Nucleosynthesis of gamma‐ray emitters in novae

A program is underway at the Naval Research Laboratory to develop a numerical hydrodynamic capability to model thermonuclear outbursts on compact objects. As part of the this program, a nuclear reaction network comprised of 67 nuclei, including all the important isotopes of the elements from hydrogen to phosphorus, and the important reactions among them, has been developed. The nuclear processing expected to occur in the proton‐rich nova environment can be followed with this network, which employs a fast numerical algorithm developed at NRL for the solution of the coupled system of non‐linear differential equations. Results of a one‐zone calculation with a simple parameterization of temperature and density are compared with similar, previous studies. The validity of such parameterized models is tested by comparison with another model with follows the temperature and density histories of a published hydrodynamic nova model.The abundance of several unstable proton‐rich isotopes which live long enough to be ...