- Karl-Ludwig Kratz
Karl-Ludwig Kratz (April 23, 1941 in
Jena ,Thuringia ) is a German nuclear chemist and astrophysicist. He is professor for nuclear chemistry at theJohannes Gutenberg University of Mainz and adjunct professor of physics at theUniversity of Notre Dame inSouth Bend, Indiana .One of the main interests of Kratz is the study of nuclear structure of very neutron-rich isotopes. He concentrated on the beta-delayed neutron decay mode, especially the spectroscopy of the emitted neutrons. These isotopes are obtained by
nuclear fission or proton inducedspallation of heavy elements as uranium. In general, the extremely neutron-rich species of interest are produced together with an overwhelming amount of shorter-lived ones. Therefore he is developing chemical and physical separation techniques with very high chemical selectivity. These studies are performed in international collaborations at high-flux reactors (Institut Laue-Langevin , France) or accelerator facilities as theCERN in Switzerland or theNational Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory atMichigan State University .The nuclear structure data are also applied by Kratz to
nucleosynthesis , especially the astrophysicalr-process . Elemental abundances fromSupernova explosions are calculated in close collaboration withFriedrich-Karl Thielemann of theUniversity of Basel . The calculated abundances are then compared to observed stellar abundances. Ultra-metal-poor Population II stars in the Galactic Halo exhibit a scaled-down Solar System r-process abundance pattern. Comparing calculated and observed abundances for elements as the stableeuropium with radioactive ones (thorium anduranium ) the age of these stars can be determined to about 13 billion years (seeSneden's Star ,Cayrel's Star , Kratz's Star).In 1999 he received the "Nuclear Chemistry Award" (now Glenn T. Seaborg Award) of the
American Chemical Society .External links
* [http://dkcmzc.chemie.uni-mainz.de/~klkratz/dnctawd_kl.html Nuclear Chemistry Award]
* [http://dkcmzc.chemie.uni-mainz.de/~klkratz/publist.html Selected publications]
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