ABSTRACT
Explosive nucleosynthesis in massive stars is one of the major sources of nuclei in the cosmos (e.g., Fowler 1984). It involves still relatively large uncertainties which stem from unknown nuclear reaction rates, such as the 12C(α,γ)16O rate, and uncertain physical processes, such as convection and the supernova explosion mechanism. On the other hand, detailed study of nucleosynthesis can provide important clues to the understanding of these unknown processes and reaction rates. In this regard, comparison with supernova observations (abundance determinations, optical light curves of SN 1987A and type Ib/Ic supernovae, and γ-rays lines) has been a new tool to test the production of the radioactive nuclei 56Ni, 57Ni, 44Ti (e.g., Kumagai et al. 1991). Further it provides the basic input data for the studies of chemical evolution of galaxies and the origin of the solar system abundances.
