Experimental Nuclear Astrophysics in the FRIB Era

At the birth of the Universe the initial abundances of Hydrogen, Helium and Lithium were created via Big Bang nucleosynthesis. Since that time, all other heavier elements have been synthesized through various nuclear processes in different stellar environments. While many aspects of main-sequence stellar burning are well understood, the synthesis of elements in more exotic stellar environments remains uncertain. This is largely due to the fact that many of the nuclear processes that produce heavy elements during stellar explosions occur on unstable nuclei and are therefore difficult to study in the laboratory. With the advent of radioactive ion beam facilities, more of these unstable nuclei and the nuclear reactions in which they are involved have become accessible; however, significant limitations still exist due to the low intensities and limited species that can be produced at current accelerator laboratories. The Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) at Michigan State University will significantly expand the availability of radioactive ion beams. In order to take advantage of these new and unique beams, the development of target and detector technology is already underway. With these new advances, both indirect and direct measurements of many of the reactions that drive explosive nucleosynthesis will be possible for the first time. Such accurate nuclear data is important for meaningful comparisons between stellar models and observational data, especially in this new era of multi-messenger astronomy. Plans for a robust experimental program with FRIB and the potential impact on our understanding of different nuclear processes and the stellar environments in which they occur will be discussed.