[mesa-users] ni56 beta decay rate is function of temperature? and goes to 0 for logT < 8?

Bill Paxton paxton at kitp.ucsb.edu
Wed Oct 23 15:10:01 EDT 2013


Stan,

Thanks for your explanation.    We've got some work to do!  You caution against using tables and mention better alternatives -- can use suggest how we should implement those in MESA?  Would you like to share your KEPLER implementation with us?  ;D

-Bill





On Oct 23, 2013, at 11:35 AM, Stan Woosley wrote:

> Bill,
> 
> You have to stick in the low T value for all weak decays
> where a laboratory rate is known. Fuller's rates (or Langanke's
> or Ito's) are not for use at low T.
> 
> Unless the decay rate depends on ionization state, and electron capture
> nuclei often do, you use the laboratory rate as a lower bound for the actual
> decay.  Some terrestrially unstable nuclei are stable in cosmic rays 
> for example. But usually at T less than about 10**6, at least the
> most tightly bound atomic electrons are there and that is what matters.
> 
> You also have to keep track of any low lying states and their
> effect on the weak decay rate, a prime example being 26Al.
> 
> Also a caution on using tables, especially log tables, for rates.
> They often interpolate poorly. What you really must use is
> a) For nuclei with charged particle channels - the S-factor
> b) For weak rates, values that have the leading order Fermi integral
>    terms divided out.
> 
> You want a table where things don't vary much - just an overall
> adjustment factor to a rate that has the leading order T and rho
> dependence already built in.
> 
> Unless you do this, fits are much more accurate than tables.
> 
> 
> Stan
> 
> 
> 
> On Oct 23, 2013, at 10:37 AM, Bill Paxton <paxton at kitp.ucsb.edu> wrote:
> 
>> Hi,
>> 
>> My turn to ask a question -- I have a model that manages to get ni56 up to regions of lower temperature compared to the usual places where it lives, i.e., where logT < 8 rather than the usual logT > 9.  I was surprised to see the ni56 sticking around for a years when logT < 8.0, so I took a look at the weakreactions.tables in mesa/data/weaklib_data.  You can find the table for ni56 beta decay by searching for "lbeta+    positron emission;     ni56 co56".   The values in the table are log10 of decay rate.   The columns are temperatures in T9 = T*10^-9.  Up at the high T9 end the rates are very large, while down at the low end, including my case of T9 = 0.1, they effectively go to zero.
>> 
>> ni56 co56   by positron emission and electron capture; LMP
>>     T9     0.01     0.10     0.20     0.40     0.70     1.00     1.50     2.00     3.00     5.00    10.00    30.00
>> lYeRho             lbeta+    positron emission;     ni56 co56
>>      1  -99.999  -99.999  -69.740  -35.714  -21.132  -15.299  -10.760   -8.472   -6.021   -3.557   -1.373   -0.071
>>      2  -99.999  -99.999  -69.740  -35.714  -21.132  -15.299  -10.760   -8.472   -6.021   -3.557   -1.373   -0.071
>>      3  -99.999  -99.999  -69.740  -35.714  -21.132  -15.299  -10.760   -8.472   -6.021   -3.557   -1.373   -0.071
>>      4  -99.999  -99.999  -69.740  -35.714  -21.132  -15.299  -10.760   -8.472   -6.021   -3.557   -1.373   -0.071
>>      5  -99.999  -99.999  -69.740  -35.714  -21.132  -15.299  -10.760   -8.472   -6.021   -3.557   -1.373   -0.071
>>      6  -99.999  -99.999  -69.740  -35.714  -21.132  -15.299  -10.760   -8.472   -6.020   -3.556   -1.373   -0.071
>>      7  -99.999  -99.999  -69.740  -35.714  -21.132  -15.299  -10.760   -8.472   -6.019   -3.553   -1.370   -0.071
>>      8  -99.999  -99.999  -69.740  -35.714  -21.132  -15.299  -10.760   -8.472   -6.019   -3.551   -1.358   -0.068
>>      9  -99.999  -99.999  -69.740  -35.714  -21.132  -15.299  -10.760   -8.472   -6.019   -3.551   -1.354   -0.049
>>     10  -99.999  -99.999  -69.740  -35.714  -21.132  -15.299  -10.760   -8.472   -6.019   -3.551   -1.354   -0.028
>>     11  -99.999  -99.999  -69.740  -35.714  -21.132  -15.299  -10.760   -8.472   -6.019   -3.551   -1.354   -0.027
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> I had expected to find something more like what I find for mg20 beta decay where the rates are (almost) independent of T.
>> 
>> mg20 na20   by positron emission and electron capture; OHMT
>>     T9     0.01     0.10     0.20     0.40     0.70     1.00     1.50     2.00     3.00     5.00    10.00    30.00
>> lYeRho             lbeta+    positron emission;     mg20 na20
>>      1    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.765    0.766    0.799    1.382
>>      2    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.765    0.766    0.799    1.382
>>      3    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.765    0.766    0.799    1.382
>>      4    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.765    0.766    0.799    1.382
>>      5    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.799    1.382
>>      6    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.800    1.382
>>      7    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.768    0.802    1.382
>>      8    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.769    0.811    1.385
>>      9    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.769    0.814    1.406
>>     10    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.766    0.769    0.814    1.429
>> 
>> 
>> I thought this might be a bug in the preprocessor that builds the weakreactions.tables file from the separate sources.  The ni56 => co56 reaction rates come from "LMP",
>>     LMP: K. Langanke, G. Martínez-Pinedo / Nuclear Physics A 673 (2000) 481–508
>> so I checked that input file (mesa/weaklib/preprocessor/input_data/lmp.data).  But I found the "-99.999" entries for beta decay rates there too.
>> 
>>  neg. daughter ni56 z=28 n=28 a=56 q= -1.6240
>>  pos. daughter co56 z=27 n=29 a=56 q=  1.6240
>>                       +++ ni56 --> co56 +++      --- co56 --> ni56 ---
>>    t9   lrho    uf    lbeta+    leps-    lrnu    lbeta-    leps+  lrnubar
>>   0.01  1.0  -0.003  -99.999   -8.684   -9.066  -99.999  -99.999  -99.999
>>   0.10  1.0  -0.058  -99.999   -9.164   -9.537  -99.999  -99.999  -99.999
>>   0.20  1.0  -0.134  -69.740   -9.291   -9.652  -69.759  -74.128  -70.327
>>   0.40  1.0  -0.306  -35.714   -9.387   -9.722  -37.930  -38.276  -38.162
>>   0.70  1.0  -0.503  -21.132   -8.777   -9.063  -24.300  -23.078  -23.182
>>   1.00  1.0  -0.511  -15.299   -7.439   -7.669  -18.824  -17.809  -17.866
>> 
>> 
>> What's the story here?   Is ni56 stable to beta decay at logT < 8?  ;p    Curiouser and curiouser.
>> 
>> Thanks,
>> Bill
>> 
>> 
>> 
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