Nuclear physics constraints for s-process elements, the Re-Os clock and galactic chemical evolution
Neutron capture cross sections are important inputs into models of s-process element production, which in turn has implications for models of galactic chemical evolution. Experiments on 187Re using the Oslo method have been carried out at the Oslo Cyclotron Lab to improve model uncertainties, with special focus on the Re-Os cosmochronological clock. The experimental setup will be explained and discussed, as well as a more general discussion of the nuclear- and astrophysical aspects of the problem, including an introduction to the s- and r-process models of nucleosynthesis.