Speaker
Description
The 13C(a,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 sections and vast cosmic-ray induced background. We performed the first consistent direct measurement in the range of Ec.m. =0.24 MeV to 1.9 MeV using the accelerators at the China JinPing underground Laboratory (CJPL) and Sichuan University. Thick target technique was used in the measurement, eliminating target-thickness induced uncertainties. Our measurement covers almost the entire i-process Gamow window in which the large uncertainty of the previous experiments has been reduced from 60% down to 15%, eliminates the large systematic uncertainty in the extrapolation arising from the inconsistency of existing data sets, and provides a more reliable reaction rate for the studies of the s- and i-processes along with the first direct determination of the alpha strength for the near-threshold state.
| Please select a main topic related to your abstract | Underground Nuclear Astrophysics |
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