You can't have gold until a nucleus decays. The specifics of that process have been hard to pin down, but UT's nuclear physicists have published three discoveries in one paper explaining key details.

Elements heavier than iron, such as gold and uranium, are primarily formed through neutron capture processes, specifically the rapid neutron capture process (r-process). The r-process, unlike the ...

In a study published in The Astrophysical Journal, scientists have proposed the features of the rapid neutron capture process (r-process) nucleosynthesis in a novel scenario: common envelop jet ...

Although the periodic table is filled with elements, nuclear fusion at the center of stars can only produce elements with atomic masses lower than iron—after than, neutron captures processes known as ...

Hydrogen and helium formed shortly after the Big Bang. Stars create elements lighter than iron through nuclear fusion. Supernovae produce elements heavier than iron via the r-process. Neutron star ...