The Trojan Horse method for nuclear astrophysics: Recent results on resonance reactions
- Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Catania (Italy)
- Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Catania, Catania, Italy and Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Catania (Italy)
- Kore University, Enna, Italy and Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Catania (Italy)
- Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Catania, Catania (Italy)
Nuclear astrophysics aims to measure nuclear-reaction cross sections of astrophysical interest to be included into models to study stellar evolution and nucleosynthesis. Low energies, < 1 MeV or even < 10 keV, are requested for this is the window where these processes are more effective. Two effects have prevented to achieve a satisfactory knowledge of the relevant nuclear processes, namely, the Coulomb barrier exponentially suppressing the cross section and the presence of atomic electrons. These difficulties have triggered theoretical and experimental investigations to extend our knowledge down to astrophysical energies. For instance, indirect techniques such as the Trojan Horse Method have been devised yielding new cutting-edge results. In particular, I will focus on the application of this indirect method to resonance reactions. Resonances might dramatically enhance the astrophysical S(E)-factor so, when they occur right at astrophysical energies, their measurement is crucial to pin down the astrophysical scenario. Unknown or unpredicted resonances might introduce large systematic errors in nucleosynthesis models. These considerations apply to low-energy resonances and to sub-threshold resonances as well, as they may produce sizable modifications of the S-factor due to, for instance, destructive interference with another resonance.
- OSTI ID:
- 22280387
- Journal Information:
- AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 1595, Issue 1; Conference: 7. European summer school on experimental nuclear astrophysics, Santa Tecla, Sicily (Italy), 15-17 Sep 2013; Other Information: (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0094-243X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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