had sufncicnt cncrgy tO produce clcctron一 positron pairs. Elcctrons and positrOns
continued to annihilate Onc another lcaving a slight exccss of clcctrOns.
Frolll l lllin to about 5 1nin thc tcinperaturc graduaHy droppcd froln about l.3 ×
109 to 600× 106K.During this pcriOd Of primOrdiai nuclc()synthcsis IH+(76%),
4Hc2+(24%),and traccs of 2H+and 3Hc2+wcrC formcd by thcお
HOwing reactiOns:

p十 +n→ 2H+十 γ
p+十 p+― → 2H+十 e+レ
pl+2Hl_γ +3Hc21
3Hc2++3Hc2+_→ 4Hc2++2p+十
γ
With thc cxccpti()n of thc flrst rcaction thc sal■ c rcactions()ccur in thc intcri()「 ()f thc
Sul〕 .At 600× 104K nuclc()synthcsis calllc to aI〕 cnd
Finally, ancl,half a lnilli()n ycars had passctl antt the tclllpel‐ atul・ c lntld droppcd to
3000 K, it bccarnc possible fol・ 11ヒ iCICi そ
、■d clcctrons t()11)fin stelblc colIIPICXCS .rhc
original ph()tons cvolvcd vcry littlc al‐ lcr this. Thcy passivcly pal・ took in thc cosIIliC
cxpansion with tllcir wavclcngths cxPanding as thc cosill()S CxPandCd and thcy rc11laill
lo tllis day as thc 3K cos11liC backgfotind radiation disctisSCd in Chaptcr l.

EEN HELIUPI AND IRON WERE

ELEレ lENTS BETい た
PRODUCED IN THE CENTERS OF STARS
′
rhc hyd「 03cn alnd llclitllll produccd ill thc imrΥ lcdiatc allcrimath of thc Bi8 Ban3
fOrmed dust clotlds that colldcllsctl il1lo stars, Most of thc rclnailling cicl■ cllts arc
bclicvcd to havc bccn k)1・ 11lCd in thc intcriors of thc stars Dllrillg thc transforittation of
dilfusc clollds Of hcliunl alld hydro3cI〕 gas into col■ Pact Stars,al]cllorinous al■ 01lnt()「
gravitatiollal encr8y ｀
Vas convcrtcd illto hcttt. So l■ uch hcat wtls produccd thttt thc
24 Part I Creation oF an Environnlent Suitable for the Origin oFI′ ife

８
０
７
５
０
７
６
５
６
０
ヽ ぉ●２ｏ︼Ｑ﹂ｏいｏＯ日 ●Ｚ

５
５
０
５
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５
４
０
３
５
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３
２
５
２
０
１
５
０
１
５
０

゛0゛
Sら ゛0゛ ゆ゛や
ゆ゛や0い 0や 0● 神や゛ф゛фヾヾヾ゛0)￨レ
Numbcr of ncutrons,lV
FIGURE 3 stabic conlbinaut)ns of ncutrons and pr()tons givc● sc t()a bclt()1'stability For clcmcnts o「
lo、 v atolllic numbcr,the ratio of protolls to neutrons in stablc isotopes is abOut l:l For elemcnts of high
atomic numbcr,it apprOachcs I:15

core of a ncwly formcd star became hot cnough to start a “nuclear irc.'' For the
nuclci in a star to rcact, they lnust makc dircct contact. 1「 his requircs tremendous
coHision vclocitics to Ovcrcomc thc rcpulsion bctwccn positivcly chargcd nuclei.
For cxal■ ple, for t、 vo protons to collidc thcy must havc velocitics cquivalcnt to a
tempcrature of about 60 1nillion degrccs ccntigrade.Only at the ccnters of stars are thc
conccntrations of nuclcar particlcs and thc tcmpcratures adcquatc to producc such
nuclear rcactions.
Thc abundanccs of nuclci that forln in thc stars are a function of which typcs of
nuclci can bc fOrined and also of thc stability of thc nuclci that arc formcd. Only
ccrtain col■ binations of ncutrons and protons forl■ stablc units(Fig. 3).Thc Stablc
nuclcus with the most ncutrons and protons is bismuth, 209Bi, which contains 209
nuclcar particles. All nuclci larger than this arc unstablc. Froln Fig. 3 wc can scc
that stablc nuclci lic in a narrow band of isotopcs running froln III to 209Bi,WVc also
can see that thc ratio of protons to ncutrons for stablc nuclei is near unity for elements
with a low atol■ ic numbcr and gradually rises to l.5 by the tilllc bismuth is reached.
The unstablc nuclci that arc transiently forillcd dccol■ posc into stablc nuclei by
radioactivc disintcgration. Thc tilnc requircd for disintcgration of an unstablc
substancc is cxpresscd in tcrllls of itSん α′ι
権,thC alllount of timc it takcs br cxacJy
half of the substancc to disintegratc(BoX 2A).Aね vorcd type of disintcgration
Chapter 2 Fornlation ofthe Elements 25

BOX 2A Radioactive Decay and Hal■ L市 es

The simplcst type of reaction wc can imagine is that for an irrcvcrsiblc unimo―
lecular process such as the decay of an unstable isotopc Ar that dccays 、vith a
fixcd rate constant,

=た 四 , (lA)
平

whereた is thc rate constant,[fVl iS thC COnccntration of radioactive isotopc,and

(― ど[Ⅳ])/″ ′iS thC ratc of disappearancc of Ⅳ.This ratc is p■ oportional tO the nrst
po、 vcr of thc conccntration of isotopc,and thc rcaction is accordingly describcd
as a nrst_。 rdcr rcaction. 13y inethods of calculus it can bc sho、 vn that thc
prcccding equation is cquivalent to

Ⅳ =NOcた ′ (2A)
whcfc NOis the numbcr of undccaycd nuclci attimc′ =0.
Thc half― life′ 1/2 0f a radioactivc salnple is dcnncd as thc timc at which thc
numbcr of radioactive nuclci has decreased to onc― half the numbcr at′ =O At
this timc

e ″ (3A)

By taking natura1logarithms of both sides and solving for′ 1/2｀ VC flnd

た′
1/2=ln 2 (4A)

句
2=半 =Q693kJ (5A)

Half of thc original radioactive isotopc in the samplc dccays in a timc intcrval
′
12,half of the remaining isotope decays in a second tilne interval′ 1/2,and So on.

involves β ―particlc dccay,in which a ncutron within the atomic nuclcus decomposes
into a proton and an clcctron(Fig.4).
As we havc sccn thC helium atonl is formcd by a complcx scrics of collisions
involving four hydlogen atoms.Thc ovcraH rcaction rcsults in thc rclease of an cnor―
lnous amount of heat that can be quantitativcly cstilnatcd froln thc diffcrencc in mass
bctwccn the burlH atoms and thc single 4Hc誠 。lll:

Mass of 4 1H atoms 6.696× 10 24g

Mass of 1 4Hc atOm -6.648× 10 24g
O.048 × 10 24g.
26 Part I Creation()f an Environinent Suitable lor the Origin()fI′ ife

14c_e +14N
(11° C +p+)
￠口０︺０﹄Ｑ ︺０ ︼ｏＯ日 ●Ｚ ―

7 8 FIGURE 4 The β dCCay process k)r the decay()「

14c t。
14N Symbols: n=neutron(nO nCt Charge);e― =electron
Number of neutrons (negatiVe chargc):p+ =prOtOn(positiVC charge)

F「 oln Einstcin's cquation that rclatcs l■ ass and cncrgy,19=′ 7762,it inay bc calculatcd
that O.048× 10 24g is eqllivalcnt to an cncrgy of l ×10 12 cal[4.184× 10 12 jolllcs
(J)].
Thc amount of hcat obtaincd from the convcl・ sion of hydrogcn to hclium is so cnor―
mous that oncc a star's nuclcar nre is ignitcd, its fLlrther collapse is stelnincd by thc
back prcssurc creatcd froln thc cscaping hcat.As a rulc,thc star stabilizes in sizc and
burns smoothly until most of thc nuclcar fucl is uscd tlp.This takcs a long tilnc.For
examplc,the Sun,、 vhich has been burning for 4.6 billion ycars,probably、 vili not run
out of hydrogcn fucl fOr anothcr 5 billion ycars.
Most visiblc stars clnit light crcatcd by thc burning of hydrogcn to form hclitlm.
Slo、 vlybut surcly most of thc remaining hydlogen in thc Ullivcrsc is bcing convcrtcd
into hclium.Thc hydrogen that fucls l■ ost Stars evcntllally gcts tlscd up.In a large star
thc supply of hydrOgcn is cxhaustcd much morc rapidly than in slnan stars likc our
Sun.(Dnce this has happened, thc nuclcar irc cools and thc star bcgins to coHapse
again.Thc hcat released by this rcnc、 ved collapsc causcs thc corc tcmpcraturc to risc to
ncw hcights until thc ignition tclnpcraturc for hclillnl is rcachcd Bccausc a hclium
nucleus has t、 vice thc positivc charge of a hydrogcn nuclcus,a llluch higher tclllpcra―
turc is rcquircd for effcctivc coHisions(about 200 1■ illion Kclvin).
Ⅵ″ hcn two hcliul■l nuclci collidc,thcy form a bcryllium(8Bc)nuCICus Thc bcrylli―
ヒlrn nuclcus docs not survivc for long becausc it is vcry unstablc. If anothcr 4Hc
collidcs with the 8Bc nuClcus bcfore it dccomposcs, a carbon nuclcus 12c is formcd
Sinlilarly, an oxygcn nuclcus, 160, is forl■ cd whcn a carbon nuclcus reacts 、vith an
additiona1 4He nuClcus.Carbon and oxygcn arc thc l■ ain nuclci that rcsult frolll hcliul■
burnlng.
In a largc star this cycle of fucl dcplction,rcnc、 vcd coHapsc,core tempcraturc risc,
and ignition of a lcss nal.lllablC nuclcar fucl lllay bc rcpcatcd several tilncs(Fig.5).
A cyclc involving carbon burning is followcd by a cycle of ncon burning, a Cycic of
 ¨
¨
Chapter 2 Formation ofthe Elements 27

︲
︲馘
蘊蜀
鯰︲
︲︲
ｕ
ｂ
ｄ
ｅ
ｎ
ｕ
ｍ¨
Unburned
helium
Nalne of Process Fuel Products Temperature required

Hydrogen burning H He 60× 106K

Heliuln burning He C,0 200× 106K
Carbon burning C 0,Nc,Na,Mg 800× 106K
Neon burning Ne O,Mg 1500× 106K
Oxygcn burnlng O MgtO S 2000× 106K
Silicon burning Mgto S Elemcnts ncal Fc 3000× 106K

FIGURE 5 A sttt burnsits hyむ 。gen befOre it starts to buln helium A hotter nuclcar irc is rcquircd to
bwn hclium As nuclei get biggcr,highcr and higher ignition tempcraturcs arc requircd

oxygen burning, a cycle of silicon burning, and s0 0n. Element forination by this
lncchanislll stops at the elelnent ifon,56Fc.This is because the masscs of nuClei heav¨
icr than ilon arc grcater than thc lnasscs of nuclei that arc lncrgcd to ftDll■ Cd thCl■ .

Thus further elcmcnt forl■ ation docs not rclcasc encrgy;instcad it rcquires the input of
cncrgy This ``cncrgy wall'' at 56Fc cxplains why ifon is foughly 1000 tilncs inorc
abundant than would bc prcdictcd from a slnooth declinc in clcmcnt abundances(scc
Fig. 1),but it does not p■ ovide us with any clues as to how elements of greater lnasses
°
are formcd.

FORPIAT10N OF ELEⅣ IENTS HEAVIER THAN IRON

STARTS WITH NEUTRON CAPTURE
When the core of our Sun funs out of hydrogen about 5 billion years fl‐ oln no、v,it will
resume its collapsc.HowcveL bccause the Sun isjust barcly massivc cnough to gener―
atc the tempcraturc ncccssary to start a helium flre,it will probably collapse perma―
nently and quictly aftcr it haS bumed a small amount of its hclium.A small star that
has undcrgone this quict collapsc and cooling or is called a″ 力J′ ιグッαゲ
28 Part I Creation of an Ellvironnlent Suitable t)r the Origin of I′ ife

FIGURE 6 Supernova remnant Oplcalimage ofthe Crab nebula Ml(NGC 1952),a supCr110va rcm―
nant(SNR)in the COnstenation of Taurus 6300 1ight ycars(LY)away fl・ Om Eal‐ th Thc supernova cxplosion
was rccorded in 1054 A D by chinesc astrOnomcrs ⅣIl is thc brightcst SNR and is now almost 6 LY lll
diametcr Ncal its centcr,lics a rapidly spillning ncutron star(not identinable here),The crab pulsar,which
represcnts the core of thc cxploded star The Crab pulsar emits pulses of radiation、 ′
ith a pcriod of 0 033 s
(Sο ′
レκ′:Roya1 0bservatory,Edinburgh/Science Photo Library)

ヽヽ″
hilc slnaH stars like thc Sun tlndergo quiet dcaths, big stars ffcqucntly undcrgo
violent dcaths in which thcir contents arc blown apart. Stlch cxplosions rcsult in a
treincndous burst of light cncrgy and arc caHcd s“ Jヮ
ι′
/1θ νr7S(Fig.6).
Supcrnovas havc providcd astronomcrs、 vith a rare opportunity to obscrvc thc con―
tents()f thc inside of stars. Rccan that most fo「 ins of spcctral allalyscs arc lilllitcd to
telling us about thc clcincnts present on or abovc the star's sllrface.Ho、 vevcr,ncw clc―
1■ ents that are relativcly short― lived l■ ight ncvcr make it to thc surface,so a supcrnova

providcs a uniquc opportunity to scc such clcments Tcchnctiuin is an elelncnt ntting

this dcscription lt has two isotopes with inodcrately long halilives:92Tc(2.6× 106
years)and 98Tc(4.2× 106 ycarS).Although thcsc isotopcs pcrsist for l■ illiOns of ycars
aftcr production,thcy arc not sccn in ordinary stars Howcvcr,the spcctral bands for
tcchnetiunl arc seen in thc ncbulas produccd by a supcrnova blast This typc of obser―
vation providcs us、 vith the inost dircct support fo「 thc hypothcsis that clcmcnts are
bcing forincd in the core of stars.
Stlpcrnovas arc l■ ost ilnportant becausc thcy provide an cRtctivc l■ canS fOr build―
ing clel■ cntshcavier than iron.During thc explosion that occurs in a supcrnova,a host
of nuclear rcactions occur that crcatc frcc ncutrons. Bccausc a netltron has no nct
charge, it is not rcpcllcd by any ntlclcus it happcns to cncounter As a conscqucncc,
nctltrons frccly inakc cntctivc contact with any nuclcus rcgardless of how s10、 vly thcy
are moving.In the closc― packcd conditions that exist inside stars,thc ncutrons crcatcd
during ntlclear rcactions cncounter a nucleus long bcfOre thcy have tilnc to undcrgo
spontancotls dccay to a proton and an clcctron,Many ofthesc cncountcrs are with iron
nuclci.Whcn an iron nuclcus absorbs a ncutron,it bccomcs heavicr.In the supcrnova
Chapter 2 Fornlation ofthe Elements 29

cxplosion thcsc ncutron hits arc vcry frcqtlcnt.All ifon nuclcus that is hit by onc ncu―
tron is vcry likcly to bc hit by another and anOthe■ As a rcsult,thc iroll nucleus gets
hcavicr and heavicr until inally it cannOt absorb any more lleutrolls.At this point the
iron nuclcus with its cxtra neutrons secks a more stable cOnfigtlration by undcrgoillg
radioactive dccay,converting some of its neutrons into protons and clcctrons The con―
version of one ncutron to a proton and an electron crcates a cobalt atom The cobalt
atonl can absorb neutrons onc after another until it toO bccomes saturated.Stlbsequent―
ly, it under80es a sil■ ilar lleutron dccay process and becomes a nickel atol■ . The
buildup to largcr nuclei stops only whell nuclci gct so big that they fraglllcnt illto l■ uch
larger decay prOducts,a proccss known as nuclcar nssion.
The entirc process of rcpcatcd neutron bombardmcnt takcs place in a vcry short
tirnc foHowing a supernova cxplosioll This is bccause thcsc ncutrolls are rapidly pro―
duccd and rapidly dispel・ sed.Thc ullstable llcutron― rich isotopes so produccd enlit olle
clcctron aicr anOthcr by β dccay until thcy havc achicvcd a stable ncutron― tO― proton
ratio For rnost nuclci this proccss is quickly complcted,but in sOllle cascs thc nuclci
havc vcry long half― livcs,and thc proccss can continuc for thousands Or evcn mi‖ lons
of ycars.
Thc rapid neutron bombardment proccss does not account for an thc stablc nuclci
that arc()bscrvcd in thc lllass range frol■ 56Fc to 238u.Another neutron capture proccss
takcs place during tlle lcss trauinatic sillooth nuClear burn period that characterizes
il10St Of a Star's history.In this situation thc tilnc bctwccn ncutron hits is inuch greater,
giving the nuclci that have alrcady bcen hit a lη uch grcatcr opportunity to dcccly
beforc being hit again.As a rcsult, unstable nuclci that inight bc hit by additi()nal
ncutrons tlrc inore likely to dccay beforc tllis can happcn. The path foHo、 vcd by
this low Лux neutron bombardinent proccss runs al()ng the belt of stability inustratcd
in Fig.3

1SOTOPES WITH EVEN NUルIBERS OF PROTONS

ARE FAVORED IN ELEⅣ IENT FORPIAT10N
It rcmains for us to cxplain the saw¨ toothcd appcarancc of thc clclllcnt abundancc plot
(scc FiЁ .1).ThiS is duc to thc grcatcr stability of ncutron― proton combinations that
contaill an cvcn nuinbcr of protons and an cvcn numbcr of ncutrons Thc prcfcrcncc
for cvcn一 cvcn coЛ nbinations destincs odd― nulllbcrcd clcmcnts to havc only onc
isotopc and givcs thc cvcn¨ numbcrcd oncs scvcral As a rcsult, thc cvcn¨ nul■ bcrcd
clcmcnts havc a grcatcr abundancc than thcir illlincdiatc ncighbors havc.

SUⅣ IPIARY

In this chclptcr、 vc havc considcrcd thc cvcnts that took placc fronn thc timc of thc Big
Bang that gavc risc to thc morc than 100 clclllcnts that colllprisc a sigllincclnt frtlCtioll
of thc lnatcrial substanccs of thc Univcrsc.
30 Part I Creation of an Environnlent Suitable Ftpr the Origin()f IJife

l. Thc chclllical substanccs of thc Univcrsc arc cstimatcd fronl thc chcnlical sub―
stanccs present on thc surfacc of thc Sun.This analysis indicatcs a gcneral dcclinc i11
the relativc abundanccs of clements with illcrcasing atol■ lic nuinbc■ Thc element iron
is much inorc abundant than 、
vould be expected for a smooth declinc, while the
elcments lithiulll,berylliunl, and boron have abundances much lowcr than would be
expcctcd. Thcsc relative abundances can bc undcrstOod as a function Of the mecha―
nisms of formation and thc stability of thc lluclei so formed
2. Five stable subatorIIlic particles havc been idcntifiedi neutrOns, protons,
clcctrons, ncutrillos, and photons. Two other stable elemcntary particlcs have been
postulatcd but llcvcr dctcctedi thc graviton and thc gluon. In addition to these, many
morc unstabic particlcs have bccn dctccted.ヽ /1ost of thesc arc colnpo1lcnts pf the stablc
subatornic PartiCICS・
3. All interactions in the Ulliverse can bc cxplaincd by four typcs of forccs Gravi―
tational forccs account br the univcrsal attraclon betwccn aH matcnal o匈 ectS.
Elcctromagnctic forccs account for all chenlical rcactions. Strong and wcak nuclcar
forces account fOr an rcactions thattake place within and bct、 vcen different nuclei.
4 To cxplain clclllcnt abundanccs we must start、 vith what happened ilnillediately
a■ cr thc Big Bang、 vhcn an cxplosion triggcrcd thc convcrsion of a point source of
cnergy into lllattc■ ヽ
ヽ″ithin scconds aftcr thc cxplosion,colllbinations of neutrons and
protons 、
verc able to forin. Ho、 vevcr, thc only clcincnts produccd in signincant
alllounts during this very carly phasc of LTnivcrsc cvolution、 vcrc hydrogcn and heli―
ulll.As the Universe expandcd and coolcd,thc hydrogcn and hcliuln gascs cvcntually
aggiolneratcd into clouds that condcnscd further to f()rin galaxics of stars.
5. Furthcr rcactions involving hydrOgcn and hcliu11l nuclci rcquircd a conccntration
of illass and cncrgy that only could bc achicvcd 、vithin the cOrcs of stars. Hcrc thc
clcincnts with inasses up to that of iron wcrc produccd by nuclcar bolllbardillcnt ln
thc process, a great dcal of cncrgy was rclcascd that scrvcd to kccp thc proccss of
elcinent forination going.
6 Elclncnt production above iron is an energy― rcquifing proccss and had to f〔 )1low
a dittcrent route Thcsc hcavicr clcl■ cnts 、verc probably produccd by a proccss that
starts with ncutron capturc,followcd by dccay of solnc Of thc ncutrons that havc been
capturcd Solne ncutron capturcs occur、 vhcn a star blows up. Others occur by slow
neutron producti9早 thrOughout lllost of thc lifc of thc star.

Problellls

1. The estilnate for the amount of iron in thc Sun comcs frolll spcctral analysis.Do
you think such an cstilnatc is likely to bc accuratc?Ifit is not,、 vhy not?IIo、 v lnight
you get a bctter estimatc for the Sun,and for the Univcrse?
ハ″
2. ｀ hy is iron so much more abundantthan the elcl■ cnts illlincdiatcly preccding it
and inlincdiatcly foHowing it?
3.Could Mg arisc iom Al by βdCCay?
4. Dcscribe a likcly route to thc nuclcosynthcsis of N.
5. Why arc carbon and oxygcn the rnain nuclci to rcsult froln Hc burning?
Chapter 2 Fornlation of the Elements

6. Arc thc original photons forillcd in thc Big Bang conincd to thc boundarics ofthc
cxpandillg Ullivcrsc?Explaill.
7 How much timc docsittake for 759る of a radioisotopc to deconnposc if its half_life
is 1000 s?

References
Sec Chaptcr i for gcncral references
Liss,■ M and TiptOn,P I The Discovery ofthe Top Quark,SCプ /1771 September:54-59,1997(Violent
c()‖ ision bct、 vccn a proton and an antiproton crcatcs a top quark and an antitoP ThcSC decay t()othcl
particles,typically producing a nuinbcr ofjets and possibly an electron or a pOsitron)