The role of radioactive ion beams in nuclear astrophysics

Short-lived exotic nuclei play essential roles in the dynamics of many stellar objects and their associated nucleosynthesis, including core-collapse and thermonuclear supernovae, novae, x-ray bursters and mass-accreting neutron stars in binary systems. To produce such nuclei and to study their properties requires radioactive ion-beam facilities. While the short-lived nuclei on the neutron-deficient side of the chart of nuclei are often within reach at current experimental facilities, albeit not necessarily with the beam intensities needed, the extremely neutron-rich nuclei, required for an understanding of the synthesis of heavy elements in the Universe by the astrophysical r-process, have to wait, in most cases, for the next-generation radioactive ion-beam facilities. This paper discusses highlights of recent experimental and theoretical advances in determining the properties of exotic nuclei and the further need for reliable studies of astrophysical objects such as supernovae, novae, x-ray bursters and neutron stars. (paper)