Sensitivity of p ‐Process Nucleosynthesis to Nuclear Reaction Rates in a 25 M ⊙ Supernova Model

The astrophysical p -process, which is responsible for the origin of the proton-rich stable nuclei heavier than iron, was investigated using a full nuclear reaction network for a Type II supernova explosion when the shock front passes through the O/Ne layer. Calculations were performed with a multilayer model adopting the seed of a preexplosion evolution of a 25 M ☉ star. The reaction flux was calculated to determine the main reaction path and branching points responsible for synthesizing the proton-rich nuclei. In order to investigate the impact of nuclear reaction rates on the predicted p -process abundances, extensive simulations with different sets of collectively and individually modified neutron-, proton-, and α-capture and photodisintegration rates have been performed. These results are not only relevant to explore the nuclear-physics-related uncertainties in p -process calculations but are also important for identifying the strategy and planning of future experiments.