The turbulent origin of the elements in the first generation of stars

通过计算机模拟，现在可以确定在我们宇宙中形成的第一代恒星的元素起源的物理学。我们看到的所有物质都是在恒星和恒星爆炸中形成的，除了来自大爆炸的氢和大多数氦。这种巨大的核生产始于第一批不含金属的恒星，这些恒星除了质子和氦原子的大爆炸混合物外什么都没有，用来供应它们的核引擎。我们现在从观测和理论考虑中都知道，在我们宇宙的早期，恒星的进化与我们的太阳不同，例如，太阳拥有大量的重元素(从地球上所有不是氢或氦的物质来看，这是显而易见的)。第一批恒星开始逐步建立我们今天在太阳系中观察到的元素的完整分布，因此，如果我们打算完全掌握元素的来源和方式，从数量上理解这一开始是至关重要的。为了充分理解这些第一批恒星产生核的物理原理，我们需要进行大规模的计算机模拟，其中考虑到所有相关的基本物理原理。在这个项目中，我们将做到这一点。我们开发了基于理论和模拟的预测，以预测这些恒星是如何演化的，以及它们产生了哪些元素，数量是多少。

Through computer simulations it is now feasible to determine the physics of the origin of the elements in the first generations of stars that formed in our Universe. All matter that we see has been formed in stars and stellar explosions, except hydrogen and most helium which came out of the Big Bang. This stellar nuclear production started with the very first metal-free stars that had nothing but the Big Bang mix of protons and helium atoms to feed their nuclear engines. We now know both from observations and from theoretical considerations that stars in this early epoch of our Universe evolved differently than for example our sun which has significant amounts of heavier elements (which is obvious from all the matter on earth that is not hydrogen or helium). The first stars start the gradual build-up of complete distribution of elements that we observe today in the solar system, and to understand this beginning quantitatively is therefore of utmost importance if we aim to fully grasp where and how the elements originate. In order to fully understand the physics of nuclear production in these first stars we need to perform large-scale computer simulations that take into account all the relevant fundamental physical principles. In this project we will do exactly this. We develop theory and simulation based predictions of how these stars evolved, and what elements they produced in which quantities.