Recreating a Stellar Electron Catch

The energy scales involved in the capture of electrons by nuclei in a star are vastly different than those of atoms. While the latter can be studied in a table-top experiment, large facilities are needed to explore this fundamental nuclear process. Now, a team of scientists (Sasano et al.) working at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory at Michigan State University has measured an important electron capture process in nickel-56 that will help to improve simulations of stellar evolution in the late stages of burning [1]. The results, which are reported in Physical Review Letters, settle an important debate about how best to model nuclear structure in such simulations and represent the first implementation of a technique likely to be applied at radioactive ion-beam facilities currently being planned around the world.