What is the B2FH theory of nucleosynthesis?
The B2FH theory, named after Burbidge, Burbidge, Fowler, and Hoyle, is the comprehensive framework explaining how stars produce the chemical elements. We identified eight principal processes: hydrogen burning, helium burning, the alpha process, the equilibrium e-process, the s-process (slow neutron capture), the r-process (rapid neutron capture), the p-process (proton capture), and the x-process for light elements like lithium. Each operates at specific temperatures and densities inside stars. For example, the s-process builds elements like strontium and barium over thousands of years in red giants, while the r-process creates uranium and gold in supernovae within seconds. The key insight is that the universe is a nuclear reactor—every atom heavier than helium was forged in stellar furnaces. We built this from known nuclear physics, using cross-sections measured at Caltech's Kellogg Radiation Laboratory.
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