Supernova Nucleosynthesis

Supernova nucleosynthesis is the production of new chemical elements inside supernovae. It occurs primarily due to explosive nucleosynthesis during explosive oxygen burning and silicon burning. Those fusion reactions create the elements silicon, sulfur, chlorine, argon, sodium, potassium, calcium, scandium, titanium and iron peak elements: vanadium, chromium, manganese, iron, cobalt, and nickel. As a result of their ejection from supernovae, their abundances increase within the interstellar medium. Elements heavier than nickel are created primarily by a rapid capture of neutrons in a process called the R-process. However, there are other processes thought to be responsible for some of the nucleosynthesis of heavy elements, notably a proton capture process known as the Rp-process and a photodisintegration process known as the gamma (or p) process. The latter synthesizes the lightest, most neutron-poor, isotopes of the heavy elements.