Nuclear reactions important in α-rich freeze-outs -: art. no. 065801

alpha-rich freeze-outs from equilibrium occur during the core-collapse explosion of a massive star when the supernova shock wave passes through the Si-rich shell of the star. The nuclei are heated to high temperature and broken down into nucleons and alpha particles. These subsequently reassemble as the material expands and cools, thereby producing new heavy nuclei, including a number of important supernova observables. In this paper we introduce a web-based application designed to display the results of a reaction-rate sensitivity study of alpha-rich freeze-out yields. This tool is intended to aid in the identification of nuclear reaction rates important for experimental study. We then analyze several iron-group isotopes (Ni-59, Co-57, Co-56, and Fe-55) in terms of their roles as observables and examine the reaction rates that are important in their production.