INFN Seminars
Contacts: Laura Cardani, Valerio Ippolito
Direct measurement of the 13C(α,n)16O reaction in the Gamow windows of the s- and i-process nucleosynthesis
Mar 28, 2022 - 4pm - Zoom
Speaker: Xiaodong Tang - Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Joint department for nuclear physics, Lanzhou University and Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, China
The 13C(α,n)16O reaction is the main neutron source for the slow-neutron-capture (s-) process in Asymptotic Giant Branch stars and for the intermediate (i-) process. Direct measurements at astrophysical energies in above-ground laboratories are hindered by the extremely small cross-section and vast cosmic-ray induced background. By using the high-intensity accelerator at China Jinping Underground laboratory and the tandem accelerator at Sichuan University, we extended the measurement from Ec.m.= 0.24 MeV up to 1.6 MeV, covering almost the entire Gamow window in the i-process condition with an uncertainty better than∼15%. Our new consistent measurement allows providing a more reliable reaction rate for the s-process nucleosynthesis.