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hile nuclear fusion reactions are the energy source of stars during their long hydrostatic lifes, creating light and mid-heavy elements this way, the nuclei heavier than iron are produced by sequences of neutron captures and nuclear beta decays. Depeding on the available neutron density at the astrophysical site these nucleosynthesis processes can either run close to the island of nuclear stability (slow neutron capture process or s-process) or involve nuclei with extreme neutron excess (rapid neutron capture process or r-process) |