Underground Nuclear Astrophysics at LUNA
- Laboratori Nazionali Del Gran Sasso (Italy)
Nuclear cross sections play a key role in understanding stellar evolution and elemental synthesis. Also in the field of astroparticle physics precise knowledge on thermonuclear cross sections is needed to extract the particle properties from the experimental data. While it is desirable to directly measure the relevant cross sections in the energy range of interest for the specific stellar environment this proves to be difficult, if not impossible, due to the effect of the Coulomb barrier, which causes an exponential drop of the cross sections at stellar energies. Consequently direct measurements are hampered by low counting rates and background caused by cosmic rays and environmental radioactivity. In addition background induced by the beam or the target itself can disturb the measurements.In this contribution I will discuss some of the reactions studied by LUNA in the past years to illustrate important aspects underground nuclear astrophysics.
- OSTI ID:
- 21052861
- Journal Information:
- AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 972, Issue 1; Conference: Carpathian summer school of physics 2007 on exotic nuclei and nuclear/particle astrophysics (II), Sinaia (Romania), 21-31 Aug 2007; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.2870295; (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0094-243X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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