Joachim Görres

Research Professor,
Nuclear Physics

Research Interests
The synthesis of elements and the generation of energy in stars is strongly influenced by the properties of nuclei (such as their mass and lifetime) and the speed with which reactions between nuclei take place. Prof. Görres’ research is geared toward the experimental determination of these parameters with special emphasis on hydrogen burning, which, for example, takes place in novae and supernovae, and on the nucleosynthesis in AGB stars. This experimental work is supplemented by the theoretical calculations of reaction rates that at present cannot be determined experimentally and by network calculations to identify nuclear reactions that have a strong influence on nucleosynthesis, e.g., waiting points and bottlenecks. The results of this work can be linked to measurements of elemental abundances in the ejecta of novae and to the observations of discrete g-lines from the decay of long-lived nuclei (e.g., ²⁶Al and ⁴⁴Ti) using the space-based Compton Gamma Ray Observatory.

Selected Publications:

“Bridging the Waiting Points – The Role of Two-Proton Capture Reactions in the rp-Process,” J. Görres, M. Wiescher, and F.-K. Thielemann, Phys. Rev. C 51, 392 (1995).

“First Measurement of Excited States in the Very Proton Rich Nucleus ²⁴Si and the Consequences for ²²Na Nucleosynthesis in Novae,” H. Schatz, J. Görres, H. Herndl, E. Stech, P. Tischhauser, M. Wiescher, A. Bacher, G. Berg, T. Black, S. Choi, C. Foster, X. Jiang, and E. Stephenson, Phys. Rev. Lett. 79, 3845 (1997).

“The ¹⁸F(p,a) Reaction and Its Astrophysical Implications,” J.S. Graulich, F. Binon, W. Bradfield-Smith, M. Cogneau, R. Coszach, T. Davinson, Th. Delbar, M. Gaelens, W. Galster, J. Görres, D. Labar, P. Leleux, M. Loiselet, J. McKenzie, R. Neal, G. Ryckewaert, A.C. Shotter, J. Vanhorenbeeck, J. Vervier, M. Wiescher, and Ph. Woods, Nuclear Physics A 626, 751 (1997).

“Lifetime of ⁴⁴Ti as a Probe for Supernova Models,” J. Görres, J. Meissner, H. Schatz, E. Stech, P. Tischhauser, M. Wiescher, D. Bazin, R. Harkewicz, M. Hellström, B. Sherrill, M. Steiner, R.N. Boyd, L. Buchmann, D.H. Hartmann, and J.D. Hinnefeld, Phys. Rev. Lett. 80, 2554 (1998).

“Stellar He burning of ¹⁸O: A measurement of low-energy resonances and their astrophysical implications,” S. Dababneh, M. Heil, F. Käppeler, J. Görres, M. Wiescher, R. Reifarth, and H. Leiste, Phys. Rev. C 68 , 025801 (2003).

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