A new approach to the canonical s-process model

A new approach to the canonical s-process model is proposed. It is based on an optimized superposition of s-process events at different temperatures and neutron densities which aims at reproducing the solar system abundances as precisely as possible. An iterative procedure enables us to assign unambiguously to each event contributing to the solar s-abundance curve a statistical weight which in turn determines the distribution of neutron exposures, temperatures and neutron densities responsible for the production of the s-elements. It is shown that the abundance predictions of the multi-event model are in good agreement with those of the widely used exponential model, at least when a restricted range of thermodynamic conditions is considered.When enlarging the range of thermodynamic conditions in which the s-process is allowed to develop, a larger set of nuclei appear to be produced in solar quantity by the s-process. The impact of the astrophysical and nuclear physics uncertainties on the residual r-abundance distribution representative of the solar system is analyzed.