Underground Measurements of Nuclear Reaction Cross-Sections Relevant to AGB Stars

Ananna, Chemseddine; Barile, F.; Boeltzig, A.; Bruno, Carlo; Cavanna, F.; Ciani, G. F.; Compagnucci, Alessandro; Csedreki, L.; Depalo, R.; Ferraro, F.; Masha, E.; Piatti, D.; Rapagnani, D.; Skowronski, J.

doi:10.3390/universe8010004

Cited by 6 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 130 publications

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“…The measurement was performed at LUNA laboratory, located in the deep underground facility of Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS, Italy) [8]. Thanks to the 1400m overburden rock of Gran Sasso mountain, here the muon and neutron background are reduced by a factor 10 6 [9] and 10 3 [10] with respect to the surface laboratories, respectively.…”

Section: The Experimental Setupmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards a direct measurement of the E_cm = 65 keV resonance strength in ¹⁷O(p, γ)¹⁸F at LUNA

Ciani,

Piatti

2023

J. Phys.: Conf. Ser.

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The 17O(p, γ)18F reaction plays a crucial role in several stellar scenarios where the hydrogen burning phases takes place. In particular, in the temperature energy range of interest for AGB nucleosynthesis (20 MK< T <80 MK) the main contribution to the astrophysical reaction rate comes from the elusive 65 keV resonance. Indeed, this resonance strength is at the moment determined only through indirect measurements, with a reported value of ωγ = (1.6 ± 0.3) × 10−11 eV. With typical experimental quantities for beam current, isotopic enrichment and detection efficiency, this strength yields an expected count rate of less than one count per Coulomb, making the direct measurement of this resonance extremely challenging. The Laboratory for Underground Nuclear Astrophysics (LUNA) 400kV accelerator installed in Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (Italy) provides a unique possibility to directly measure this low resonance thanks to the reduction of cosmic ray background by six orders of magnitude with respect surface laboratories and thanks to an intense, narrow proton beam. To improve the experimental sensitivity, the environmental background was further reduced designing a lead and borated (5%) polyethylene shielding and the absorption of γ − rays emitted by the reaction was minimised by the installation of target chamber and holder made of aluminum. With about 400 Coulomb accumulated on Ta2O5 targets, with nominal 17O enrichment of 90%, the LUNA collaboration has performed the first direct measurement of the 65 keV resonance strength.

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Section: The Experimental Setupmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards a direct measurement of the E_cm = 65 keV resonance strength in ¹⁷O(p, γ)¹⁸F at LUNA

Ciani,

Piatti

2023

J. Phys.: Conf. Ser.

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The evolution of CNO elements in galaxies

Romano

2022

Astron Astrophys Rev

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After hydrogen and helium, oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen—hereinafter, the CNO elements—are the most abundant species in the universe. They are observed in all kinds of astrophysical environments, from the smallest to the largest scales, and are at the basis of all known forms of life, hence, the constituents of any biomarker. As such, their study proves crucial in several areas of contemporary astrophysics, extending to astrobiology. In this review, I will summarize current knowledge about CNO element evolution in galaxies, starting from our home, the Milky Way. After a brief recap of CNO synthesis in stars, I will present the comparison between chemical evolution model predictions and observations of CNO isotopic abundances and abundance ratios in stars and in the gaseous matter. Such a comparison permits to constrain the modes and time scales of the assembly of galaxies and their stellar populations, as well as stellar evolution and nucleosynthesis theories. I will stress that chemical evolution models must be carefully calibrated against the wealth of abundance data available for the Milky Way before they can be applied to the interpretation of observational datasets for other systems. In this vein, I will also discuss the usefulness of some key CNO isotopic ratios as probes of the prevailing, galaxy-wide stellar initial mass function in galaxies where more direct estimates from the starlight are unfeasible.

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Nuclear Astrophysics at the Low-Energy Frontiers: Updates from underground laboratories

Cavanna

2023

EPJ Web of Conf.

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Nuclear fusion reactions are the heart of nuclear astrophysics: they sensitively influence the nucleosynthesis of the elements in the earliest stages of the Universe and in all the objects formed thereafter; control the associated energy generation and neutrino luminosity; influence the evolution of stars. Unfortunately, measuring reaction cross sections at astrophysically relevant energies is exceptionally challenging due to Coulomb repulsion between nuclei, resulting in cross section values as low as fbar. Laboratorial measurements of these cross sections are often unfeasible due to overwhelming cosmic-ray-induced backgrounds. One effective solution to this problem is to conduct experiments in underground laboratories. The Laboratory for Underground Nuclear Astrophysics (LUNA) is an experimental approach based on an underground accelerator focusing on studying nuclear fusion reactions. Its primary objective is to accomplish direct measurement of cross sections for nuclear reactions that have significance in stellar and primordial nucleosynthesis. This article will present the latest findings and future objectives.

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Underground Measurements of Nuclear Reaction Cross-Sections Relevant to AGB Stars

Cited by 6 publications

References 130 publications

Towards a direct measurement of the E_cm = 65 keV resonance strength in ¹⁷O(p, γ)¹⁸F at LUNA

Towards a direct measurement of the E_cm = 65 keV resonance strength in ¹⁷O(p, γ)¹⁸F at LUNA

The evolution of CNO elements in galaxies

Nuclear Astrophysics at the Low-Energy Frontiers: Updates from underground laboratories

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Underground Measurements of Nuclear Reaction Cross-Sections Relevant to AGB Stars

Cited by 6 publications

References 130 publications

Towards a direct measurement of the E cm = 65 keV resonance strength in 17O(p, γ)18F at LUNA

Towards a direct measurement of the E cm = 65 keV resonance strength in 17O(p, γ)18F at LUNA

The evolution of CNO elements in galaxies

Nuclear Astrophysics at the Low-Energy Frontiers: Updates from underground laboratories

Contact Info

Product

Resources

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Towards a direct measurement of the E_cm = 65 keV resonance strength in ¹⁷O(p, γ)¹⁸F at LUNA

Towards a direct measurement of the E_cm = 65 keV resonance strength in ¹⁷O(p, γ)¹⁸F at LUNA