Alpha particles, as the nuclei of the helium atom are also called, play a decisive role in the formation of heavier elements. Carbon, for instance, is formed from the fusion of these alpha particles.

How heavy can an element be? An international team of researchers has found that ancient stars were capable of producing elements with atomic masses greater than 260, heavier than any element on the ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Magnetar flares, colossal cosmic explosions, may be directly responsible for the creation and distribution of heavy elements across the universe, suggests a new study. For decades, ...

Research by scientists in South Africa and India is shedding light on the nuclear processes that lead to the formation of heavy elements after the collision of neutron stars, and why those elements ...

Webb reveals a bridge of stars linking two nearby dwarf galaxies, offering a look at how gravity reshapes galaxies and sparks ...

Galaxies “waste” large amounts of heavy elements generated by star formation by ejecting them up to a million light years away into their surrounding halos and deep space, according to a new study led ...

A recent study led by researchers from Louisiana State University and Columbia University revealed that gigantic explosions from magnetars could be responsible for creating up to 10% of the elements ...

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In an ejection that would have caused its rotation to slow, a magnetar is depicted losing material into space in this artist’s concept. The magnetar’s strong, twisted magnetic field lines (shown in ...

Simulation studies indicate water formation within the first 200 million years of the universe, primarily through supernovae from the first generation of stars. Pair-instability supernovae, occurring ...