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S.R. Federman (Univ. Toledo)
Interstellar measurements on isotopic ratios help constrain models of light element nucleosynthesis. The need for high-resolution spectroscopy arises because the wavelength separation between absorption lines from individual isotopes is small. This talk will focus on recent measurements of the 11B/10B ratio obtained at ultraviolet wavelengths with the Hubble Space Telescope and of the 7Li/6Li ratio acquired at McDonald Observatory. These observations provide key information on the mechanisms responsible for producing the light elements. In particular, the relative importance of spallation via (1) Galactic cosmic rays on interstellar C, N, and O nuclei, (2) low energy heavy nuclei on interstellar protons, and (3) neutrinos on carbon during Type II supernovae can be constrained by the interstellar data.
The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: sfederm@uoft02.utoledo.edu