Simulating p-nuclei abundances in astrophysical environments

p-nuclei are a collection of neutron-deficient nuclei whose synthesis (to produce ob- served abundances) is relatively poorly understood. In this primarily computational work, we use NuGrid reaction networks to study two astrophysical sites, core-collapse supernovae and x-ray bursts, where p-nuclei are thought to be synthesized. We sim- ulate the production of p-nuclei at these two sites. We perform a Monte Carlo study by varying the reaction rates over many iterations of the reaction network and study- ing the corresponding p-nuclei abundance distributions. In doing so, we report on the characteristics of such abundance distributions and identify some key rates with uncertainties that are highly correlated to p-nuclei abundance uncertainties. This work is a starting point in informing experimental efforts to constrain abundance uncertainties.Science, Faculty ofPhysics and Astronomy, Department ofUnreviewedUndergraduat